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I've come across an unusual use of "liberalis", and I wonder how it should be translated. It's in a Catholic catechism, which heads one section:

"liberalis corporis et sanguinis christi domini alimenta sustentabatur"

Here's the full link:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EinUusNBq-YC&lpg=RA1-PA97&ots=FuOUp4Pwbc&dq=%22%20liberalis%20corporis%22&pg=RA1-PA97#v=onepage&q&f=false

Any opinions on what it means here?

Draconis
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Roger Pearse
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1 Answers1

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A clue is in the next line:

S[anctus] Liberalis Attinensis Episcopus, Heliodori discipulus…
Saint Liberalis of Altinum, the Bishop and a student of Heliodorus…

In other words, "Liberalis" is the name of a saint.

So I'd translate your sentence something like:

[Sanctus] Liberalis corporis & sanguinis Christi Domini alimenta sustentabatur.
[Saint] Liberalis was sustained by the nourishment of the body and blood of Christ the Lord.

According to the stories, Liberalis fasted extensively as a form of mortification (refusing to eat or drink except on Sundays); I assume that's what's being referenced here.

Draconis
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  • So is there a feminine word alimenta in post-classical Latin? Or is there some kind of post-classical deponent sustentor? I do think your translation is the meaning intended by the author. – Cerberus Mar 31 '20 at 02:01
  • @Cerberus Possibly sustentor, sustentari, meaning something like "take sustenance from"? Often in later Latin the cases don't seem to line up and I have to force them a bit to get something grammatical; I assume that's just my limited understanding. – Draconis Mar 31 '20 at 02:13
  • No, I have seen the same thing. For example, per + ablative is very common in post-classical Latin. So it could be an combination of soloecisms in this case. – Cerberus Mar 31 '20 at 12:35