Notes
To say the same thing generally requires more syllables (though fewer words) of Latin than English. Since metre is counted in syllables, some compression, therefore, indeed some omission, has been inevitable. But I hope these “versions” (precis? paraphrases?) are recognisable as such.
If many “old favourites” are missing, it is either because they are themselves translations from Latin or because they are short on rhymes – and so insufficiently challenging!
Technical Notes
- Pronunciation: Ecclesiastical? (ae rhymes with e)
- Rhymes: I have not followed the mediaeval custom of rhyming, e.g. gloria and gratia, fortibus and omnibus, but rather the English one, rhyming e.g. rogas and gratias, erigit and defuit, decem and totidem.
- Vocabulary: No particular period; and I have felt free occasionally to coin (morphologically plausible) words, e.g. creamen, omnipollens.
- Elision: h (mostly) and m are treated as ordinary consonants. Only short vowels are elided.