A poem dedicated to the memory of the late Duke Eric of Friuli, composed by Patriarch of Aquileia Paulinus II.
Versus Paulini de Herico duce
| [1] | Mecum Timavi saxa novem flumina flete per novem fontes redundantia, quę salsa gluttit unda ponti Ionici, Istris, Sausque, Tissa, Culpa, Marua, Natissa, Corca, gurgites Isoncii. |
| [2] | Herico michi dulce nomen plangite, Sirmium, Polla, tellus Aquilegiae, Iulii Forus, Cormonis ruralia, rupes Osopi, iuga Cetenensium, Hastensis humus ploret et Albenganus. |
| [3] | Nec tu cessare, de cuius confinio est oriundus, urbs dives Argentae, lugere multo gravique cum gemitu, civem famosam predidisti nobili, germine natum claroque de sanguine. |
| [4] | Barbara lingua Stratiburgus diceris: olim quod nomen ammisisti celebre, hoc ego tibi reddidi mellisonum, amice dulcis ab amorem, qui fuit lacte nutritus iuxta flumen Quirnea. |
| [5] | Ecclesiarum largus in donariis, pauperum pater, miseris subsidium, hic viduarum summa consolatio erat: quam mittis, carus sacerdotibus, potens in armis, subtilis ingenio. |
| [6] | Barbaras gentes domuit sevissimas, cingit quas Drawa, recludit Danubius, celat quas iunco paludes Meotides, ponti quo artat quas unda salsiflui, Dalmaciarum quibus obstat terminus. |
| [7] | Turres Stratonis, limitis principium, Scithie metas, Stratie qui cardinem a se sequestrat utraque confinia hec Austro reddit, hec refundit Boreę, tendit ad portas, quę dicuntur Caspię. |
| [8] | Libicuma litus, quo redundant maria, mons inimice, Laurentus qui diceris, vos super unquam imber, ros, nec pluvia descendant, flores nec tellus purpureas germinet, humus nec fructus triticeos. |
| [9] | Ulmus nec vitem gemmato cum pampino sustentet, uvas nec in ramis pendeat, frondeat ficus sicco semper stipite, fera nec rubus mala granis Punica, promat irsutus nec globus castaneas. |
| [10] | Ubi cecidit vir fortis in proelio clipeo fracto, cruentata romphea, lancae summo retunsona iaculo sagittis fossum fundis saxa fortia corpus ingesta contrivisse dicitur. |
| [11] | Heu, quam durum quamque triste nuntium illa sub die deflenda percrepuit, nam clamor ante orrendus per plateas lacrimis dignus sonuitque tristia eius per verba mors esset exposita. |
| [12] | Matres, mariti, pueri, iuvencule, domini, servi, sexus omnis, tenera aetas pervalde, sacerdotum inclita caterva, pugnis sauciata pectora crinibus vulsis ululabant pariter. |
| [13] | Deus aeterne, limi qui de pulvere plasmasti tuam primos ad imaginem parentes nostros, per quos omnes morimur, misisti tuum sed dilectum filium, vivimus omnes per quem mirabiliter. |
| [14] | Sanguine cuius redempti purpureo sumus, sacrata cuius carne sumimurb, Herico tuo servulo mellifluo, concede, quęso, paradisi gaudia et nunc et ultra per immensa secula. |
a) sic B: pro Liburnicum, sicut ed. Dümmler. b) sic B: pro pascimur, sicut ed. Dümmler.
The poem dedicated to Duke Eric of Friuli by his contemporary and personal friend Patriarch Paulinus II of Aquileia is a unique piece of early medieval literature that deserves to be studied primarily from a literary perspective.
In the context of Istrian medieval history, however, the poem is important for different reasons. Namely, Paulinus’s geographical delineation of the places which mourned Eric’s death includes Istria, more precisely, the city of Pula.
These lines have traditionally been taken, especially by Roberto Cessi and Carlo Guido Mor, as undisputed argument that Eric's March of Friuli indeed encompassed Istria within its jurisdictional territory. Since there are no primary sources that would either explicitly confirm or contradict this argument, the interpretation remains valid to this day; the readers should be aware that the main argument for this thesis stems from this panegyrical poem.
Following Eric's death, the next recorded duke of Friuli was Cadolah († 829) who also appears as Charlemagne’s official envoy (Lat. missus dominicus) in 804 at the Placitum of Rižana (see the document here).
Finally, the poem has been put to music and the performance by Katia Caré and Ensemble Ligeriana, as featured in the album Carmina Carolingiana: Chants épiques au temps de Charlemagne, published by Ligia, can be heard here.
The images of the manuscript were downloaded from the official webpage of Bibliothèque Nationale de France.