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Translation for a ring

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 4:57 am
by Aulus Flavius
Salve amici,

I'm looking at getting a Romanesque ring made for myself. However after looking through pages and pages of rings, I've come to the conclusion that they were just as individual as the people who wore them.

So with that in mind I'm thinking of getting a ring with the phrase "Eternal Rome, Light of the World" engraved around the outside of it. The only problem is I have an abysmal grasp of Latin. I think the translation would be "Roma aeterna, lux mundi (orbis?)". Emphasis on the 'think' there.

If anyone here could give me a hand with translation, I would much appreciate it.

Vale,

A. Flavius

Mundi, Orbis

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:57 am
by Aldus Marius
Salve iterum, mi Flavi!

Mundi would probably work; I'm not the expert either... I have seen orbis in this context, and when I have, it's almost always been orbis terrarum. My own preference would be for this phrase; it's attested (it's even on the backs of coins, in sayings very like the one you're considering), and its length gives it that extra bit of Roman majesty.

Hei, now that Gnaeus Draco's back, maybe we should ask him? >({(;-)


In amicitia,

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:59 am
by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco
Salvete sodales,

Though I was Societas-renowned as the dreaded Latin Inquisition, there have always been better latinists in the Societas than me - just no one that was as willing as me to provide people with pedantic corrections when they failed to construct a good vocative case :).

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. If you want to make your inscription to seem truly Roman, drop the commas and make it all caps. Unlike ancient Greek, Latin didn't have uppercase and lowercase.

ROMA AETERNA LUX MUNDI seems good. You could also make it ROMA AETERNA LUCIFER (light-bearer), but that may sound too much like you're a Satanist. Orbis terrarum is another term for "world" I believe the Vatican uses, but I'm not sure if the ancients used it.

Valete!
Draco

In orbit

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:45 pm
by Aldus Marius
A sestertius of Hadrian bills him as Restitutori Orbis Terrarum. By Aurelian's time, the emperors were getting called Restitutor Orbi with some regularity on the coinage.

My two silvers...

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:27 pm
by Aulus Flavius
Salve amici,

Thank you both for the help. Latin was never my strong point, it's a very specific language. restitutor orbis is a phrase you tend to see in the later history of the Empire, especially Aurelian as Marius pointed out. However I was never too sure if orbis referred to the physical earth or more to the concept of a world.

Someone on another site suggested I might also try to include some reference to my family. Personally I've never seen any rings online that seem to indicate family association. So whilst I would like to get the above phrase inscribed on the outside the ring, would it perhaps be worth it to have a simple GENS FLAVIA on the inside?

Vale,

A. Flavius

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:57 pm
by Aulus Flavius
I just found a site featuring a number of rings, many of them from the legions. Go towards the bottom of the page.

http://romanofficer.com/permcol.html

Hoo Boy...

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 4:55 am
by Aldus Marius
Disclaimer: I didn't look at the whole thing.

Advisory: I couldn't look at the whole thing; my eyes were watering too hard!

The shop sells (let me see if I have this straight) "reproductions" made from "molds" of "original artifacts". Anyone who has tried to make a copy of a copy of a copy will know how muddy that gets. Strangely, none of his items can be sourced beyond "An antiquities dealer in Beaverville". The owner's other interests are King Arthur, "Lost Secrets of the Knights Templar", and the Amazons. He's really proud of having produced things for Hollywood. "Would you buy a used parazonium from this man?" ...Na, I'll pass.

In the circles I run in, if anyone had discovered an entire Attic helmet, Greek or Roman, I'd have heard about it the semester after Mike Bishop [Authority in the Field] did. I'd have remembered it, too, if it'd come out looking as much like those plastic Hallowe'en jobs as that one does. There's the "original artifact" *that* mold was made from...

The rest of the stuff pretty much follows suit. None of it is described in the terms used by archaeologists to make sure they're all talking about the same thing. The art pieces are not Roman in style, let alone accurate for their supposed period. I admit I have no idea what "Romano-Sarmato-Chinese" would look like or how it would end up in Teutoberg Wald, so maybe those bits are accurate...but I wouldn't stake my ring-finger or any amount of money on it.

Gratias tibi, mi Aule, for siccing me on this fraud, albeit unintentionally...and for treating me to a very hearty laugh at the proprietor's expense. >({|;-)

In fide,