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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation © by Grant Hicks

Gravidae querela
Language: Latin 
Our translations:  ENG
Huc usque, me miseram!
rem bene celaveram
  et amavi callide.

res mea tandem patuit,
nam venter intumuit,
  partus instat gravidae.

hinc mater me verberat,
hinc pater improperat,
  ambo tractant aspere.

sola domi sedeo,
egredi non audeo
  nec inpalam ludere.

cum foris egredior,
a cunctis inspicior,
  quasi monstrum fuerim.

cum vident hunc uterum,
alter pulsat alterum,
  silent, dum transierim.

semper pulsant cubito,
me designant digito,
  ac si mirum fecerim.

nutibus me indicant,
dignam rogo iudicant,
  quod semel peccaverim.

quid percurram singula?
ego sum in fabula
  et in ore omnium.

ex eo vim patior,
iam dolore morior,
  semper sum in lacrimis.

hoc dolorem cumulat,
quod amicus exulat
  propter illud paululum.

ob patris saevitiam
recessit in Franciam
  a finibus ultimis.

sum in tristitia
de eius absentia
  in doloris cumulum.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author ( 12th/13th century ) , from Carmina Burana, 126.  [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Jan Novák (1921 - 1984), "Gravidae querela", from Cantica latina, no. 27 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Pregnant Woman's Lament", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 39
Word count: 126

Pregnant Woman's Lament
Language: English  after the Latin 
Until now — poor me! —
I had concealed the matter 
  and loved shrewdly.

My situation is at last revealed,
for my belly has become swollen;
  birth nears for this mother-to-be.
 
On one side Mother beats me,
on the other Father reproaches me;
  both treat me harshly.

I sit alone at home,
I don't dare to go out
  nor to enjoy myself in public.

When I go outdoors,
I am watched by everyone,
  as if I were a monster.

When they see this womb
they nudge each other;
  they fall silent until I have passed by.

They always nudge with an elbow,
point a finger at me,
  as if I've done something unheard of.

They point me out with a nod,
judge me worthy of the pyre,
  because I have made one mistake.

Why run through things one by one?
I am a subject of gossip
  and in everyone's mouth.

For this I suffer violence,
now I am dying from the pain,
  I am always in tears.

It increases the pain,
that my friend is in exile 
  because of this trifle.

On account of his father's rage
he has retreated to France
  at its farthest borders.

I am in sadness 
over his absence 
  to the summit of pain.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in Latin by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , from Carmina Burana, 126.
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2026-02-07
Line count: 39
Word count: 208

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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