Convivium Improvisum (An Unexpected Party)

What follows is a Latin translation of the first page or so of the Hobbit. I did this during a Latin Prose Composition class at the University of Washington in 1994; so far as I know it was the first time anyone had tried this. At the outset I had dreamed of doing the whole work; but even this much took several weeks of (off and on but mostly on) research on the various words, turns of phrase, constructions, and so on. It is probably not the easiest read, as there is some unusual vocabulary and I made an effort to make it artful. Some may find it overwrought. Nor is it completely flawless. But do note the opening hexameter!I had this posted on my old site www.kingmixers.com from about 2002–2012, until I discontinued that service. Since Mark Walker has now produced a translation of the whole book, it seemed timely to make it public again for any who may wish to compare. The styles, it will be seen, are very different. I’d like to think that Walker’s choice to make hobbit second-declension, and his use of foramen, terra and habitare in the opening sentence, are an Alexandrian allusion to an obscure predecessor. But maybe these were all just obvious choices. John C. Franklin, The University of Vermont, April 15, 2016.