MCE 04-03 Tu thronus es salomonis : Salve mater pietatis : Lux eclipsim nesciens

Edition

Motet

Text (ed. by Eva Ferro)

 

Edition

Translation

1

Tu thronus es Salomonis,
Cui nullus par in thronis
Arte vel materia.

You are the throne of Salomon,
to which none is equal among the thrones
for its quality or material.

2

Ebur candens castitatis[1],
Aurum fulvum claritatis,
Praesignans mysteria[i].

Shining ivory of chastity,
yellow gold of brightness
that foreshadows the mysteries.

3

Palmam praefers singularem
Nec in terris habes parem
Nec in caeli curia.

You hold forth an extraordinary palm branch
and you neither have an equal on earth
nor among the celestial court.

4

Laus humani generis,
Virtutum[2] prae ceteris
Habes privilegia.

You are the praise of the human species;
the privileges of virtues beyond all others
you possess.

5

Sol luna lucidior
Et luna sideribus[ii]
Sic Maria dignior
Creaturis omnibus.

As the Sun is brighter than the moon
and moon is brighter than the stars,
Thus is Mary more worthy
than all creatures.

6

Salve, mater pietatis
Et totius trinitatis
Nobile triclinium,

Hail, Mother of Compassion
and noble chamber
of the whole Trinity,

7

Verbi tamen incarnati
Speciale maiestati
Praeparans hospitium.

preparing a special lodging
for the majesty
of the word made flesh

8

O Maria, stella maris,
Dignitate singularis
Super omnes ordinaris[3]
Ordines caelestium.

O Mary, star of the sea
of singular dignity,
you are ordained above all
the orders of the heavens.

9

In supremo sita poli
Nos assigna tuae proli
Ne terrores sive doli
Nos supplantent[4] hostium.

Placed in the very height of heaven,
commend us to your Child,
lest the terrors or evils
of our enemies overthrow us.

10

Lux eclipsim nesciens
Virginis est castitas,
Ardor indeficiens
Immortalis caritas[iii].

The chastity of the Virgin
is a light that does not know eclipse,
is a flame that never ceases,
is immortal love.

11

In procinctu[iv] constituti
Te tuente simus tuti.
Pervicacis[5] et versuti
Tuae cedat vis virtuti,
Dolus providentiae.

Ready for battle,
may we be safe[6] as long as you watch over us.
May the violence of the stubborn and cunning man
give way to your virtue,
may the evil intent give way to Providence.

12

Iesu, verbum summi[v] patris,
Serva servos tuae matris,
Salva reos, salva gratis[vi]
Et nos tuae claritatis
Configura gloriae.

Jesus, Word of the highest Father,
preserve the servants of your mother,
save the guilty ones, save us without payment
and fashion us to the glory
of your brightness.


[1] castitatis] castistitatis Librone 1, B

[2] virtutum] vitutum Librone 1, B

[3] ordinaris] ordinaris ris Librone1, C; ordinaras Librone 1, T

[4] supplantent] supplantent tent Librone 1, B

[5] pervicacis] pernicacis Librone 1, C T

[6] may be we safe] simus tuti has been translated here with a present tense passive with respect to the syntactic phenomenon called ‘periphrastische Passivierung’ observed by Peter Stotz, Handbuch zur lateinischen Sprache des Mittelalters, Vierter Band: Formenlehre Syntax und Stilistik (Munich: Verlag C. H. Beck, 1998), ix, §77.1, p. 350: ‘Im Vlat. und im Rom. sind die kompakten Passivformen der Prs.-Tempora vom Typus amor durch Periphrase abgelöst worden, v. a. nach dem … Typus amatus sum.’


[i] mysteria] musteria Librone 1, A

[ii] sideribus] syderibus Librone 1, A B

[iii] caritas] charitas Librone 1, C A T B

[iv] procinctu] procintu Librone 1, C

[v] summi] sumi Librone 1, B

[vi] gratis] grattis Librone 1, C B

This edition reflects the text transmitted in Librone 1, ff. 87v–90r written by Scribe B, like the other motets of this cycle. He inserted some mistakes (for instance ‘castistitatis’ for castitatis and ‘vitutum’ for virtutum in B; ‘ordinarisris’ in C and ‘ordinaras’ in T for ordinaris) as well as phonetic variants (for instance the typical omission of double consonants as ‘sumi’ (B) for summi or redundant consonants as ‘grattis’ (C B) for gratis).
The text of this third motet of the cycle is again devoted to Mary and was drawn from the same sequence of Adam of Saint-Victor (AH 54, no. 245, pp. 383–86) as in the two preceding motets. The motet is quite long and comprises three parts, for which Gaffurius utilized all of the remaining verses from the sequence (13 to 24). As has been noted before,[1] Gaffurius utilized the sequence’s text almost without modifications, except for the position of verse 18 (which corresponds to no. 10 in the present edition). Although other explanations are possible,[2] it is likely that he undertook this modification in order to create a compact block of texts that deal with the semantic field of vision, as the references to light (lux) and flame (ardor) in verse 18 (= no. 10), to the action of seeing (tueri) in verse 23 (= no. 11), and the image of brightness (claritas) in verse 24 (= no. 12) demonstrate. In this subsection of the motet formed by verses 18 (= no. 10) and 23 (= no. 11) Gaffurius is ‘textually’ preparing the scene for the liturgical moment in which verse 24 (= no. 12) finally resounds, namely at the climax of mass, the Elevation of the Host. With these references Gaffurius thus connects the motet to the Elevation of the Eucharist, which in the late Middle Ages was received in a form of ‘ocular’ communion.[3]


[1] Eva Ferro, ‘“Old Texts for New Music”? Textual and Philological Observations on the Cycles “Salve Mater Salvatoris” and “Ave Domine Iesu Christe” from Librone 1’, in Motet Cycles between Devotion and Liturgy, ed. Daniele V. Filippi and Agnese Pavanello, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Scripta 7 (Basel: Schwabe, 2019), 189–218, at 197–99.

[2] See also the Introduction to the cycle.

[3] Thomas Lentes, ‘“As far as the eye can see...”: Rituals of Gazing in the Late Middle Ages’, in The Mind’s Eye: Art and Theological Argument in the Middle Ages, ed. Jeffrey F. Hamburger and Anne-Marie Bouché (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006), 360–72, at 362.

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Measure Voice Source Category Comment Image
I-Mfd1 rubrics and verbal directions ‘F. G.’ added later by Gaffurius
I-Mfd1 designation of voices –, Contra acutus, Tenor, Contra gravis
I-Mfd1 clefs original clefs: c1, c3, c4, c4
100 3 I-Mfd1 pitch and rhythm c' Sb and b Mi (written in smaller size) are probably a correction of a previous mistake Show
139-140 4 I-Mfd1 rubrics and verbal directions ‘Verte’ direction at f. 89r (B), pointing to the conclusion of the piece on the following opening, and corresponding to the passage between mm. 139 and 140 in the edition
161 3 I-Mfd1 pitch and rhythm the Br g, smaller than the others and with a slightly different shape, has probably been added later Show
204 2 I-Mfd1 musical symbols fermata missing
Text
Edition Translation

Tu thronus es Salomonis,
Cui nullus par in thronis
Arte vel materia.

You are the throne of Salomon,
to which none is equal among the thrones
for its quality or material.

Ebur candens castitatis,
Aurum fulvum claritatis,
Praesignans mysteria.

Shining ivory of chastity,
yellow gold of brightness
that foreshadows the mysteries.

Palmam praefers singularem
Nec in terris habes parem
Nec in caeli curia.

You hold forth an extraordinary palm branch
and you neither have an equal on earth
nor among the celestial court.

Laus humani generis,
Virtutum prae ceteris
Habes privilegia.

You are the praise of the human species;
the privileges of virtues beyond all others
you possess.

Sol luna lucidior
Et luna sideribus
Sic Maria dignior
Creaturis omnibus.

As the Sun is brighter than the moon
and moon is brighter than the stars,
Thus is Mary more worthy
than all creatures.

Salve, mater pietatis
Et totius trinitatis
Nobile triclinium,

Hail, Mother of Compassion
and noble chamber
of the whole Trinity,

Verbi tamen incarnati
Speciale maiestati
Praeparans hospitium.

preparing a special lodging
for the majesty
of the word made flesh

O Maria, stella maris,
Dignitate singularis
Super omnes ordinaris
Ordines caelestium.

O Mary, star of the sea
of singular dignity,
you are ordained above all
the orders of the heavens.

In supremo sita poli
Nos assigna tuae proli
Ne terrores sive doli
Nos supplantent hostium.

Placed in the very height of heaven,
commend us to your Child,
lest the terrors or evils
of our enemies overthrow us.

Lux eclipsim nesciens
Virginis est castitas,
Ardor indeficiens
Immortalis caritas.

The chastity of the Virgin
is a light that does not know eclipse,
is a flame that never ceases,
is immortal love.

In procinctu constituti
Te tuente simus tuti.
Pervicacis et versuti
Tuae cedat vis virtuti,
Dolus providentiae.

Ready for battle,
may we be safe as long as you watch over us.
May the violence of the stubborn and cunning man
give way to your virtue,
may the evil intent give way to Providence.

Iesu, verbum summi patris,
Serva servos tuae matris,
Salva reos, salva gratis
Et nos tuae claritatis
Configura gloriae.

Jesus, Word of the highest Father,
preserve the servants of your mother,
save the guilty ones, save us without payment
and fashion us to the glory
of your brightness.