Stabat Mater Dolorosa
by Jacopone da Todi (1228-1306)
translated by Morrison Handley-Schachler
In the hour of crucifixion,
Mourning and in deep affliction,
Once a tearful mother stood,
From grief’s sword-thrust undefended,
While her world hung there suspended
From the coarse and shameful wood.
How distressed was that dejected
Mother blest, by God elected
His beloved Son to bear!
Noble Son, must they so treat Thee?
Must they spit at Thee and beat Thee?
Must Thou hang in torment there?
Who by sighs would not be shaken,
In whose eyes no tears awaken,
At Christ’s mother’s grave distress?
Who could watch, no passion sharing,
Calm of countenance and bearing,
Cold of heart and pitiless,
When her Son in grim procession,
Mocked and scourged for our transgression,
From the city square was led,
When betrayed, denied, forsaken,
Jesus from the cross was taken,
Silent to the tomb and dead?
Fount of charity unending,
May my heart with thy heart blending,
With thy grief, sweet mother, grieve.
Let me, with Love’s anguish burning,
To my God and Saviour turning,
Life and grace from Him receive.
As thy Son has suffered for me,
Of God’s mercy to assure me,
May His pains on me descend.
May this by thy prayers be given,
Through my side the spear be driven,
And my flesh the lashes rend.
Let me offer, with thee crying,
Comfort to the crushed and dying,
Till my years on earth are spent.
Mary, let me never leave thee.
At my hearth I would receive thee,
At the cross with thee lament.
Virgin, virgins all excelling,
Me not from thy side repelling,
Let me stay with thee and mourn.
I would, all Christ’s journey making,
Faint and fall with sorrow aching,
Feel the nails and crown of thorn,
Shame and fear and jeers and whipping
Send my sense and senses tripping,
In that blood-stained agony.
When I, for my crimes indicted,
Hear Gehenna’s kilns ignited,
Blessed virgin, plead for me.
Blessed mother, watch beside me.
Through the gate of Heaven guide me,
When this earthly body dies.
When my place no more shall know me,
Jesus Christ, Thy mercy show me.
Grant me then the victor’s prize.
___Amen.
Original Latin
Stabat mater dolorosa
Juxta crucem lacrimosa,
Dum pendebat filius,
Cuius animam gementem
Contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater Unigeniti,
Quae moerebat et dolebat
Pia mater, dum videbat
Nati poenas inclyti!
Quis est homo qui non fleret
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Jesum in tormentis
Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem Natum
Moriendo desolatum
Dum emisit spiritum.
Eja, mater fons amoris,
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac ut tecum lugeam.
Fac ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum
Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta mater istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Tui Nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero.
Juxta crucem tecum stare
Et me tibi sociare
In planctu desidero.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
Mihi jam non sis amara.
Fac me tecum plangere.
Fac ut portem Christi mortem,
Passionis fac consortem
Et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
Cruci hac inebriari
Ob amorem Filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus,
Per te, Virgo, sim defensus
In die judicii.
Christe, cum sit hinc exire
Da per matrem me venire
Ad palmam victoriae.
Quando corpus morietur
Fac ut animae donetur
Paradisi gloria.
Amen.
Morrison Handley-Schachler is a retired Chartered Public Finance Accountant and Lecturer in Accounting. He has a doctorate in Ancient History and has published articles on ancient Persian history, accounting history, financial crime, auditing and financial risk management. He lives in South Queensferry, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland.
This is perfect for Good Friday! Smooth translation that appears to follow the original rhyme scheme with fidelity!
Thank you very much for your appreciation, Roy. I am honoured to have my translation published on Good Friday.
A really fine Englishing of da Todi’s famous piece of lamentation and prayer. Keeping to the rhythm and rhyme pattern of the original Latin must have been difficult — but the result is superb.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Joseph. The original Latin version is a great inspiration and I have tried to keep the tone, meter and rhyming scheme as faithfully as I can.
You’ve done extremely well with the profound emotion of the piece as well, Morrison. Your English does better at that than the standard translation “At the Cross Her Station Keeping,” and much better than the modernized “Careworn Mother Stood Attending.” The emotion includes deep love for both Mother and Son. You show that especially well as the singer takes on the identity of a son of Mary, doing so in a lifelong manner that moves beyond these long moments of the Crucifixion. He refers to his “hearth” so as to remind me of the French song “Chez Nous Soyez Reine.” The stretch of stanzas in a single sentence before you place the question mark is very effective at drawing out the feeling for the reader. And your repeated achievement of internal rhyme helps as well to convey the kind of artistry in this genre of liturgical and devotional sequence.
Many thanks for your kind words, Margaret. The original is a highly emotional as well as a deeply religious poem and uses meter and rhyme to drive the feelings home. I have tried to convey this as far as possible in my translation.
This is a very impressive translation indeed. I like how it conveys a little bit of the smooth efficiency of the medieval Latin, while not sounding forced and also keeping to a relatively tight and organized rhyme format. On top of that it preserves the feel and narrative of this great poem rather well. Awesome job, I really enjoyed reading this.
Thank you very much for your appreciative comment, Yael. I love the original Latin poem and it was a challenge to convey some semblance of the feeling in it.
This is a beautifully translated Easter treat of a poem that is a privilege to read, and I thank you wholeheartedly for the work that has gone into bringing it to a wider audience. It has touched me deeply.
Thank you, Susan. I am happy to be able to bring this timeless poem to a modern audience and very grateful to you and others who have taken time to read it.