You can see a voracious fire rising with false flames;
but you, shining Gemma, do not see that voracious fire.
As he pulls up the wall, his brother's bowels torn;
The brother comes back to safety as he pulls up the wall.
What has been done in secret appears, the gluttons are revealed;
the fact appears secretly.
Ferocious tyrant, the nets of your deception are in vain.
receive a brake on your life, fierce tyrant.
The high walls of Nuka by no enemy will be torn down;
a whirlwind - he says - knocks down the excellent walls of Numa.
You are beaten by the fierce enemy, because you do not offer the sacred gift to the altar;
You offer the sacred gift to the altar; you are beaten by the fierce enemy.
In the future he sees every enclosure of the flock given to a lineage;
but that same lineage rebuilds every enclosure of the flock.
O servant friend of fraud, you are screwed by the serpent's enticements;
but you are not prey to the serpent, a servant friend of fraud.
Silent mind, keep quiet: do not murmur of those who see silent thoughts;
everything is revealed to the prophet; shut up, mind proud.
Foods brought down from heaven cast out black hunger;
and at the same time the black hunger of the mind is chased away.
All hearts are amazed that you without a body are present;
that you in view disturb, the hearts are all amazed.
At the command of the voice they try to stop the tongues;
they flee the sepulchre under the command of the voice.
they are not allowed to remain in command during the rite;
together with the sacred rites in command of the voice.
The earth is split and the buried body is rejected from the womb;
at your command the broken earth holds the body in its womb.
The perfidious dragon seduces the fugitive to hurry;
but the evil dragon blocks the forbidden path.
A deadly disease has shaken the gold catkin of the head;
at his command he escaped g and the deadly disease.
Merciful he promises to those who need it the fawn metal without having it;
by the work of heaven the pitiful finds the metal fawn.
You, worthy of compassion, Chuli spot snakeskin poisons;
get your skin intact as before, or worthy of compassion.
Fans bounce the rugged rocks off the glass, nor can they break it;
the harsh rocks remain intact the glass.
Why dispenser, hesitate to offer a drop of the jar?
Look: the jars are overflowing. Why do you hesitate?
How can you have medicine that you have no hope of salvation;
You who always give death, how can you have medicine?
Ah, miserable old man, you fall upon the blows of the enemy;
but suddenly you come back to yourself, old miserable.
The barbarian's ropes shake innocent hands;
The barbarian's ropes are united by themselves.
That superb horse screams threatening cries,
prostrate on the ground lies that superb horse.
Around the neck the father carries the beloved body of the extinct son;
the father carries the alive son around his neck.
Everything wins love: with the rain he bound his sister the blessed;
sleep stays away from the eyelids, everything wins love.
Accept for its simplicity, fly into the sky like a dove;
Reaches the kingdom of heaven, for its simplicity.
Or embraced God, to whom the whole universe is revealed,
you that the arcane manifest.
In a sphere of fire the righteous one rises into the ether;
to which a sacred love burned or a sphere of fire closes.
Three times called came who must witness the prodigy;
precious for the love of his father, three times called he comes.
O good leader, who by exhorting to fight reinforces the spirits by example
I throw you first among the weapons, good leader, exhort to fight.
Sufficient signs he did leaving common life;
rushing to life, he made suitable signs.
A regular psalmist, he never gave rest to his plectrum;
singing to God the assiduous psalmist died.
Those who had only one heart, encloses the same sepulchre;
The same glory surrounds those who had one heart.
A splendid street appeared, lit with corpuscle torches;
a way by which the splendid ascent Saint appeared.
Reached the rocky fence, in his rambling he gets salvation;
escapes his rambling, reached the rocky fence.
Poor verses composed the supplicant servant on offer;
exile, poor, weak, poor verses he composed.
Accept they are, please, or guide them to the path of heaven;
O Father Benedetto, please accept them.
We also composed a hymn in the "iambic meter Archilochus", which contains the individual miracles of the same Father Benedict:
Briskly, Brothers, Come;
in Chorus we join in singing;
we live the joys of this
radiant holiday.
On these days Benedict
showing us the arduous path,
our father, went up to the golden kingdom,
taking the prize for his work.
As a new star shone,
that clears the mists of the world.
Still on the threshold of life
escape from the flowering meadows of the century.
Powerful to work miracles,
by the breath of God inspired,
shone by wonders and predicted
what the future held.
Intended to feed many,
reconstitutes the sieve of the wheat;
choosing for himself narrow prison,
fire extinguishers with fire.
With the weapon of the Cross he breaks
the cup that carries the poison;
discipline the wandering mind
with the mild scourge of the body.
Flow streams from the rocks;
iron returns from the bottom of the water;
obeying runs on the waves;
with a mantle the child escapes to death.
The hidden poison is revealed;
the winged executes the commands.
A collapse crushes the enemy;
the roaring lion comes back.
The motionless stone becomes light;
the imaginary stake disappears.
Those who were shattered are healthy;
the abuse committed elsewhere is revealed.
Shrewd king, you are exposed;
unjust that you oppress, you are put to flight.
You are already known, events of the future;
your mysteries no longer hide, O heart.
The foundations are laid in the dream;
the earth rejects corpses.
The fugitive is formed from the dragon;
coins rain the ether.
The crystal resists rock;
the jars are overflowing with oil.
Your sight melts the chains;
the dead come back to life.
The power of such a great light
it is overcome by the desire of the sister
the more one loves, the more to force
the more one loves, the more to force
that he sees flying to the sky.
A splendour shines in the night
unknown to the people first;
the whole globe can be seen in it,
and in the flames the Saint jump.
Among these things he made it clear with his pick
admirable realities, similar to nectar;
in fact he drew a precise line
of consecrated life for the followers.
But you, now a powerful guide for your children,
be propitious to the sighs of the flock;
blaze it for good and beware of the snake
to follow you in your path.
I want to report here about a fact that Blessed Gregory does not mention in the life of St. Benedict, our founding father. When, by divine inspiration, he came from Subiaco to these places where he now rests, he was followed by three crows that he used to feed, they flew around him for fifty miles. Arriving here at a crossroads, two angels appeared in the form of young men to show him the way to take. Always here lived a Servant of God in a humble hut to which heaven had said: "Take care of these places, another friend is here". Arriving here, in the Rocca di Cassino, Benedetto mortified himself in a severe and continuous abstinence, above all, in the time of Lent he lived a retreat, away from the worries of the world. I found these news in the song of the poet Marco, who came to visit Benedict and composed some verses in his praise, I don't report them below because I don't want to lengthen my story too much. Heaven was surely the one who led Benedict to this fertile place under which a luxuriant valley lies: he wanted a congregation of many monks to meet here, just as it actually happened, thanks to the guidance of God.
Once I have finished narrating these things, which I could not leave out, I return to our story.
27.
Audoino, King of the Lombards, had Rodelinda as his wife, this generated a son, Alboino, suitable for war and valiant in action. Died Audoino, the tenth king was therefore Alboino who became him with the votes of all. The many exploits of Alboino made him famous and Clotario, King of the Franks, wanted to join him by giving him his daughter Clotsuinda as wife, from this union only a daughter was born, Albsuinda.
At the same time Turisindo, King of the Gepids, died, followed by Cunimondo. The latter, wanting to avenge the old wrongs suffered, broke the peace treaty with the Lombards and prepared the war. Alboino had made a perpetual pact with the Avars, those who were once called Huns and only later Avars, named after their King. Alboino left for the war provoked by the Gepids and while the latter, from various directions, moved against of him, as per agreements made with the Lombard King, the Avars invaded the territory of the Gepids. A sad messenger reached Cunimondo with the news that the Avars had entered their lands. Depressed in morale, faced with an anguished choice, Cunimondo decided to face the Lombards first and urging them to battle added that after winning them they would drive the Huns out of their homeland.
The inevitable battle was waged with all forces, the Lombards were victors and cruelly raged on the Gepids with such fury that they massacred them almost completely, so much so that those who brought the news of the extermination barely escaped. In that battle Alboino killed Cunimondo and, taking his head off, made a glass to drink, on the type of what are called "scala" with them and "patera" in Latin. He also took prisoner the daughter of King Gepides named Rosmunda and a multitude of men and women of all ages. Alboino, given that Clotsunda had died, took Rosmunda as his wife to his future ruin, as it became clear. With that victory the Lombards collected a great wealth. The lineage of the Gepids was destroyed, those who escaped ended up subject in part to the Lombards and in part under the harsh yoke of the Hun empire that still occupies their homeland.
The name of Alboino, however, rose to great fame, so much so that at Bavari, Sassoni and other men who speak the same language, his deeds, luck in war, valor in battle and glory are told. Under his rule, the Lombards also manufactured many new weapons of particular shape as is still told today.
End of the First Book
Second book
1.
While the fame of the continuous victories of the Lombards spread everywhere, Narsete, "Cartulario Imperiale" and governor in Italy, was busy preparing the war against Totila the Goth. Having already been the federated Lombards of the Empire, Narsete sent ambassadors to Alboino asking him to provide an auxiliary contingent for the imminent war against the Goths. Alboino sent a contingent of selected men who arrived in Italy by crossing the Gulf of the Adriatic Sea. These allies of the Romans took part in the battles by defeating and exterminating the Goths, also killing King Totila, honoured and full of gifts, they returned to their lands.
For as long as they remained stationed in Pannonia, the Lombards were Federations of the Roman Republic and helped them against their enemies.
2.
In those years Narsete undertook a war against Duke Buccellino. King Franco Teodeberto, when he returned to Gaul, had left him in Italy together with another Duke, Amingo; they had the task of subjugating the whole peninsula. Buccellino sent rich gifts to his King, these were part of the great accumulated booty, and while he was preparing to winter in Campania, he was reached and won by Narsete in a hard battle in the place known as Tanneto. In the battle Buccellino himself was killed. Later Amingo tried to bring help to Windin, a Goto Count who had rebelled against Narsete, both were defeated by the Roman general, Windin was sent into exile in Constantinople while Amingo was killed by the sword of Narsete. A third Duke, Leutarius, Buccellino's brother, laden with much booty, tried to return to his homeland, but between Verona and Trento, near Lake Benaco, he died of illness.
3.
Narsete still had to wage war against Sindualdo, King of Brioni, a part of the lineage of Eruli that Odoacer brought with him when he came to Italy. To Sindualdo, Narsete had given many privileges as an ally of Rome, but then Sindualdo, taken with pride and a desire to reign, rebelled against Narsete. He defeated him in battle and captured him, then Sindualdo ended up hanging from a high beam.
In addition to this, Patrick Narsete, through General Digisteo, a strong and belligerent man, occupied the whole of Italy. Narsete arrived in Italy as Cartulario but thanks to his value he obtained the Patriziato. He was a pious man, of Catholic religion, generous with the poor and zealous in the restoration of churches. So fervent in vigils and prayers that he obtained victory more with supplications to God than with arms.
4.
At the time when Narsete governed Italy, a very serious plague broke out in the province of Liguria. Suddenly stains appeared in the houses, on doors, vases and clothes, when someone tried to clean them they became even more evident. After a year, men had glands the size of a walnut or date gland in the groin and other delicate parts of the body. This was followed by a strong fever that led to death in three days. Those who made it through the three days had a good chance of surviving. Everywhere there were mourning and tears, and since the word had spread among the people that those who left their homes could survive, they were abandoned, empty, only the dogs remained to keep them. The flocks were left alone in the pastures, without shepherds to watch over them. Where before you could see villages and camps full of people, now they were deserted and abandoned because everyone had fled. The children fled, leaving the corpses of their parents unburied, the parents fled, leaving their children in strong fevers. Those who lingered and remained to give a pitiful burial according to ancient customs, were infected and in turn remained unburied. In giving the last honour to the corpse of the deceased he left his corpse without the honour of burial.