A letter from Fortunatus (after 567)

Translated letter:

What fable is brought to the ear with sweet conversations? As the benign table now holds those gentle to me, write the quiet spirits returning the tablet, that the depicted letter bring forth the sympathetic feeling with the hand. Sweet mother and sister equally with pious love celebrate the joys with festive sound.

Original letter:

Dulcibus alloquiis quae fabula fertur in aure? si mihi iam placidas mensa benigna tenet, placatos animos tabula redeunte notate, prodat ut affectum littera picta manu. dulcis amore pio pariter materque sororque gaudia festivo concelebrate sono.

Historical context:

Bishop Venantius Fortunatus met Radegund and Agnes, whom Radegund had had installed as her abbess, when he visited Poitiers. They became good friends and exchanged epistolary poems and small gifts until the women died. After her death, Fortunatus wrote a life of Radegund emphasizing her ascetic qualities.

Printed source:

Venantii Fortunati, Opera Poetica, ed. Fridericus Leo (Berlin: Weidmann, 1881), Appendix, 282, x.

Date:

after 567