133:. He had noticed that the boys could not remember Priscian as prose, so he translated its rules into verse form. When Alexander was away one day, the bishop asked his nephews a grammar question, and was surprised when they answered in verse. The bishop persuaded Alexander to compile and to publish an entire book of such verses, which became the
729:
once complained of "those
Ostrogothic verses that made me sick to my heart and could not get into my ear". Other children regarded the mnemonics more favourably, setting them to familiar tunes. Edward Hornby would recite the following, which he described as "little pearls of poetry", to the tune of
117:
had been prose works, with the only verse therein being citations from Roman poets; although some, such as those by Petrus Helias and Paolo da
Camaldoli, contain mnemonic verses. Critics of Alexander at the time considered it to be "a monstrous idea to squeeze an entire grammar into verses".
828:
A longer sentence is "malo malo malo malo malo malo malo, quam dente vento occurrere". This uses additional meanings for "malo" and translates to "I would rather meet with a bad apple, with a bad tooth, than a bad mast with a bad
389:". Its use by Middleton is in fact a pun. It has both a surface meaning on the precious metals in the treasure chest and a deeper meaning, given the "doubtful gender" title of the verse, on Follywit's own cross-dressing.
683:
asked "whose heart has not been stirred in early youth by the solemn chant" of this mnemonic, saying that "in this meaningless collocation of syllables we seem to hear the low rumbling of thunder of the
101:
verse produced in 1199. It was used as a standard Latin grammar textbook across Europe for three centuries, and continued to be used in Italy and other places until relatively recently. Apart from
35:. Such mnemonics have been considered by teachers to be an effective technique for schoolchildren to learn the complex rules of Latin accidence and syntax. One of their earliest uses was in the
249:" and "mÄlo." One of its functions is to remind students that the ablative of comparison does not employ a preposition and that the preposition typically employed with the ablative of place
718:'s 1962 song about this calls it "le plus vieux tango du monde" (the world's oldest tango) which fair-haired youngsters "Ănonnent comme une ronde En apprenant leur latin" (drone like a
168:
or other versified grammars. This method of Latin grammar instruction was used by teachers well into the 20th century, it still being used in
English schools in the 1950s and 1960s.
174:
wrote several mnemonic poems, with the intention of helping students to remember various parts of Latin grammar, prosody, and rhetoric, which were published as
818:
There were 46 editions printed in Italy alone before 1500. Its use died out in German schools around 1520, but the last
Italian edition was published in 1588.
86:
Mnemonic rhymes have been considered by teachers to be an effective technique for schoolchildren to learn the complex rules of Latin accidence and syntax.
688:
and are naturally led to contrast it with the light tripping of the banded prepositions that favour the accusative". A similar example is the
286:, from a mnemonic poem entitled "The Third Special Rule", the particular verse of which is entitled "Nouns of the doubtful Gender excepted":
68:, he used the words of a Latin mnemonic that he had found in a Latin grammar book belonging to Myfanwy Piper's aunt for Miles' "malo" song.
673:
144:(incidentally Alexander's harshest critic) who wrote grammatical treatises in verse, Simon di Vercelli ("Maestro Sion") who wrote
1485:
1238:
253:
is sometimes omitted (typically in verse). Thus "in an apple tree" can be rendered "malo", instead of the more common "in malo".
1450:
141:
1523:
1176:
1116:
1091:
1052:
1009:
981:
956:
926:
888:
863:
731:
1406:
213:
64:
148:
somewhere between 1244 and 1268 (it only being transcribed by one of his pupils when he died in 1290), and
1480:
1231:
693:
1495:
1490:
1196:
279:
126:
1500:
171:
1206:
679:
Such a mnemonic is a simple collection of words, and the musical rhythm acts as an aid to memory.
1443:
1154:
262:
1224:
382:
94:
40:
918:
149:
726:
910:
245:
sentence "malo malo malo malo", where each is a different meaning for one of the two words "
1400:
1385:
161:
54:
Authors who have borrowed Latin mnemonics from Latin textbooks for their own works include
221:
used the words of a Latin mnemonic that he had found in a Latin grammar book belonging to
8:
1183:
1200:
1148:
1528:
1436:
1353:
102:
74:
wrote a song in 1962 about a Latin mnemonic verse. Some mnemonics have been recited to
1475:
1395:
1390:
1321:
1172:
1112:
1087:
1048:
1005:
977:
952:
922:
911:
884:
859:
1107:
Helen
Ostovich; Mary V. Silcox; Graham Roebuck (1999). "A Puppet Play In Pictures".
176:
An Easy
Introduction of Grammar in English for the Understanding of the Latin Tongue
1375:
1370:
257:
218:
59:
55:
51:
mnemonic verses continued to be used in
English schools until the 1950s and 1960s.
270:
Ha! Now, by my faith, a gentlewoman of very good parts: diamond, ruby, sapphire, â
1282:
680:
788:
775:
312:
1308:
43:
written in 1199 as an entire grammar of the language comprising 2,000 lines of
758:
643:
587:
566:
500:
469:
413:
347:
328:
324:
182:. One of the shorter ones is "Of Knowing the Gender of Nouns by Termination":
1517:
1412:
719:
397:
222:
32:
780:
767:
750:
639:
625:
600:
591:
562:
538:
513:
504:
465:
451:
426:
417:
361:
343:
332:
316:
303:
299:
295:
274:â. If I do not wonder how the quean 'scaped tempting, I'm an hermaphrodite!
1380:
715:
266:
the character
Follywit addresses a treasure chest that he is about to rob:
140:
Many grammarians adopted
Alexander's innovation soon afterwards, including
71:
1106:
784:
771:
754:
701:
633:
621:
604:
546:
534:
517:
459:
447:
430:
307:
246:
194:
1417:
393:
762:
647:
629:
608:
558:
542:
521:
479:
455:
434:
156:
in 1212. From that point onwards, it was rare for a grammatical work to
97:, which was an entire grammar of the language comprising 2,000 lines of
1295:
651:
612:
595:
583:
554:
525:
508:
496:
475:
438:
421:
409:
160:
at least contain the principal rules as mnemonic verses. Even the new
1337:
1267:
1109:
Other Voices, Other Views: Expanding the Canon in
English Renaissance
685:
164:
grammars of the 15th century included mnemonic verses excerpted from
75:
663:
A longer companion verse for the accusative case ended with the line
616:
579:
529:
492:
405:
1459:
130:
98:
44:
28:
89:
One of the earliest uses of mnemonic verse to teach Latin was the
242:
1216:
320:
110:
442:
125:
in fact arose by accident. Alexander had been employed by the
1248:
1024:
881:
Arabic in Chains: Structural Problems and Artificial Barriers
692:
mnemonic, used by French schoolchildren, which is simply the
256:
Another author who borrowed from Latin grammar textbooks was
48:
1428:
1136:. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 153.
354:
1202:
Old Glasgow and Its Environs: Historical and Topographical
972:
Thomas Sheridan (1994). "Preface". In Robert Hogan (ed.).
16:
Mnemonic device for teaching and remembering Latin grammar
487:
John Barrow Allen translated it into English as follows:
913:
Humanism and Education in Medieval and Renaissance Italy
1131:
946:
1184:
https://archive.org/details/KennedysShorterLatinPrimer
1002:
The Operas of Benjamin Britten: Expression and Evasion
1043:
Thomas Middleton (1998). Globe Theatre Staff (ed.).
129:
to teach Latin to his nephews, using the grammar of
113:
in 1493, all ancient grammatical texts prior to the
1071:. Eton, England: E. Williams. 1818. pp. 66â67.
574:Another version, taught in the 1950s, was :-
1146:
1515:
1081:
1042:
853:
392:A Latin rhyme for remembering the list of Latin
1082:Thomas Middleton (1998). Michael Taylor (ed.).
971:
999:
951:. Cambridge University Press. pp. 45â46.
949:Humanism and the Culture of Renaissance Europe
878:
1444:
1232:
1111:. University of Delaware Press. p. 103.
854:Francoise Waquet (2003). "A Familiar World".
976:. University of Delaware Press. p. 15.
908:
1195:
370:Quamvis hĂŠc meliĂčs vult mascula dicier usus
1451:
1437:
1239:
1225:
1186:(Page 109) - This is the one I was taught.
1029:. Vol. 34. Metropolitan Opera Guild.
995:
993:
1086:. Oxford University Press. p. 313.
942:
940:
938:
849:
847:
845:
843:
725:Mnemonic rhymes have sometimes failed.
551:And unto these, if rest at be intended,
206:
1084:A Mad World, My Masters and Other Plays
1038:
1036:
1004:. Boydell and Brewer Ltd. p. 203.
917:. Cambridge University Press. pp.
904:
902:
900:
1516:
1025:Metropolitan Opera Guild (1969â1970).
990:
668:When MOTION 'tis, not STATE they mean.
377:The literal meaning of the phrase is "
278:The Latin phrase is a line taken from
107:De litteris syllabis et metris Horatii
1432:
1220:
935:
858:(in Latin). Verso. pp. 110â112.
840:
657:When STATE not MOTION 'tis they mean.
400:is given by William Windham Bradley:
1047:. Nick Hern Books. pp. 58, 83.
1033:
897:
883:. Verlag Hans Schiler. p. 120.
199:Except they're from a Graecian line,
31:device for teaching and remembering
1069:An introduction to the Latin tongue
13:
241:The rhyme explains the Latin near-
62:. For example, in Britten's opera
14:
1540:
1246:
824:
814:
201:Or by their sense are Masculine.
1132:William Windham Bradley (1855).
947:Charles Garfield Nauert (2006).
732:Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
225:'s aunt for Miles' "malo" song:
1189:
1161:
1140:
1125:
1100:
1075:
1407:Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
1061:
1018:
965:
872:
722:whilst learning their Latin).
1:
1458:
833:
794:Third Nouns Feminine we class
180:A Method to Improve the Fancy
974:The Poems of Thomas Sheridan
805:
739:Third Nouns Masculine prefer
7:
1150:A first Latin exercise book
745:if its Cases have increase.
743:add to which the ending es,
10:
1545:
1147:John Barrow Allen (1875).
800:es in flexion unextended.
796:ending is, x, aus, and as,
81:
1466:
1366:
1255:
856:Or the Empire of the Sign
741:Endings o, or, os and er,
127:bishop of Dol-de-Bretagne
1524:Latin-language education
798:s to consonant appended,
234:MÄlo: Than a naughty boy
1045:A Mad World, My Masters
1000:Claire Seymour (2004).
879:Robert Marzari (2006).
748:Many neuters end in er,
672:A condensed version is
272:onyx cum prole silexque
263:A Mad World, My Masters
230:MÄlo: I would rather be
1169:A Shorter Latin Primer
803:
713:
661:
572:
485:
375:
276:
239:
232:MÄlo: In an apple tree
204:
95:Alexander of Villedieu
41:Alexander of Villedieu
909:Robert Black (2001).
736:
727:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
698:
576:
489:
402:
288:
284:Brevissima Institutio
268:
227:
214:The Turn of the Screw
207:Examples and analysis
184:
65:The Turn of the Screw
1401:Latino sine flexione
1386:Ecclesiastical Latin
710:rosarum rosis rosis
21:Latin mnemonic verse
236:MÄlo: In adversity
1354:Contemporary Latin
292:Sunt dubii generis
150:Everard de BĂ©thune
121:The verse form of
103:Terentianus Maurus
1511:
1510:
1426:
1425:
1396:Romance languages
1391:Neo-Latin studies
1361:
1360:
1322:Renaissance Latin
708:rosae rosae rosas
482:, si fit statio.
282:'s Latin grammar
1536:
1453:
1446:
1439:
1430:
1429:
1376:Latin literature
1371:History of Latin
1350:
1334:
1280:
1258:
1257:
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1227:
1218:
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962:
944:
933:
932:
916:
906:
895:
894:
876:
870:
869:
851:
827:
817:
706:rosae rosae rosa
694:first declension
258:Thomas Middleton
219:Benjamin Britten
146:Novum Doctrinale
109:, discovered at
60:Benjamin Britten
56:Thomas Middleton
1544:
1543:
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1348:
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1325:
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1307:
1299:
1294:
1286:
1283:Classical Latin
1281:
1276:
1271:
1266:
1251:
1245:
1215:
1214:
1194:
1190:
1179:
1167:
1166:
1162:
1145:
1141:
1134:Latin exercises
1130:
1126:
1119:
1105:
1101:
1094:
1080:
1076:
1067:
1066:
1062:
1055:
1041:
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984:
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841:
836:
808:
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792:
779:
766:
749:
747:
746:
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712:
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681:Thomas Thornely
670:
664:
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571:
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374:
368:
339:
311:
238:
235:
233:
231:
209:
203:
200:
198:
197:" them decline,
192:
172:Thomas Sheridan
142:John of Garland
84:
47:verse. Various
17:
12:
11:
5:
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1532:
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1367:
1364:
1363:
1359:
1358:
1344:
1342:
1328:
1326:
1315:
1313:
1309:Medieval Latin
1302:
1300:
1289:
1287:
1278:75 BC â 200 AD
1274:
1272:
1261:
1256:
1253:
1252:
1244:
1243:
1236:
1229:
1221:
1213:
1212:
1188:
1177:
1160:
1139:
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1117:
1099:
1092:
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1053:
1032:
1017:
1010:
989:
982:
964:
957:
934:
927:
896:
889:
871:
864:
838:
837:
835:
832:
831:
830:
819:
807:
804:
737:
699:
666:
577:
490:
403:
396:that take the
289:
260:. In his play
228:
208:
205:
191:make Feminine,
185:
83:
80:
25:mnemonic rhyme
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1541:
1530:
1527:
1525:
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1454:
1449:
1447:
1442:
1440:
1435:
1434:
1431:
1419:
1416:
1414:
1413:Hiberno-Latin
1411:
1409:
1408:
1404:
1402:
1399:
1397:
1394:
1392:
1389:
1387:
1384:
1382:
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1208:
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1203:
1198:
1192:
1185:
1180:
1178:0-582-36241-5
1174:
1170:
1164:
1156:
1152:
1151:
1143:
1135:
1128:
1120:
1118:0-87413-680-6
1114:
1110:
1103:
1095:
1093:0-19-283455-X
1089:
1085:
1078:
1070:
1064:
1056:
1054:1-85459-409-5
1050:
1046:
1039:
1037:
1028:
1021:
1013:
1011:1-84383-314-X
1007:
1003:
996:
994:
985:
983:0-87413-495-1
979:
975:
968:
960:
958:0-521-83909-2
954:
950:
943:
941:
939:
930:
928:0-521-40192-5
924:
920:
915:
914:
905:
903:
901:
892:
890:3-89930-119-6
886:
882:
875:
867:
865:1-85984-402-2
861:
857:
850:
848:
846:
844:
839:
826:
823:
820:
816:
813:
810:
809:
801:
790:
786:
782:
777:
773:
769:
764:
760:
756:
752:
735:
733:
728:
723:
721:
717:
711:
703:
697:
695:
691:
687:
682:
677:
675:
669:
665:
659:
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627:
623:
618:
614:
610:
606:
602:
597:
593:
589:
585:
581:
575:
570:
569:be appended.
568:
564:
560:
556:
548:
544:
540:
536:
531:
527:
523:
519:
515:
510:
506:
502:
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467:
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457:
453:
449:
444:
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436:
432:
428:
423:
419:
415:
411:
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399:
398:ablative case
395:
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371:
366:
363:
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265:
264:
259:
254:
252:
248:
244:
237:
226:
224:
223:Myfanwy Piper
220:
216:
215:
211:In his opera
202:
196:
193:If you like "
190:
187:All nouns in
183:
181:
177:
173:
169:
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163:
159:
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52:
50:
46:
42:
38:
34:
33:Latin grammar
30:
26:
22:
1470:
1405:
1381:Vulgar Latin
1346:
1345:
1330:
1329:
1317:
1316:
1304:
1303:
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825:
821:
815:
811:
738:
724:
716:Jacques Brel
714:
700:
689:
678:
671:
667:
662:
656:
578:
573:
491:
486:
404:
394:prepositions
391:
386:
378:
376:
369:
364:
357:
351:
340:
335:
291:
290:
283:
280:William Lily
277:
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210:
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186:
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139:
134:
122:
120:
114:
106:
90:
88:
85:
72:Jacques Brel
70:
63:
53:
36:
24:
20:
18:
1418:Judeo-Latin
1264:until 75 BC
1205:. pp.
1197:Robert Reid
1153:. pp.
1518:Categories
1486:Color code
1296:Late Latin
1027:Opera News
834:References
730:the hymn "
704:rosa rosam
166:Doctrinale
162:humanistic
154:Graecismus
152:who wrote
135:Doctrinale
123:Doctrinale
115:Doctrinale
91:Doctrinale
76:hymn tunes
37:Doctrinale
1529:Mnemonics
1481:Chemistry
1460:Mnemonics
1338:Neo-Latin
1318:1300â1500
1268:Old Latin
806:Footnotes
686:Dies Irae
472:, addito,
383:compounds
381:with its
358:cum prole
1305:700â1500
1247:Ages of
1199:(1864).
674:SIDSPACE
650:, and
131:Priscian
99:doggerel
45:doggerel
29:mnemonic
1496:Physics
1491:Medical
1349:present
1333:present
1292:200â700
829:wind.".
822:Note 2:
812:Note 1:
789:papaver
776:cadaver
313:Forceps
243:homonym
82:History
1501:Visual
1175:
1115:
1090:
1051:
1008:
980:
955:
925:
887:
862:
787:, and
774:, and
759:verber
644:subter
632:, and
615:, and
588:absque
567:subter
545:, and
501:absque
470:subter
414:absque
385:, and
348:natrix
329:pulvis
325:cortex
321:imbrex
111:Bobbio
1476:Lists
1471:Latin
1347:1900â
1331:1300â
1249:Latin
921:â77.
781:piper
768:tuber
751:siler
720:round
640:super
626:tenus
601:palam
592:coram
563:super
539:tenus
528:, or
514:palam
505:coram
466:super
458:, et
452:tenus
441:, et
427:palam
418:coram
387:silex
362:siléx
344:culex
333:adeps
317:pumex
304:cinis
300:margo
296:cardo
251:where
49:Latin
27:is a
1173:ISBN
1113:ISBN
1088:ISBN
1049:ISBN
1006:ISBN
978:ISBN
953:ISBN
923:ISBN
885:ISBN
860:ISBN
785:iter
772:uber
755:acer
702:rosa
690:rosa
638:Add
634:prae
622:sine
605:clam
553:Let
547:prae
535:sine
518:clam
464:His
460:prae
448:sine
431:clam
379:onyx
355:onyx
341:Adde
308:obex
247:mÄlo
195:Musa
178:and
58:and
1207:284
763:ver
734:":
648:sub
630:pro
609:cum
586:),
559:sub
543:pro
522:cum
499:),
480:sub
474:et
456:pro
435:cum
365:que
336:que
158:not
93:by
39:by
23:or
1520::
1171:.
1155:46
1035:^
992:^
937:^
919:75
899:^
842:^
783:,
770:,
761:,
757:,
753:,
696::
676:.
652:in
646:,
642:,
628:,
624:,
619:,
613:ex
611:,
607:,
603:,
598:,
596:de
594:,
590:,
584:ab
565:,
561:,
557:,
555:in
541:,
537:,
532:,
526:ex
524:,
520:,
516:,
511:,
509:de
507:,
503:,
497:ab
478:,
476:in
468:,
454:,
450:,
445:,
439:ex
437:,
433:,
429:,
424:,
422:de
420:,
416:,
412:,
410:ab
408:,
372:.
360:,
352:et
350:,
346:,
331:,
327:,
323:,
319:,
315:,
306:,
302:,
298:,
294:,
217:,
137:.
105:'
78:.
19:A
1452:e
1445:t
1438:v
1240:e
1233:t
1226:v
1209:.
1181:.
1157:.
1121:.
1096:.
1057:.
1014:.
986:.
961:.
931:.
893:.
868:.
791:.
778:,
765:,
654:,
636:.
617:e
582:(
580:A
549:.
530:e
495:(
493:A
462:;
443:e
406:A
367:;
338::
310:,
189:a
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