The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #107369   Message #4157841
Posted By: leeneia
16-Nov-22 - 04:49 PM
Thread Name: personent hodie - help with Latin
Subject: who can translate Latin?
'Personent hodie' is a Christmas song printed in 1582 with songs that seem to go further back. Here are the words to the song, and I am interested in a literal translation. There are supposed translations online, but they seem to vary quite a bit from the original.

Can anybody translate this? I'm not asking for rhythm or rhyme.

1. Personent hodie voces puerulæ
Laudantes iucunde qui nobis est natus,
Summo Deo datus, & de vir-vir-vir,
& de vir-vir, & de virgineo ventre procreatus.

2. In mundo nascitur, pannis inuoluitur,
Præsepi ponitur stabulo brutorum,
Rector supernorum,1 perdidit spolia princeps infernorum.

3. Magi tres venerunt, paruulum inquirunt,
Stellulam sequendo, ipsum adorando,2
Aurum, thus, & myrrham ei offerendo.

4. Omnes clericuli, pariter pueri,
Cantent vt angeli, aduenisti mundo,
Laudes tibi fundo. Ideo gloria in excelsis Deo.