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THE "TAVOLA DA ESTE" INSCRIPTION
Anthony Ambrozic1, Giancarlo Tomezzoli2
1 8 Lafayette Pl., Thornhill, ON L3T 1G5, Canada
2 Zeppelinstrasse 43, D-81669 Munich, Germany
Abstract
A division, translation, linguistic examination, and evaluation of the Tavola da Este inscription is presented. It appears that the artifact's votive character may have served as a prayer formula at a religious site in the vicinity of Padua.
Dated from the period between the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 4th century BC (~ 400 BC), the thin plate of bronze (23.5 x 29 cm.) – see Fig. 1 – was discovered in the 1970s during excavations for the reconstruction of The Civic Hospital of Este, Veneto (Italy). Now stored at the Museo Nazionale Atestino at Este, the cylindrical man-made artifact is estimated to be only half of the original size. According to A. Marinetti [1], whose transcription shall be used in deciphering, division and translation, the alphabet employed, as well as the artifact, came to Este from the area of Padua, seemingly at a time when the writing on it was no longer understood. It appears that the bronze plate was cut up for eventual reuse.
Before we proceed with the division and translation of the inscription, which was written in continuo, we wish to state that we are in total awe of the absolute professionalism and astuteness of judgement of A. Marinetti in her transcriptional work. Passage after passage of the translated lines bears out the accuracy of her transcription.
Ancient inscribers unquestionably faced logistical handicaps the elimination of which over time we smugly have no conception of in our overregulated, overparsed conformity. They overcame them, often with no guidelines to go by, by ingenious adaptations. Some such peculiarities, such as the omission of the U-sound at the end of participles, will be pointed out as they arise. Another phenomenon is betatism. We also often encounter akanje (akanye), which is a tendency to substitute an A-sound for a short O of today. Also occuring frequently is the bare E which is now invariably preceeded by a J to form JE (pr. YE as in yellow) for “is, it is” , cf. also [2,3].
In any event, also considering the punctuation, it appears that there are no hard and fast rules for this and other ancient scripts.
Fig. 1: The Tavola da Este inscription.
LINE ONE
Marinetti’s [1] Transcription:
1 ]o.m.kutetiiariθore.s.va.χso.n.θ-[------------------(-----)]imo.i.s.toθi-[--]e : ne.i.φa.r.o.-[
1 ]omkudediaritoresvagsont-[ ]imoisdoti-[ ]e neibaro-[
Our Division:
[ ]om KUD E DIARITOR E SVAGS ON t-[ ] imoisdoti - [ ]e NEI BARO - [ ]
Pronunciational Guide and Punctuation:
[ ]om KUD JE DJARITOR JE SVAGS(T) ON t-[ ] imoisdoti - [ ]e NEJ VARO(U) -[ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation:
[ ]om KJER JE DARITELJ JE ZVAGAN ON t-[ ] imoisdoti - [ ]e NAJ VAROVAL -[ ]
Eng. Translation:
[ ]om WHERE THE OFFEROR IS JUDGED t-[ ] imoisdoti - [ ]e LET BE PROTECTED -[ ]
Commentary:
KUD, also KUDA, is SC. for “where”. The lit. Sln. is KÓD.
The etymology of DIARITOR is derived from DAR – “gift, present, donation”. However, here the votive context is obvious and the word’s similarity to the Sln. DARITEV – “sacrifice” is unambiguous. The translation really calls for ŽRTVOVALEC in Sln. and “sacrificer” in Eng. In form DARITELJ – “giver, donor” (pr. DARITEL) is closer to the original and does not provoke an etymological analysis which the Sln. ŽRTEV would, on account of its inherent meaning containing all the three components of the ancient ritualistic sacrifice, namely, that of the “VICTIM” (of a victory), being victimized by being “SACRIFICED” (lit. in L. “made holy”) and then consumed (Sln. “požrt – Eng. “devoured”) at a ritualistic meal.
SVAGS is a composition of the Sln. prefix S – “with, by, at” and VAGS, an adj. form of VAGA (inf. VAGATI) – “balance, scale (of justice and weight)”, i.e. figuratively, “judgment”. Vide VAGTAIE in inscription M-01a, p. 29, [3].
NEI is a dial. Sln. counterpart of the literary Sln. NAJ – “let it, let it be that”. It appears as NEY in the inscription W-010 on p. 8 of ref. [3]; as NAI in the inscription III, p. 72, [3]; as NEI in inscription III, p. 9 [3], and lastly, as NII (ikanje) in inscription XV, p. 25, [4] and in inscription II, p. 7, Appendix C, [3].
BARO exhibits the phenomenon of betatism, an exchange among letters B, V and P. These share a similarity of sound originating in the labial area of the mouth. The original Venetic alphabet reflected this exchange by having the same symbol for both B and V. In respect to BARO [VARO(U) in dial. Sln.], another adaptive feature is the U-sound. It is quite often omitted. It is never inscribed at the end of participles. However, it is not improbable that it was not sounded at all. Today’s Slovenian vernacular around Cerkno and Croatian vernacular of Dalmatia and Lika invariably omit it. As a result, we encounter verbs in a transitive, iterative, uncompleted-action form in instances where today’s Sln. calls for an intransitive verb.
The very dial. Sln. VARO(U) (its lit. Sln. counterpart being VARUJE) derives from the inf. VAROVATI which in its archaic origin meant “to protect, to watch over”. Vide VAR in two separate inscriptions on pp. 55 and 66, [3], VARA in inscription M-04, p. 27, [3], and the grammatical dual VORETO in the inscription XXXVIII, p. 60, [4].
Word and Meaning Comparison
Venetic Text Meaning Sln. Meaning
KUD (Sc.) where KÓD where
E is JE is
DIARITOR offeror, sacrificer DARITELJ giver, donor
(pr. DARITEL)
DARITEV sacrifice
SVAGS judged ZVAGAN weighed, balanced
ON he ON he
NEI let, let it be NEJ (dial.) let, let it be
NAJ (lit.)
BARO protect VARUOU (dial.) protect.
VAROVAL (lit.)
(pr. VAROVAU)
LINE TWO
Marinetti’s [1] Transcription:
2 ]-oreχno.s.e.kvo.[-].φo.s.mo.l.θeveφose.i.vito :X:ve.r.te.o.s.tiiariθo.r.φo.s.tane.i.v[-]-a.θ.θaplanam[
2 ]-oregnosekvo[i]bosmolteveboseivido :X:verdeosdiaritorbosdaneiv[-]-attaplanam[
Our Division:
[ ] OR E GNO SE K VO I BOS MOLTEV E BO SE I VIDO :X: VER DE OS DIARITOR BOS DA NEI V[ ]ATTAPLANAM -[ ]
Pronunciational Guide and Punctuation:
[ ] OR JE GNO(U) SE Kə VO I VOS MOLTEV JE BO SE I VIDO(U) :X : VER DJE OS DIARITOR VOS DA NEI V (P)ATAPLANAM -[ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation (strained):
[ ] DARITELJ JE GNAL SE KO V VSO MOLITEV SE BO VIDEL TUDI BOG. BOG VERI, DA JE OSTAL DARITELJ VES, DA NI V POTOPLJENJU-[ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation (looser):
[ ] DARITELJ JE GNAL SE, DA TUDI V VSEJ MOLITVI SE BO VIDEL TUDI BOG. BOG VERI, DA OSTANE DARITELJ CEL, DA NI V POTOPLJENJU-[ ]
Eng. Translation:
[ ] THE OFFEROR HAS STRIVEN THAT IN ALL HIS PRAYER SHALL BE SEEN ALSO GOD. GOD, BE RELIABLE IN THAT THE OFFEROR REMAINS UNHARMED, THAT HE NOT (END UP) IN DROWNING [ ]
Commentary:
-OR is very likely the suffix of DIARITOR, not only because of the context, but also because no other word in the text ends with –OR;
E is the aux. to the reflex. GNO SE, the three together to mean “pushed himself to, strived”, the subject being DIARITOR.
K is the dial. Sln. Kə - “would it that, so that”. Vide inscription P-03, p. 23 and inscription M-01b, p. 32, [3].
Still extant in Mac. and Rus., VO is the counterpart of the lit. Sln. V – “in , into, at”.
Much encountered in the Slavenetic inscriptions from ancient Gaul [2,3], the SC. I – “and” by its repeated use to the point of a fixation in the text, here has the meaning of “also” rather than “and”.
BOS is a very dial. Sln. VOS – “all, whole”. It is seen as VAS in the “Spada di Verona” inscription, p. 111, [5]. Its contemporary colloquial equivalent is VəS as well as VAS.
The Eng. word whole means “sound, healthy, uninjured”. It has equivalence of meaning in the Sln. CEL – “whole, all” which in the inf. CELITI – “to heal, to cure” or the prefixed ZA-CEL-JEN –“healed, cured” reflects the unbrokeness of body as being “whole”.
The contemporary Sln. fut. tense has shed the additional aux. JE, but in E VO SE (-JE BO SE – “shall be”), we still encounter both the present and future tense forms of aux. BITI – “to be”.
MOLTEV is readily recognizable in today’s Lit. Sln. MOLITEV – “prayer”
VIDO is the dial. Sln. participial VIDO(U) of the lit. Sln. VIDEL (pr. VIDE(U)) – “seen”.
The context of the text predicates the symbolic representation of ┋X┋ to be for a deity. Not only does the sentence before the symbol end with it (omega), but the next sentence begin with it (alpha). We see an almost Hebraic reluctance to write the personal name of God. There is no such scrupulousness in other Slavic passages treated so far. Gods Sosin, Velis, Mithras, Ates and godess Kubeleya are quite openly named. Are the four dots on each side of the symbol to represent a cultic Tetragrammaton ?
Who, then is our offeror to stand out so staunchly to guard his God from the rest of the words in the text, as if from a contamination ? That he is a seafarer is clear by his plea for protection against (P)ATAPLANAM – “drowning” and mirrored in KOMP – “boat”, VALGAM – “waves” and KERMENOS – “helmsman” (see later). To what distant eastern ports does he ply his trade ?
VER (lit. Sln. VERI) is the dial. Sln. imp. of inf. VERITI – “to make reliable, trustworthy”.
DE (DəJE and DJE) is a common colloquial contraction of DA JE – « that he/she/it is ». The JE portion of it serves as aux. verb to OS – “remain”. Already encountered in several inscriptions from ancient Gaul and Anatolia [2-4], OS remained unaltered regardless of tense, mood or voice called for.
DA – “that, so that” is here uncontracted, probably because the word that follows it, i.e. NEI, starts with a consonant, and retaining the vowel A in DA makes for a more balanced cadence in speech.
NEI is the dial. Sln. NEJ – “not, is not” for the lit. NI.
V is the lit. Sln. “in, into, at”. We do not know whether an O or possibly an A followed it. The meaning, however, is clear.
-ATTAPLANAM is missing a letter at the front. By going through the alphabet the only candidate that fits is the letter P. This renders the word as the very akn. form of PATAPLANAM which can readily be identified in the contemporary lit. Sln. POTOPLJENJEM – “drowning”. This construction draws support from VALGAM – “waves” and KERMENOS – “helmsman” and KOMP – “boat, raft”.
Word and Meaning Comparison
Venetic Text Meaning Sln. Meaning
(DIARIT)OR offeror, sacrificer DARITELJ giver, donor
(pr. DARITEL)
E (aux.) is, did JE (aux.) is, did
GNO SE (reflex.) strived GNAL SE pushed himself
(pr. GNAU) strived
(dial.) GNOU SE
K that, so that Kə that, so that
VO in, into V in, into
BOS all, whole VES (lit.) all, whole
VAS, VəS (dial.)
MOLTEV prayer, plea MOLITEV prayer
E BO SE shall be, will be BO SE shall be, will be
I also IN and, also
VIDO seen VIDEL (pr. VIDEU) seen
(dial.) VIDU
VER make it trustworthy VERI make trustworthy
reliable VER (dial.) reliable
DE that he/she/it is DəJE, DJE (dial.) that he/she/it is
DIARITOR vide supra
BOS vide supra
DA that, so that DA that, so that
NEI not, is not NI (lit.) not, is not
NEJ (dial.)
V in into V in, into
-ATTAPLANAM drowning POTOPLJENJEM drowning.
(pr. dial. POTOPLENEM)
LINE THREE
Marinetti’s [1] Transcription:
3 ]eθa.i.io.n.va.l.χa.m.θo.om.mni.o.peto.n. : .e.lokvi.l.lo.s.to.u.ka.i.periko.n.voni.n.ko.m.pro.i.vo.s.[
3 ]etai(i)onvalgamtoom(m)niopedon : elokvillosdoukaiperikonvoninkomproivos[
Our Division:
[ ] E TAI I ON VALGAM TOOM M NIO PEDON : E LOK VIL L OS DOUKAJ PERIKON VONIN KOMP PROIV OS [ ]
Pronunciational Guide and Punctuation:
[ ] JE TAJ I ON VALGAM TOUOM Mə NJOU PEDON : JE LOK VIL Lə OS DOUKAJ PERIKON VONIN KOMP PROJV OS [ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation (strained):
[ ] JE TA IN ONI VALOVOM S TELESOM MI NJOJ U PEST ; JE LOK LE NAVIT OSTAL DOKAJ KOT NAPERJEN PRAV JE DUŠIN BROD OSTAL [ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation (looser):
[ ] JE SLEHERNI S TELESOM VALOVOM NJEJ (arch.) V PEST ; LE NAJ JE LOK OSTAL NAVIT DOKAJ KOT NAPERJEN V PRAVO SMER JE DUŠIN BROD [ ]
Eng. Translation :
[ ] HER BEING AND HIS THE WAVES AWAIT INTO THEIR CLUTCHING GRASP ; MAY THE BOW REMAIN UNDRAWN MUCH AS POINTED STRAIGHT – ARROW REMAINS THE SOUL’S RAFT [ ]
Commentary:
The SC. TAJ has the Sln. counterpart in TA – “this”.
ON is lit. Sln. for “he”.
VALGAM – “to the waves” has a fem., pl., dat. case that predicates the nom. sing. to be VALGA. It is no coincidence that the Russian river VOLGA is pronounced in Rus. as VALGA. (Compare with metathesized VLAGA - "moisture, dampness" - Courtesy of Prof. A. Perdih)
TOOM – “with the body” omits the U one would expect between the two Os. We encounter the word as TOVO in inscription G-02, p. 45, [3] and as TOBO in the Plumergat Stele inscription from Armorica (vide App. E, [3]).
M is the dial. Sln. Mə – “to me” and an example of the use of pers. pronouns for purposes of emphasis.
NIO (NJO) is fem., sing. acc. of ONA – “she”. Here it presents a grammatical dilemma in that it is not governed by VALGAM because VALGAM is pl. and dat.. The only way it could refer to VALGAM is by an implied VODA (VLAGA) – “water” surfing in the thought process of the inscriber’s mind. An alternative explanation could be that there were other words, now lost to us, preceding E TAI containing a fem. noun to which NIO referred.
In respect to NIO, another facet is that the context of the passage at hand argues for a diphtonged NIOU, the U ushering the word that follows, PEDON, with a preposition. We have encountered such an omitted U in BARO, GNO and VIDO.
Litterally meaning “into the (measure of a) span”, U PEDON conjures up the image of an outstretched hand or claw, ready to pounce.
E, JE is here aux. to VIL.
LOK is lit. Sln. – “bow”.
VIL is p.p. of inf. VITI – “to wind”.
The second L is for the dial. Sln. Lə - “let it, may it be that”.
OS, see OS under Commentary for Line Two.
DOUKAI – “much as, rather as” is the arch. diphtonged form of today’s DOKÁJ – “much, a good many, rather”
PERIKON – “aimed, pointed at” has a contemporary lit. Sln. prefixed counterpart in (NA)PERJEN – “aimed, pointed at”.
VONIN – “of the soul, of the spirit” is an adjectivized VON – “soul, spirit” encountered in inscription III of App. C, p. 8 of [3] and in inscription IV, p. 92, [3].
KOMP – “boat, raft” and PROJV – “straight, just right” for today’s PRAV with the same meaning exhibit the phenomenon of “consecutive same–sound letter reduction” seen in passages Dd-102, G-144, G-229, M-01b, M-02, W-08 and B-01. Vide p. 114 [3] for a fuller explanation.
For OS, see OS supra.
Word and Meaning Comparison
Venetic Text Meaning Sln. Meaning
E is JE is
TAI (SC.) this TA this
I and IN and
ON he ON he
VALGAM to the waves VALOVOM to the waves
TOOM with the body TELOM (dial.)
TELES OM (lit.)
TəUOM (dial.)
M to me Mə (dial.) to me
(emphasis) MI (lit.) (emphasis)
NIO her NJO (lit.) her
NJOU (dial.)
PEDON grasp, fist PED span (measure from
PEDENJ the index to the last
(pr. PEDEN) finger)
E (aux.) is, did JE (aux.) is, did
LOK bow LOK bow
VIL wound (NA)VIL wound
OS remain OSTANE remain
DOUKAI much as, rather as DOKÁJ much as, a good
many, rather
PERIKON aimed, pointing at (NA)PERJEN aimed, pointing at
VONIN of the soul VONJEN scented, aromatic,
smelling
KOMP boat, raft KOMP, KOMPA boat, raft
PROIV straight, just, right PRAV straight, just, right
OS remains OSTANE remains.
LINE FOUR
Marinetti’s [1] Transcription:
4 ]i.me.r.ketaθ--[-]-u.θe.i.tekome.i.tiie.i.kva.n.venev[?]i.s. pa.i.verokeno.n.[
4 ]imerkedat--[-]-uteidekomeidieikvanvenev[?]ispaiverokenon[
Our Division:
[ ] IM ER KE DAT ---(-) [-] U TEI DE KOMEI DIEI K VAN VENEV [?] I SPAI VERO K E N ON [ ]
Pronunciational Guide and Punctuation:
[ ] JIM JER KE DAT ---(-) [-] U TEJ DəJE KOMEJ ŽE Kə VAN VENEV [?] I SPAJ VERO(U) Kə JE Nə ON [ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation:
[ ] KER JIM TJA DATI ---(-) [-] V TEJ DA JE KOMAJ ŽE KO VEN VENEL (ODCVETEL) [?] IN V SPANJU VERIL DA NAJ JE ON [ ]
Eng. Translation :
[ ] BECAUSE THERE TO GIVE THEM ---(-) [-] IN THIS THAT HE NO SOONER WITHERED OUT THAN [?] AND SLEEPING SEEN TO IT THAT HE [ ]
Commentary:
For another instance of IM (JIM) – “them, to them” see IM in inscription B-01, p. 52, [3].
ER (JER) is an arch. form of today’s lit. Sln. KER – “because”. Vide ER in inscription I p. 59, [3] and inscription XXII, p. 33, [4].
KE –“there” - is still the dial. Sln. counterpart of the lit. Sln. TJA - "there". Vide KEDOKEY in inscription W-01b, p. 17, [3].
DAT is still the Sln. colloquial usage for the lit. Sln. inf. DATI – “to give”.
U – “in, into” is still the colloquial-speech counterpart of the lit. Sln. V – “in. into”.
TEI (TEJ) – “to, to this one” is an arch. form for the fem. sing. dat. case of ONA – “she”, the preposition U preceding TEI predicating the dat. case. Vide TEJ in inscription XXXIV, p. 53, [4] and in inscription W-01b, p. 17, [3].
DE (DəJE and DJE) is a common colloquial contraction of DA JE – “that he/she/it is”.
KOMEI is the dial. Sln. for the lit. Sln. KÓMAJ – “scarcely, hardly”.
DIEI is a sound approximation of the dial. Sln. ŽEJ – “already, yet, as early as”. Due to the lack of diacritics, the ancients coined as best they could.
K is dial. Sln. Kə for the lit. Sln. KO – “when, as”. KOMEI DIEI K is today’s idiom KOMAJ ŽE KO – “no sooner than”.
VAN is the Venetic counterpart for the contemporary dial. Sln. VAN and VəN and the lit. Sln. VEN, all meaning – “out”.
VENEV is an exact sound replica of the lit. Sln. VENEL (pr. VENEV) – “withered, faded”.
I for – “and”. Even though standing alone I is SC. for – “and”; Sln. also employs it as I ...I in instances of iterative enumeration.
SPAI is a Sln. dial. gerund of the inf. SPATI – “to sleep”. However, the contemporary use of SPAJE - “sleeping” is obsolete and generally replaced by V SPANJU – “in one’s sleep”.
VERO is p.p. of inf. VERITI – “to make reliable, trustworthly”.
K is for the dial. Sln. Kə - “that, so that”.
E is for JE – “he/she/it is”.
N is for the very dial. Sln. Nə - “let, may, may it happen that”. Vide N in inscription G-136, p. 10, [2].
ON encountered above is for the lit. Sln. ON – “he”.
Word and Meaning Comparison
Venetic Text Meaning Sln. Meaning
IM to them JIM to them
ER because JER (dial.) because
KER (lit.)
KE there KE (dial.) there
TJA (lit.)
DAT to give DAT (dial.) to give
DATI (lit.)
U in, into U, also V in , into
TEI to this one TEJ (dial.) to this one
TI (lit.)
DE that he/she/it is DəJE, DJE that he/she/it is
(both dial.)
KOMEI scarcely, hardly KOMEJ (dial.) scarcely, hardly
KÓMAJ (lit.)
DIEI already, yet, as early as ŽEJ (dial.) already, yet,
ŽE (lit.) as early as
K when, as, that Kə (dial.) when as, that
KO (lit.)
KOMEI DEI K no sooner than KOMAJ ŽE KO no sooner than
VAN out VəN, VAN (dial.) out
VEN (lit.)
VENEV withered, faded VENEL (pr. VENEV) withered, faded
I (Sc.) and IN and
(Iterative enumeration)
SPAJ sleeping SPAJ (dial), SPAJE sleeping
(obsolescent)
V SPANJU
VERO made reliable, trustworthy VERIL (pr. VERIV) saw to it that it be
reliable, trust-worthy
K that, so that Kə (dial.) that, so that
KO (lit.)
E he/she/it is JE he, she, it is
N let, may, may it happen that Nə (dial.) let, may it happen that
ON he ON he.
LINE FIVE
Marinetti’s [1] Transcription:
5 ]preke.r.e.ś.t[----]-o.l.θeveφo.s.e.i.po.i.krivine.a.:\:ti.a[
5 ]-rekereśd[----]-olteveboseipoikrivinea.: \ : dia[
Our Division:
[ ] REK E REŚ D [-------(--)] -OLTEV E BO SE I POI KRIV I NEA :X: dia [ ]
Pronunciational Guide and Punctuation:
[ ] REK JE RAJŠ Də [-------(--)] -OLTEV JE BO SE I POJ KRIV I NEJA :X: dia [ ]
Sln. Lit. Translation:
[ ] JE REK RAJŠI DA [-------(--)] (M)OLITEV SE NE BO POTEM TUDI KRIVA :X: dja [ ]
Eng. Translation:
[ ] TO SAY RATHER THAT [-------(--)] THE PRAYER SHALL THEN NOT BE ALSO FALSE ; dia [ ]
Commentary:
REK – “to say” appears to be an arch. inf. of an obsolete dial. Sln. REKTI – “to say”.
REŚ is the Venetic counterpart of today’s dial. Sln. REJŠ and lit. Sln. RAJŠI, both meaning – “rather, better, sooner”.
D is the dial. Sln. Də for the lit. Sln. DA – “that, so that”.
Undoubtedly MOLTEV is an arch. form for the present day MOLITEV – “prayer”.
E BO SE I – “will also be” is the contemporary JE BO SE IN, BO SE TUDI. See E BO SE I under Line Two.
POI is still the adv. dial. Sln. (Gor.; RAČNA) form POJ for the contemporary lit. Sln. POTEM – “then”.
KRIV is still the form of today’s lit. Sln. KRIV which has meanings ranging from “guilty, culpable, false” on one side to “curved, crooked, distorted, bent” on the other. When it comes to expressions of moral and religious judgment, it is the former group that is relevant and especially in the meaning of “false”. This can be seen in such expressions as KRIVA PRISEGA – “false oath”, PO KRIVEM – “falsely”, KRIVI BOGOVI – “false gods”, KRIV PREROK – “false prophet”, KRIVA VERA – “false belief, heresy”. Accordingly, since KRIV in the text at hand relates to (M)OLTEV – “prayer”, we are compelled to render KRIV as – “false”.
Word and Meaning Comparison
Venetic Text Meaning Sln. Meaning
REK to say REKTI (dial. arch.) to say
REČI (lit.)
E is, it is JE is, it is
REŚ rather REJŠ (dial.) rather, better,
RAJŠI (dial.) sooner
D that, so that Də (dial.) that, so that
DA (lit.)
-OLTEV prayer MOLITEV prayer
E BO SE I will also be (JE) BO SE IN will also be
(strained)
SE BO TUDI
POI then POJ (dial.) then
POTEM (lit.)
KRIV false KRIV guilty,culpable,
false; crooked,
bent
NEA is not NIJE (SC.) is not.
LINE SIX
Marinetti’s [1] Transcription:
6 ].s.toθikelut[-----]-niθa[--]okv-ker.me.n.ośo.n.mo.l[
6 ]sdotikẹlud[-----]nita[--]okv-kermen-śonmol[
Our Division:
Due to its truncated state, it would be a chancy endeavor to place a definitive value on most of what is left of Line Six. The only word that comes out clearly is KERMENOŚ. This is an arch. form of today’s lit. Sln. KORMANUŠ – “helmsman”. The more frequent usage now is KRMAR from KRMA – “the stern (part of a boat)”. It should also be noted that A. Marinetti in the second version of the transcription [1] erroneously omits the letter O in KERMENOŚ which comes out quite clearly in the inscription.
Reflection
As already stated, we are indebted to Anna Marinetti for her excellent transcription. And this of an artifact that would not divulge its symbols even to photography. Her finding that the Venetic language is Indo-European of relative transparency in respect to morphology, lexicon, and syntax is also born out by the above translation.
Her further conclusion, on p. 419, that it is also tightly tied to Latin ("è anche strettamente legata (lingua) al Latino"), however, is unfortunate. It causes her to deduce by means of the Latin that the inscription has to do with "spatial" matters and has reference to animals ("ekvo(i)vos, moltevebos, elokvillos" - p. 420). Apparently, the similarity of the first of the above beasts to the Latin "equus" (horse) has induced her to this claim.
As a result, she argues that the inscription served a civic function, was of a possibly contractual nature, containing a juridical (notarial) disposition in respect to boundaries, real estate, and usufructs in relation thereto.
In view of our indebtedness for her fine transcription, we take no pleasure in having disproven her conclusions by the above translation.
Conclusion
It appears that the artifact's votive character may have served as a prayer formula at a religious site in the vicinity of Padua. Being only some 20 miles from the Venetian Lagoon, Padua was at the center of the river systems that drain into the lagoon and into the Gulf of Venice. The prayer was structured for the mariner supplicants. The enigma of the ┋X┋ symbol in the inscription likely indicates an option as to which individual deity the supplicants' plea was to have been addressed.
Bibliography
1. Marinetti A., Venetico 1976 – 1996. Acquisizioni e prospettive, in Protostoria e Storia del ‘Venetorum Angulus’, Atti del XX Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici, Portogruaro – Quarto D’Altino – Este – Adria, 16-19 Ottobre 1996, Istituti Editoriali Poligrafici Internazionali, Pisa – Roma, 1999, ISBN 88-8147-169-8;
2. Ambrozic. A., Etymological Parallelism in Inscriptions, Tribal Names, Toponyms, Hydronyms, and Word Compounding from Ancient Gaul, Proceedings of the First International Topical Conference "The Veneti within the Ethnogenesis of the Central-European Population", September 17-18, 2001, Ljubljana; Založništvo Jutro, Ljubljana 2002;
3. Ambrozic A., Gordian Knot Unbound, Cythera Press, Toronto, 2002;
4. Ambrozic A., Adieu to Brittany: a transcription and translation of Venetic passages and toponyms, Cythera Press, Toronto, 1999;
5. Tomezzoli G., Čudinov V. A., The “Spada di Verona”, Proceedings of the Conference "Ancient Settlers of Central Europe", September 28, 2002, Ljubljana; Založništvo Jutro, Ljubljana 2003.
Povzetek
Napis "Tavola da Este"
Predstavljena je delitev, prevod, jezikoslovna raziskava in ovrednotenje napisa Tavola da Este. Videti je, da je predmet votivnega značaja in da je služil kot molitveni obrazec v nekem svetišču v bližini Padove.
Abbreviations
acc. |
Accusative |
fut. |
Future Tense |
p., pp. |
Page(s) |
adj. |
Adjective |
gen. |
Genitive |
pers. |
Personal |
adv. |
Adverb |
imp. |
Imperative |
pl. |
Plural |
akn. |
Akanje |
inf. |
Infinitive |
pr. |
Pronounce |
arch. |
Archaic |
L. |
Latin |
p.p. |
Past Participle |
aux. |
Auxiliary Verb |
lit. |
Literary |
reflex. |
Reflexive |
dat. |
Dative |
Mac. |
Macedonian |
Rus. |
Russian |
dial. |
Dialectal |
masc. |
Masculine |
SC. |
Serbo – Croatian |
Eng. |
English |
nom. |
Nominative |
sing. |
Singular |
fem. |
Feminine |
O.Phr. |
Old Phrygian |
Sln. |
Slovenian |
|
