Home

Journal

Library

Cast

Covenant

Rules

Site map

Project Redcap

Hermetic Latin Grammar crib-sheet

This page is a quick reference sheet to provide some Latin forms for Hermetic terms. Following standard practice in dictionaries, nouns are listed as the pair: Nominative, Genitive. For convenience of reference I have also included the Declension number.

Where the form of a word has stress which varies, and is indicated in dictionaries by a bar (-) over the stressed vowel, I have used an acute accent, as in portus, portús.

• Some notes on Grammar and my conventions
• The Houses of Hermes
• Tribunals of the Order
• Some Covenants
• Common terms, like ranks, statuses, etc,.
• Some adjectives, like Quæsitor
• Hermetic Forms and Techniques
• A crib table of Declensions of nouns

• Latin Place Names
• Lots of Latin Links
• A Latin(?-Latin?) dictionary may be useful for endings but of limit use for meanings

Grammar bits

For place names, since the terms in, at or from (in, ad or ex) take the Ablative, and we commonly refer to magi's homes in this form, I have added the Ablative after the Genitive, in the listings for Covenants and Tribunals. [Gurk - this is the "Locative", and to translate the term "place where" we should:

As for the grammatical forms used in common Hermetic phrases:

• The name of a Magus, e.g. in a list, will be in the Nominative, e.g. Antonius
• If addressed directly, e.g. at the start of a letter, then it should be the Vocative Antonii
• "the school of ..." places the name of the school in the Genitive; the common description of a Magus as "of the school of ..." also places schola in the Genitive (scholæ).
  Schola Guernici, or e.g. Aster scholæ Merinitæ.
• the description filius "of ..." places the name of the parens in the Genitive, e.g. Aster filius Luci.
• the English descriptions which name Tribunals vary sloppily between an adjectival form such as "Iberian Tribunal" and a possessive form "the Rome Tribunal" ("the tribunal of Rome"). I feel obliged to settle on one consistent form for Latin, and have used the Genitive "Tribunal of Rome" style, so that in Tribunal descriptions the place name is always in the Genitive.
  My reason for this choice is that the (Hermetic) Tribunals are not portable things to be described by their names, but are places, attached firmly to their centres.
• when stating that someone comes "from the Tribunal of ...", (or is "in..." etc), Tribunal takes the Ablative Tribunali, although the name-part "of..." remains in the Genitive. (Phew!)
• when stating that someone comes from, or is at, a Covenant, the Covenant name takes the Ablative.
• The term "Covenant Magvillus" is (I think) a phrase like the English "City of Rome", so can be phrased with the Genitive again: Concilium Magvilli.
• "the House of ..." takes the genitive of the name, e.g. Domus Bonisagi

(you need a dictionary or primer to get the rest of the Declensions).

The Houses of Hermes

• Bjornær, Bjornæris (3^rd, f), pl. Bjornæres, Bjornærum
• Bonisagus, Bonisagi (2^nd, m), pl. Bonisagi, Bonisagorum
• Criamon, Criamonis (3^rd, m), pl. Criamona, Criamonum
• Flambeau Flambo, Flambonis (3^rd, m), pl. Flambones, Flambonum
• Guernicus, Guernici (2^nd, m.), pl. Guernici, Guernicorum
  Quæsitor, Quæsitoris (3^rd, m.), pl. Quæsitores, Quæsitorum
  When referring to an unnamed Quæsitor, we use Quæsitor as a noun, but as a rank (Aster the Quæsitor) it follows the rules for an adjective, including taking the gender of the person.
• Jerbiton, Jerbitonis (3^rd, m.), pl. Jerbitona, Jerbitonum
• Mercere, Mercereris (*, m.)
  Mercere and Tremere are, strictly,verbs not nouns. Adam Mosley suggests a pseudo-Declension for them based on the 3rd Declension.
• Merinita, Merinitæ (3^rd f.), pl. Merinitæ, Merinitarum
• Tremere, Tremereris (*, m.)
• Tytalus, Tytali (2^nd, m.), pl. Tytali, Tytalorum
• Verditius, Verditii (2^nd, m.), pl. Verditii, Verditiorum
  [The Genitive of Verditius could be like Lucius, -i, or Antonius, -ii; reference material merely makes the choice harder not easier by invoking matters of style, and differences between prose and verse writing!
  Verditii sounds "nicer", so there we are...]

Tribunals

There is a longer discussion on Tribunal naming, including the names of known Covenants, and now that the Project: Redcap listing uses these names, they have semi-official status.

Tribunal: Tribunal, tribunalis (judgement seat)

• Greater Alps Helvetia, Helvetiæ (1^st f.), in Helvetia
  [alternatively: Gallia Cisalpina, Galliæ Cisalpinæ (1^st f.), in Gallia Cisalpina]
• Hibernia or Eirran Hibernia, Hiberniæ (1^st f.), in Hibernia
• Iberia Hispania, Hispaniæ (1^st f.), in Hispania
• LevantIudæa, Iudææ (1^st f.), in Iudæa
• Loch Leglean Caledonia, Caledoniæ (1^st f.), in Caledonia
• Normandy Gallia Transalpina, Galliæ Transalpinæ(?) (1^st f.), in Gallia Transalpina
• NovgorodSarmatia, Sarmatiæ (1^st f.), in Sarmatia
• ProvençalAquitania, Aquitaniæ (1^st f.), in Aquitania
• Rhine Germania, Germaniæ (1^st f.), in Germania
• Rome Roma, Romæ (1^st f.), in Roma
• Stonehenge Britannia, Britanniæ (1^st f.), in Britannia
• Thebes Græcia, Græcæ (1^st f.), in Græcia
  [alternatively: Illyria, Illyriæ (1^st f.), in Illyria]
• Transylvania Carpathia, Carpathiæ (1^st f.), in Carpathia

Covenants

Covenant concilium, concilii (2^nd, n.) (council)

ad (at), in (in), ex (from) take the Ablative

Covenants are listed in the separate document on Tribunals, along with an indication of declension and gender, where a Latin name is known.

Ranks, statuses, terms etc.

• Apprentice discipulus, discipuli (2^nd, m); discipula, discipulæ (1^st, f) "apprentice (of ...)"
• Pupil (of...) filius, filii (2^nd)
• School (of...) schola, scholæ (1^st)
• House (of ...) domus, domús (4^th)
• Tribunal Tribunal, tribunalis (judgement seat)
• Covenant concilium, concilii (2^nd) (council)
• Sigil sigilla, sigillorum (3^rd, nt pl) (little figures, a seal)

Adjectives

• Quæsitor, Quæsitoris (3^rd,m); Quæsitoris, Quæsitoris (3^rd, f)
  Quæsitor can be a noun, referring to an unnamed Q, or an adjective indicating rank. In this latter case, instead of being a masculine noun, the adjective agrees in gender with the noun (magus) it applies to. Hence a maga has the rank Quæsitoris.

Forms and Techniques

The Forms listed in the Ars Magica book are listed in the Accusative: they are the object of sentences like "(I) Create Water).

• Animal, Animális (Animal) (3^rd, nt)
• Aqua, Aquæ (Aquam) (1^st, f)
• Aura, Auræ (Auram) (1^st, f)
• Corpus, Corporis (Corpus) (3^rd, nt)
• Herba, Herbæ (Herbam) (1^st, f)
• Ignis, Ignis (Ignem) (3^rd, m)
• Imágó, Imáginis (Imáginem) (3^rd, f)
• Mens, Mentis (Mentem) (3^rd, f)
• Terra, Terræ (Terram) (1^st, f)
• Vis, Vis (Vim) (3^rd, f) [Vís, Vís, Vim, Vís, Ví, Ví, pl: Vírés]

The Techniques are commonly listed as 1^st person present indicative - "I do Ö", e.g. "I Create Ö". When discussing the Art, use the gerundive, as in "the Art of Creation"...