Wisdom from Edith + Medieval Poetry!
A Poem by St. Venantius Fortunatus to the Lady Radegunde
To the Lady Radegunde with a Bunch of Flowers
O Queen, that art so high
Purple and gold thou passest by,
With these poor flowers thy lover
worships thee.
Though all thy wealth thou hast
flung far from thee,
Wilt thou not hold
The violet’s purple and the crocus’ gold?
Take this poor offering,
For it thy thoughts shall bring
To that blest light that is to
dawn for thee,
Fields bright as these,
And richer fragrances.
And when thou comest there,
Hear, O my Saint, my prayer,
And may thy kind hand draw
me after thee.
Yet, thou thine eyes
Already look on flowers of paradise,
These thine own flowers
Would have thee out of doors.
Yea, thou the flowers of paradise
are sweet,
These fain would lie
Where thou wert passing by.
(reprinted from Helen Waddell’s out of print but lovely translation of Venantius Fortunatus found in Medieval Latin Lyrics.)
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