Anyone know Medieval Latin : )

Hi,

I found a very pretty medival woodcut in an astrology book and I didn't pay as much attention in High School Latin (many, many years ago) as I should've : ) The Phrase reads (as near as I can tell) "Altior Incubuit, Animus Subimaqine Mundi"...The "mundi" I remembered, lol, it should be world or universe. And if "animus" is the same from psychology class, would it be soul, spirit, mind, conciousness, will or memory? I tried looking the words up and came up with:

Altior= nourish, cherish, support, sustain, maintain, keep
Incubit= to hang over, lie heavily upon, dwell in, watch over
Animus= soul, spirit, mind, conciousness, will, memory
Subimanqine= to put down, suddenly, unexpectedly, to yolk beneath, join, attach, subdue, subjugate
Mundi= world or universe

Would this translation be close...

Keep watch over (us?,) joining (together our) spirits/souls/minds/consciousness' and the universe/ or world?

I know it's a strange request, but it's *such* a pretty picture, lol! : )

Thanks!

Marigold

"Altior Incubuit Animus Sub Imagine Mundi"

Is the motto of the Italian Corpo Geografico Militare.

Ross, Marco, Scion and others may be able to help with a better translation than I.

Kwaw

I make it to be: the higher mind covers the whole world.

marigold's said:

Hi,
Altior= nourish, cherish, support, sustain, maintain, keep
Incubit= to hang over, lie heavily upon, dwell in, watch over
Animus= soul, spirit, mind, conciousness, will, memory
Subimanqine= to put down, suddenly, unexpectedly, to yolk beneath, join, attach, subdue, subjugate
Mundi= world or universe

Click to expand...

Are you sure it reads subimanqine and not sub imagine as in the motto:

Altior Incubuit Animus Sub Imagine Mundi"

As well as being the motto of the Italian Corpo Geografico Militare it can also be found as legend to several 15th / 16th century astronomical illustrations .

I read it as something like the world (mundi) beneath or under (sub) is an image (imagine) of the higher(altior) soul (animus) that 'lays upon' or 'dwells within' it (incubuit).

Animus as well as those words already mentioned can mean heart, courage which is possible in the context of it being a military motto. Mundi also 'to clean' or 'pure' (noble courage guards the pure form within?), but in the context of geography and astronomy world makes more sense.

sub imagine is also an 'assumed form, shape, guise' as used in Ovid for example in relation to 'forms' taken on by the divine, for example when Jupiter takes a human 'form, shape' to come down to earth, humana sub imagine terra; Or when the woman Deidamia hides under the 'guise' of a man: occultum falsi sub imagine sexus; or when Actaeon is changed into a stag "Dum fugit Actaeon timidi sub imagine cerui." A formula of transformation or metamorphosis in Ovid, otherwise literally under likeness.

So perhaps the idea is of the world being the assumed form of the higher soul within it? Or that the higher assumes a 'soul' to descend to the world? Or the higher 'animus' lays or stretches or watches over the form of the world (closer I think to how Fudagazi reads it)? Or the world[mundi] is under likeness, guise [sub imagine] of the higher, lofty, noble [altior] soul, spirit [animus] that hangs over or dwells within it [incubuit]?

Word order in latin is a real bugger

Scion, Marco, Ross...anyone???