The Monastic Rules of Visigothic Iberia - eTheses Repository ...

pulsare, id est carnem cum Christo crucifigere, et manna, quod est coelestis gratia,
manducare; et coelestis regionis terram non intrare. 548
mulier, „woman, wife‟ ( > Sp. mujer, Ptg. mulher): “Mihi credite, non potest toto corde
habitare cum Domino, qui mulierum saepe accessibus copulatur. Per mulierem quippe
aucupatus est serpens, id est diabolus, primum nostrum parentem”; 549 “et non matrem, non
germanam, non uxorem, non filiam, non propinquam, non extraneam, non ancillam, non
qualecunque genus mulierum uiris ministrare in infirmitate mandamus”; 550 Nullus in
praeterita castitate confidat, quia nec Dauide sanctior, nec Salomone poterit esse sapientior,
quorum corda per mulieres deprauata sunt”. 551 All of these examples come from the
Common Rule, in which the Classical Latin uxor, „wife‟, continues to be used alongside
mulier. Although mulier is used in Classical Latin, its use is often subordinated to synonyms
such as uxor and femina. Its use here four times is therefore perhaps reflective of its use in
the spoken language.
germanus, „brother‟ (> Sp. hermano, Cat. germà). The Classical Latin frater in the monastic
rules implies typically „brother‟ in a monastic usage, and so it might be expected that a
synonym is used to imply a fraternal relationship. The Ibero-Romance form comes from
*fratre germanu, „brother who shares both parents‟ (Penny 2002: 14), although this form was
apparently not used everywhere, since other Romance languages retained frater. The term
occurs twice in the Common Rule and once in the pactum attached to it: “Alius de
548 Common Rule 5.
549 Common Rule 15.
550 Common Rule 17.
551 Common Rule 17.
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