Amicae meae carae, salve!
Characters:
Theme: Epistolography. Creating simple texts in Latin.
Competencies
Competence in Linguistic Communication
Multilingual Competence
Personal, social and learning to learn competence
Subjects and year by Educational System
Spain > Latin > 4th ESO > Latin text and translation
Enunciation
Cornelia was a roman matron who wrote letters to her children in which she discussed the political situation of her time. Some fragments of those letters have survived. In this activity, you are going to read a different kind of letter. It is an invitation to a birthday party written by a woman and sent to her friend. It was found in Vindolanda, written on a wooden table. You will see a picture of the letter, the text in Latin, its translation and an adaptation. Using the adaptation as a model, write your own invitation and address it to a friend. In turn, they will wish you a happy birthday through text.
I- Read the invitation in Latin that Claudia Severa sends to her friend Lepidina and its adaptation. If needed, read the translation. Then, answer the questions.
FRONT
BACK
https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/TabVindol291
Answer:
1- Which case is used for addressing the person to whom she is writing?
2- What are the expressions used for greetings and goodbye? What mood are they in?
3- What Latin expression refers to one's birthday?
II- Using the adaptation of the letter as an example, write your own invitation and address it to a friend. You can make up a name, Latinize the original or use the word amicus/a. You will receive an invitation as well. You must respond to it by texting "happy birthday" to your friend. To do so, you can use any of the expressions given or you can even sing "Happy Birthday" in Latin.
Latin expressions for "happy birthday": felix sit natalis dies; felicem diem natalem; habeas felicitatem in die natus es!; Natalis laetus tibi!
Song
Natalem diem felicem!
Natalem diem felicem!
Desideramus tibi omnes
Natalem diem felicem!
Observations and context
Cornelia was the first of many female representatives of epistolary production whose texts are not preserved. They are only known by the references made to them by their recipients. The letters had a private purpose and their authors are related to the protagonists of Roman history from the 1st century BC and to the imperial court: Servilia (mother of Brutus), Pilia and Caecilia Attica (wife and daughter of Atticus), Terentia and Tullia (wife and daughter of Cicero), Publilia (second wife of Cicero), and Fulvia (wife of Mark Antony). Related to the emperor are his mother Acia, his sister Octavia the Younger, his daughter Julia the Elder, and his wife Livia.
Using Cornelia and her epistolar activity as a starting point, we will study a letter, written on wooden-leaf tablets, which was found in Vindolanda. It is an invitation to a birthday party. The text in Latin, its translation and an adaptation are given. The words belonging to the third declension have been ommitted and substituted, as well as the tenses that are not in the indicative or imperative form. The main goal is that the activity can be completed even if the students have not learned yet about the third declension or are not familiar with conjugations yet. The level of the activity can be adapted by changing the words or tenses mentioned (supra).
Description
Using the adaptation to an invitation to a birthday party found in Vindolanda, students will create their own invitation to a friend. Their friend, in turn, will text them wishing happy birthday using one of the expressions suggested.