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Age cuncta nuptiali
redimita vere tellus
celebra toros eriles ;
omne nemus cum fluviis,
omne canat profundum
Ligures favete campi,
Veneti favete montes,
subitisque se rosetis
vestiat Alpinus apex
et rubeant pruinae.
Athesis strepat choreis
calamisque flexuosus
leve Mincius susurret
et Padus electriferis
admoduletur alnis ;
epulisque iam repleto
resonet Quirite Thybris
dominique laeta votis
aurea septemgeminas
Roma coronet arces.
procul audiant Hiberi,
fluit unde semen aulae,
ubi plena laurearum
imperio feta domus
vix numerat triumphos.
habet hinc patrem maritus,
habet hinc puella matrem
geminaque parte ductum
Caesareum flumineo
stemma recurrit ortu.
decorent virecta Baetim,
Tagus intumescat auro
generisque procreator
sub vitreis Oceanus
luxurietur antris.
Oriensque regna fratrum
simul Occidensque plaudat ;
placide iocentur urbes,
quaeque novo quaeque nitent
deficiente Phoebo.
Aquiloniae procellae,
rabidi tacete Cauri,
taceat sonorus Auster.
solus ovantem Zephyrus
perdominetur annum.
J. Novák sets stanzas 1-3, 9
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Ludwig Jeep, Claudii Claudiani carmina vol. I, Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1876, pages 95-97.
Text Authorship:
- by Claudius Claudianus (c370 - c404), no title, appears in Fescennina de nuptiis Honorii Augusti, no. 2 [author's text checked 1 time 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), "Fescenninum", stanzas 1-3,9, from Cantica latina, no. 18 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 45
Word count: 132
Come, all the earth,
wreathed in nuptial Spring,
celebrate your master's marriage;
let every wood with its rivers,
let every abyss sing.
Ligurian fields, show your favor,
Venetian mountains, show your favor,
and with sudden fields of roses
let the Alpine peak be clothed,
and the frost grow red.
Let the river Adige resound with choruses
and the winding Mincio
murmur softly with its reeds
and the Po harmonize
with its amber-bearing alders ;
and with well-feasted Romans
let the Tiber resound
and, delighting in its lord's vows,
let golden Rome deck
the seven hills with garlands.
Let them hear far away in Iberia,
whence flows the seed of the royal court,
where, abounding in laurels,
the fruitful home of empire
can scarcely count its triumphs.
Hence comes the bridegroom's father,
hence comes the bride's mother
and, directed on either side,
the bloodline of the Caesars
flows like a river from its source.
Let swathes of green adorn the Guadalquivir,
let the Tagus swell with gold
and the founder of the lineage,
Oceanus, frolic
in his glittering caverns.
Let East and West together,
the kingdoms of brothers, applaud;
let the cities peacefully celebrate,
both those lit by the sun's rising
and those by its setting.
Storms of the north wind,
of the wild northwest wind, fall silent;
let the loud south wind fall silent.
Let the eastern breeze alone
rule throughout this joyous year.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Fescenninum" = "Fescennine"
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.
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Based on:
- a text in Latin by Claudius Claudianus (c370 - c404), no title, appears in Fescennina de nuptiis Honorii Augusti, no. 2
This text was added to the website: 2026-10-10
Line count: 45
Word count: 234
