April 25th,  2004 - Caerimonia  Feriae Robigaliae

G. Iulius Scaurus S. P. D.

Salvete, Quirites.

We are fortunate in having in Ovid's _Fasti_ iv.905-936, a description
of a considerable portion of the caerimonia of the Robigalia. The
Flamen Quirinalis, attired in laena and apex, bearing a white
handtowel, a patera of unmixed wine, an accera of frankincense, and
the exta of a sacrificed unweaned, red puppy and of a sacrificed ewe
entered a grove of trees near a grainfield, where he pronounced the
ritual prayers and burnt the incense on an altar, poured a libation of
wine, and immolated the exta. No epulum was observed because the
swacrifice was entirely for the consumption of Robigo to avert grain
rust. Although it would have been possible for me to obtain an
unweaned red puppy from the local pound (the dog would be euthanised
in any case) and a ewe and for me to sacrifice both and offer the
exta. However, it is my judgment that doing so at this time would be
extremely divisive for the respublica. Instead I obtained a clipping
of fur from such a puppy which had been euthanised by the local pound
and freshly sheared wool tufts from a local sheep rancher to be
offered in their stead with a piaculum for failing to offer the
traditional sacrifice. There is a grove of trees on the property of a
friend near a corn field; I erected a temporary stone altar there. I
returned home, bathed, donned toga praetexta, laena and apex and then
returned to the grove. Bearing a white handtowel, a patera of unmixed
wife, an accera of frankincense, and the clippings of the fur of a
read, unweaned puppey and wool tufts from a ewe, I approached the
altar. I began the praefatio.

Praefatio

"Iane Pater, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies
volens propitius mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum Romanorum Quiritum
[Father Ianus, by offering this incense to you I pray good prayers, so
that you may be willingly propitious to me and the Senate and People
of the Nova Romans, the Quirites"]. I placed incense in the focus of
the altar.

"Iuppiter Optime Maxime, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces precor,
uti sies volens propitius mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum Romanorum
Quiritum [Iuppiter Best and Greatest, by offering this incense to you
I pray good prayers, so that you may be willingly propitious to me and
the Senate and People of the Nova Romans, the Quirites"]. I placed
incense in the focus of the altar.

"Iuno Dea, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies volens
propitia mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum Romanorum Quiritum [Goddess
Iuno, by offering this incense to you I pray good prayers, so that you
may be willingly propitious to me and the Senate and People of the
Nova Romans, the Quirites"]. I placed incense in the focus of the altar.

"Minerva Dea, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies
volens propitia mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum Romanorum Quiritum
[Goddess Minverva, by offering this incense to you I pray good
prayers, so that you may be willingly propitious to me and the Senate
and People of the Nova Romans, the Quirites"]. I placed incense in
the focus of the altar.

"Mars Pater, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies
volens propitius mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum Romanorum Quiritum
[Father Mars, by offering this incense to you I pray good prayers, so
that you may be willingly propitious to me and the Senate and People
of the Nova Romans, the Quirites.]" I placed incense in the focus of
the altar.

"Quirine Pater, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies
volens propitius mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum Romanorum Quiritum
[Father Quirinus, by offering this incense to you I pray good prayers,
so that you may be willingly propitious to me and the Senate and
People of the Nova Romans, the Quirites.]" I placed incense in the
focus of the altar.

"Iane Pater, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Father Ianus, as by offering
to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the sake of
this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

"Iuppiter Optime Maxime, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene
precatus sum, eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Iuppiter Best
and Greatest, as by offering to you the incense virtuous prayers were
well prayed, for the sake of this be honoured by this humble wine.]"
I poured a libation on the focus of the altar.

"Iuno Dea, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Goddess Iuno, as by offering
to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the sake of
this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

"Minerva Dea, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Goddess Minerva, as by
offering to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the
sake of this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation
on the focus of the altar.

"Mars Pater, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Father Mars, as by offering
to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the sake of
this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

"Quirine Pater, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Father Quirinus, as by
offering to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the
sake of this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation
on the focus of the altar.

I washed my hands in preparation for the praecatio.

Precatio

"Aspera Robigo, parcas Cerialibus herbis, et tremat in summa leue
cacumen humo. Tu sata sideribus caeli nutrita secundi crescere, dum
fiant falcibus apta, sinas. Uis tua non leuis est: quae tu frumenta
notasti, maestus in amissis illa colonus habet; nec uenti tantum
Cereri nocuere nec imbres, nec sic marmoreo pallet adusta gelu,
quantum si culmos Titan incalfacit udos: tum locus est irae, diua
timenda, tuae. Parce, precor, scabrasque manus a messibus aufer,
neue noce cultis; posse nocere sat est. Nec teneras segetes, sed durum
amplectere ferrum, quodque potest alios perdere perde prior. Utilius
gladios et tela nocentia carpes: nil opus est illis; otia mundus agit.
Sarcula nunc durusque bidens et uomer aduncus, ruris opes, niteant;
inquinet arma situs,
conatusque aliquis uagina ducere ferrum adstrictum longa sentiat esse
mora. At tu ne uiola Cererem, semperque colonus absenti possit
soluere uota tibi. Aspera Robigo, te hoc ture ommovendo bonas preces
precor, uti sies volens propitius mihi et Senatui Populoque Novorum
Romanorum Quiritum. [Corrosive Robigo, may you spare the blade of
grain, and let the smooth top quiver on the surface of the earth.
Permit the crops, nourished by the favouring seasons of the heavens,
to grow apace until they are ready for the sickle. Your power is not
harmless. The grain which you have marked as your own, the grieving
farmer counts in the number of the lost. Not so injurious to the
grain are the winds or rains; nor is it so pallid when consumed by the
frost, hard as marble, as, when the sun with his warmth heatens the
moistened stalk. In such a case, dread Goddess, your wrath is
exercised. Spare, I pray you, and hold your scabrous hands from the
crops. Injure not our fields. To possess the power of inflcting harm
is enough. Take not into your embrace the tender crops, but rather
hard iron, and destroy first that which has the power to destroy
others. More to our benefit may you corrode swords and hurtful
weapons. We want them not: the world is at peace. Let the rakes and
hardy mattocks and crooked ploughshare, the implements of the country,
be furbished. Let rust stain arms, and let someone as he struggles to
draw his sword from scabbard find that it has become stuck by the
lapse of time. Yet hurt not the grain, and let the farmer ever be
enable to keep his vows to you, keeping yourself far away. Corrosive
Robigbo, by offering this incense to you I pray good prayers, so that
you may be willingly propitious to me and the Senate and People of the
Nova Romans, the Quirites"]. I placed incense in the focus of the altar.

"Aspera Robigo, tibi fieri oportet culignam vini dapi, eius rei ergo
hac illace dape pullucenda esto. [Corrosive Robigo, it is proper for a
cup of wine to be given, for the sake of this thing may you be
honoured by this feast offering]." I poured a libation on the focus of
the altar.

Again I washed my hands in preparation for the redditio.

Redditio

"Aspera Robigo, macte istace dape pollucenda esto, macte vino inferio
esto [ may you be honoured by this feast offering, may you be honoured
by the humble wine.]" I offered the clippings of dog hair and wool,
cakes, and wine on the focus of the altar.

"Quirine Pater, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Father Quirinus, as by
offering to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the
sake of this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on
the focus of the altar.

"Mars Pater, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Father Mars, as by offering
to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the sake of
this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

"Minerva Dea, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Goddess Minerva, as by
offering to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the
sake of this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation
on the focus of the altar.

"Iuno Dea, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Goddess Iuno, as by offering
to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the sake of
this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

"Iane Pater, uti te ture ommovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum,
eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto [Father Ianus, as by offering
to you the incense virtuous prayers were well prayed, for the sake of
this be honoured by this humble wine.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

"Vesta Dea, custos ignis sacri, macte vino inferio esto [Goddess
Vesta, guardian of the sacred fire, be honoured by this humble wine.]"
I poured a libation on the focus of the altar.

"Illicet [It is permitted to go.]"

Piaculum

Since the historical caerimonia of the Robigalia of has not yet been
fully recovered and the exta of an unweaned red puppy and a ewe were
not offered, I offered a piaculum to Robigo if anything in this
caerimonia should offend her:

"Aspera Robigo, si quidquam tibi in hac caerimonia displicet, hoc ture
veniam peto et vitium meum expio [Corrosive Robigo, if anything in
this ceremony is displeasing to you, with this incense I ask
forgiveness and expiate my fault.]" I offered incense on the focus of
the altar.

"Aspera Robigo, si quidquam tibi in hac caerimonia displicet, hoc vino
inferio veniam peto et vitium meum expio [Corrosive Robigo, if
anything in this ceremony is displeasing to you, with this humble wine
I ask forgiveness and expiate my fault.]" I poured a libation on the
focus of the altar.

Valete.

G. Iulius Scaurus
Flamen Quirinalis et Pontifex