Il-Kantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language.[1] It dates from the 15th century (no later than 1485, the death of its author, and probably from the 1470s), but was not found until 1966 by historians Godfrey Wettinger and Mikiel Fsadni. The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro, and was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial register (Dec. 1533 – May 1563). It is preserved at the Notarial Archives in Valletta.[2]
Il-Kantilena
Although written in Maltese, in Latin script, it was a very early form that had not yet been influenced much by Romance languages, and is thus an example of Old Maltese. This text contains many Arabic morphemes. The only Romance words are vintura 'luck', sometimes translated into English as 'fate', and et 'and'. In general, early Maltese texts contain very little non-Semitic vocabulary; even in later texts, poetry tends to use more Semitic vocabulary than general language use does, therefore while certainly of historical interest, Il-Kantilena most likely does not reflect the spoken language of the common Maltese of the time, but rather that of the elite who spoke a stilted form more pleasing to the ruling class.[3]
However, literary evidence suggests that the spoken language in the 13th century was Arabic since ire was raised when the bishop of Malta resident in Sicily appointed Italian-speaking priests to the island. Both islands were occupied by the Arabs in the early medieval period, but Malta's relative isolation limited the diffusion of Italian cognates until much later.
Xideu il cada ye gireni tale nichadithicum Mensab fil gueri uele nisab fo homorcom Calb mehandihe chakim soltan ui le mule Bir imgamic rimitne betiragin mucsule Fen hayran al garca nenzel fi tirag minzeli Nitla vu nargia ninzil deyem fil bachar il hali.
Huakit hi mirammiti lili zimen nibni Mectatilix mihallimin me chitali tafal morchi fen timayt insib il gebel sib tafal morchi vackit hi mirammiti.
Huakit hy mirammiti Nizlit hi li sisen Mectatilix li mihallimin ma kitatili li gebel fen tumayt insib il gebel sib tafal morchi Huakit thi mirammiti lili zimen nibni Huec ucakit hi mirammiti vargia ibnie biddilihe inte il miken illi yeutihe Min ibidill il miken ibidil i vintura haliex liradi ’al col xibir sura hemme ard bayad v hemme ard seude et hamyra Hactar min hedann heme tred mine tamara.
Modern orthography
Xidew il-qada, ja ġirieni, talli nħadditkom, Ma nsab fil-weri u la nsab f’għomorkom Qalb m’għandha ħakem, sultan u la mula Bir imgħammiq irmietni, b’turġien muħsula, Fejn ħajran għall-għarqa, ninżel f’taraġ minżeli Nitla’ u nerġa’ ninżel dejjem fil-baħar il-għoli.
Waqgħet hi, imrammti, l’ili żmien nibni, Ma ħtatlix mgħallmin, ’mma qatagħli tafal merħi; Fejn tmajt insib il-ġebel, sibt tafal merħi; Waqgħet hi, imrammti.
Waqgħet hi, imrammti, niżżlet hi s-sisien, Ma ħtatlix l-imgħallmin, ’mma qatagħli l-ġebel; Fejn tmajt insib il-ġebel, sibt tafal merħi; Waqgħet hi, imrammti, l’ili żmien nibni. U hekk waqgħet hi, imrammti! w erġa’ ibniha! Biddilha inti l-imkien illi jewtiha; Min ibiddel l-imkien ibiddel il-vintura; Għaliex l-iradi għal kull xiber sura: Hemm art bajda, w hemm art sewda u ħamra. Aktar minn hedawn hemm trid minnha tmarra.
اشهدوا القضاء القعدة يا جيراني ،تعالوا نحدّثكم، ما انصاب في الواري ولا انصاب في عمركم قلب ما عندهاش حاكم، سلطان ولا مولى بير معمّق رماتني بدرجان مقسولة فين حيران عالغرقة، ننزل في درج منزالي نطلع ونرجع ننزل دايم في البحر العالي
وقعت هي مرمّتي، ليلي زمان نبني، ما خطاتليش المعلمين أما قطعلي طَفَل مرخي فين طمعت نصيب الجبل، صبت طَفَل مرخي وقعت هي مرمّتي
وقعت هي مرمّتي، نزلت هي السّيسان ما خطاتليش المعلمين أما قطعلي الجبل فين طمعت نصيب الجبل، صبت طفل مرخي وقعت هي مرمّتي، ليلي زمان نبني، وهكّ وقعت هي، مرمّتي وارجع ابنيها بدّلها انتِ للمكان اللّي يواتيها من يبدل المكان يبدل ال"فنتورة" علاش الأراضي على كل شبر صورة فمّ (ثمّة) أرض بيضاء وفمّ أرض سوداء وحمراء أكثر من هاذون فمّ تريد منها ثمرها ثمرة
Approximate English translationEdit
Witness my predicament, my friends (neighbours), as I shall relate it to you: [What] never has there been, neither in the past, nor in your lifetime, A [similar] heart, ungoverned, without lord or king (sultan), That threw me down a well, with broken stairs Where, yearning to drown, I descend the steps of my downfall, I climb back up and down again, always faced with high seas.
It (she) fell, my building, its foundations collapsed; It was not the builders’ fault, but the rock gave way, Where I had hoped to find rock, I found loose clay It (she) fell, my edifice, (that) which I had been building for so long.[4]
And so, my edifice subsided, and I shall have to build it up again, You change it to the site that suits her/it Who changes his place, changes his fate! for each (piece of land) has its own shape (features); there is white land and there is black land, and red But above all, (what) you want from it is a fruit.[5]
^See Mark Montebello, "Between rectitude and incongruity: The chiastic structure of the Cantilena (Rabat, Malta: Faraxa Publishing House, 2016), p. 29.
Friggieri, Oliver (1994), "Main Trends in the History of Maltese Literature", Neohelicon, 21 (2): 59–69, doi:10.1007/BF02093244, S2CID 144795860
External linksEdit
"Il-Kantilena ta' Pietru Kaxaru" talk by the Akkademja tal-Malti on Campus FM.
Il Cantilena: How much can a modern Arab decipher is a translation of the Cantilena using similarity to classical and contemporary Arabic, by an Arabic speaker.
, the second oldest known document in Maltese (nearly 200 years younger than the Cantilena)
August 26, 2023
kantilena, oldest, known, literary, text, maltese, language, dates, from, 15th, century, later, than, 1485, death, author, probably, from, 1470s, found, until, 1966, historians, godfrey, wettinger, mikiel, fsadni, poem, attributed, pietru, caxaro, recorded, ca. Il Kantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language 1 It dates from the 15th century no later than 1485 the death of its author and probably from the 1470s but was not found until 1966 by historians Godfrey Wettinger and Mikiel Fsadni The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro and was recorded by Caxaro s nephew Brandano in his notarial register Dec 1533 May 1563 It is preserved at the Notarial Archives in Valletta 2 Il KantilenaAlthough written in Maltese in Latin script it was a very early form that had not yet been influenced much by Romance languages and is thus an example of Old Maltese This text contains many Arabic morphemes The only Romance words are vintura luck sometimes translated into English as fate and et and In general early Maltese texts contain very little non Semitic vocabulary even in later texts poetry tends to use more Semitic vocabulary than general language use does therefore while certainly of historical interest Il Kantilena most likely does not reflect the spoken language of the common Maltese of the time but rather that of the elite who spoke a stilted form more pleasing to the ruling class 3 However literary evidence suggests that the spoken language in the 13th century was Arabic since ire was raised when the bishop of Malta resident in Sicily appointed Italian speaking priests to the island Both islands were occupied by the Arabs in the early medieval period but Malta s relative isolation limited the diffusion of Italian cognates until much later Contents 1 Text 1 1 Approximate English translation 2 References 3 Bibliography 4 External linksText EditOriginal orthographyXideu il cada ye gireni tale nichadithicum Mensab fil gueri uele nisab fo homorcom Calb mehandihe chakim soltan ui le mule Bir imgamic rimitne betiragin mucsule Fen hayran al garca nenzel fi tirag minzeli Nitla vu nargia ninzil deyem fil bachar il hali Huakit hi mirammiti lili zimen nibni Mectatilix mihallimin me chitali tafal morchi fen timayt insib il gebel sib tafal morchi vackit hi mirammiti Huakit hy mirammiti Nizlit hi li sisen Mectatilix li mihallimin ma kitatili li gebel fen tumayt insib il gebel sib tafal morchi Huakit thi mirammiti lili zimen nibni Huec ucakit hi mirammiti vargia ibnie biddilihe inte il miken illi yeutihe Min ibidill il miken ibidil i vintura haliex liradi al col xibir sura hemme ard bayad v hemme ard seude et hamyra Hactar min hedann heme tred mine tamara Modern orthographyXidew il qada ja ġirieni talli nħadditkom Ma nsab fil weri u la nsab f għomorkom Qalb m għandha ħakem sultan u la mula Bir imgħammiq irmietni b turġien muħsula Fejn ħajran għall għarqa ninzel f taraġ minzeli Nitla u nerġa ninzel dejjem fil baħar il għoli Waqgħet hi imrammti l ili zmien nibni Ma ħtatlix mgħallmin mma qatagħli tafal merħi Fejn tmajt insib il ġebel sibt tafal merħi Waqgħet hi imrammti Waqgħet hi imrammti nizzlet hi s sisien Ma ħtatlix l imgħallmin mma qatagħli l ġebel Fejn tmajt insib il ġebel sibt tafal merħi Waqgħet hi imrammti l ili zmien nibni U hekk waqgħet hi imrammti w erġa ibniha Biddilha inti l imkien illi jewtiha Min ibiddel l imkien ibiddel il vintura Għaliex l iradi għal kull xiber sura Hemm art bajda w hemm art sewda u ħamra Aktar minn hedawn hemm trid minnha tmarra Modern Standard Arabic orthographyاشهدوا القضاء القعدة يا جيراني تعالوا نحد ثكم ما انصاب في الواري ولا انصاب في عمركم قلب ما عندهاش حاكم سلطان ولا مولى بير معم ق رماتني بدرجان مقسولة فين حيران عالغرقة ننزل في درج منزالي نطلع ونرجع ننزل دايم في البحر العالي وقعت هي مرم تي ليلي زمان نبني ما خطاتليش المعلمين أما قطعلي ط ف ل مرخي فين طمعت نصيب الجبل صبت ط ف ل مرخي وقعت هي مرم تي وقعت هي مرم تي نزلت هي الس يسان ما خطاتليش المعلمين أما قطعلي الجبل فين طمعت نصيب الجبل صبت طفل مرخي وقعت هي مرم تي ليلي زمان نبني وهك وقعت هي مرم تي وارجع ابنيها بد لها انت للمكان الل ي يواتيها من يبدل المكان يبدل ال فنتورة علاش الأراضي على كل شبر صورة فم ثم ة أرض بيضاء وفم أرض سوداء وحمراء أكثر من هاذون فم تريد منها ثمرها ثمرة Approximate English translation Edit Witness my predicament my friends neighbours as I shall relate it to you What never has there been neither in the past nor in your lifetime A similar heart ungoverned without lord or king sultan That threw me down a well with broken stairs Where yearning to drown I descend the steps of my downfall I climb back up and down again always faced with high seas It she fell my building its foundations collapsed It was not the builders fault but the rock gave way Where I had hoped to find rock I found loose clay It she fell my edifice that which I had been building for so long 4 And so my edifice subsided and I shall have to build it up again You change it to the site that suits her it Who changes his place changes his fate for each piece of land has its own shape features there is white land and there is black land and red But above all what you want from it is a fruit 5 References Edit Friggieri 1994 59 Kantilena Office of the Notary to Government and Notarial Archives Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 http melitensiawth com incoming Index The 20Arabs 20in 20Malta 1975Approaches 20to 20medieval 20Malta 20Luttrell pdf Archived 2016 03 04 at the Wayback Machine p 66 7 See Mark Montebello Between rectitude and incongruity The chiastic structure of the Cantilena Rabat Malta Faraxa Publishing House 2016 p 29 http melitensiawth com incoming Index The 20Arabs 20in 20Malta 1975Approaches 20to 20medieval 20Malta 20Luttrell pdf Archived 2016 03 04 at the Wayback Machine pp 66 7 Bibliography EditFriggieri Oliver 1994 Main Trends in the History of Maltese Literature Neohelicon 21 2 59 69 doi 10 1007 BF02093244 S2CID 144795860External links EditIl Cantilena Il Kantilena ta Pietru Kaxaru talk by the Akkademja tal Malti on Campus FM Il Cantilena How much can a modern Arab decipher is a translation of the Cantilena using similarity to classical and contemporary Arabic by an Arabic speaker Mejju ġie bil Ward u Zaħar the second oldest known document in Maltese nearly 200 years younger than the Cantilena Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Il Kantilena amp oldid 1134453920, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
