Week 15: Heloisa Background | Background Quiz | Starting Assumptions | Resources | Extras Vocabulary | Etymology | Grammar | Perseus Dictionary | Perseus Tool Reading Overview | Reading Quiz: English | Reading Quiz: Latin Discussion Questions | Latin Composition | Weekly Checklist

Latin Composition

A draft of your composition work (A and B) is due by Friday midnight. It will be returned to your with comments, corrections, hints and suggestions on Saturday. The final draft is due by Monday midnight. Note: This first draft is required: if you do not turn in a draft of the composition by Friday midnight, you will receive no composition credit for the week.

** If you are not an OU student, I will try to mark your compositions as well; send it to laura-gibbs@ou.edu and make sure you put MEDIEVAL LATIN in the subject line **

A. Answer the questions - in Latin...! Please make sure that your email contains both the question and the answer. If you are having trouble with this exercise, check out these Hints for Answering Questions in Latin.

B. Write a small Latin composition on your own. You will choose either to describe a picture or to write a small monologue/dialogue. If you are having trouble with this exercise, check out these Hints for Free Composition in Latin.

• When describing a picture, do not say "in the picture" or "the picture shows"... instead, imagine you are looking at the actual scene itself, and describe the scene ("the sheep are sleeping", "the fox is dead", "the woman is very beautiful"). Examples.
• When writing a dialogue, do not use indirect speech ("Samson says... Delilah says..."), but just write out what the characters say - don't worry, I should be able to figure out who's talking! Examples.

1. Quare Abelardus epistulam ad amicum scripsit?
2. Cuius invidiam Abelardus in epistula referebat?
3. In quem pericula adhuc crescunt?
4. Quis Heloisam contristare et letificare valet?
5. Quis corporis Heloisae et animi possessor est?
6. Cuius nomen Heloisae dulcius est: uxoris aut amicae?
7. Quid Heloisam ad vitam monasticam pertraxit?
8. Quare Heloisa mercedem a Deo non expectat?
9. Quo Abelardus Heloisam in ore omnium ponebat?
10. Quem Abelardus in libidinem olim excitabat?

B. Latin composition

Dialogue/Monologue: Choose one of the following scenes and write the words you can imagine the characters saying. You should write 5 sentences that are each at least four words long each. Please please do not use an English-Latin dictionary. You should have plenty of vocabulary from this week's reading to write your description!

• Epitaphium Heloisae et Abelardi. What Latin epitaph would you compose for the tomb of Abelard and Heloise in Paris? (You might want to take a look at these Roman epitaphs if you are curious about the style of epitaphs in Latin.)
• Paucis verbis et simpliciter (A). Imagine that in addition to her letter to Abelard, Heloise also sends him a telegram, 25 words or less. What would she want to say to Abelard in this telegram? What does she want to say to him most of all?
• Paucis verbis et simpliciter (B). Imagine that Abelard has just received this letter from Heloise. It is clear that she wants him to write back right away so he decides to send her a telegram, 25 words or less. What kind of reply does Abelard make to Heloise's letter in this telegram? What does he want to say to her most of all?
• Interrogatio. Imagine that you are given the incredible opportunity to ask Heloise five questions in Latin: what would you ask her? (You do not have to write the answers; just write out the questions that you would ask Heloise if you had a chance to do that.)
• Heloisa Astrolabio. Imagine that Heloise decides to write a letter to her son Astrolabius. What would she want to say to him? How would she explain the fact that she did not raise him herself? What would she want her son to know about her life? What would she want Astrolabius to know about his father?