Hi, fellow Asterix fan!
I wrote this series of 'Latin Jokes Explained' posts many years ago, and have since moved them to a dedicated Asterix website.
The posts translate all the Latin phrases found in the Asterix books, explain why they are funny, and maybe even add an extra dash of humour to the situation thanks to my good friend Professor Ibrox and his leery Scottish charm.
The new site is something of a labour of love - apart from the Latin Jokes Explained series there's also the World Cup of Asterix, where I try to find the best book, and some fun listicles like one which shows the best cameos in Asterix. (You'll never believe who's at number 2! etc)
I encourage you to go over there and take a look at all the posts in their new, full-screen glory. It's really sexy and cool.
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I'll be doing almost all the Asterix books, by the way. I've already done six.
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff, finally more people fully appreciating the pun, especially the multilingual pun.
ReplyDeleteWell done for having the gall to translate the Gaul.
Who is Prof. Ibrox? Where did you meet him?
ReplyDeleteOh, man, he's such a great guy. He's a highly, HIGHLY respected scholar who in a past life was a free-scoring midfielder.
ReplyDeleteI met him at a screening of The Da Vinci Code. I remember him snorting with disbelief when Aringarosa said 'Parisi' instead of 'Lutetia'.
After the movie I collared him, and he admitted he knew Latin and he agreed to help me translate the entire Asterix canon in exchange for a pint.
Then he took me to a bar, and I've never seen a guy over forty get so much female attention with such cheesy lines. It was a real experience. I'm very, very glad to know him.
In response to all the new Asterix-related traffic, I've tidied up this post a little bit and made the graphics better.
ReplyDeleteIf someone said that first paragraph to me out loud to explain a joke, I would beat the shit out of them on the spot. Never have I experienced something so terrible.
ReplyDeleteAndy, do you mean the paragraph where the Prof explains accidence?
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty mind-bending. I remember trying to make it more understandable and my head literally exploding then instantly reforming, but smaller.
If you mean the first paragraph where I say you didn't go to a good school, that's just to wind Ibrox up, because I used to introduce him to ladies by saying 'He speaks Latin.' He'd furiously explain how no-one in the modern world speaks Latin because no-one knows what it sounds like. Then I'd suggest it sounds 'like Italian or whatever' and he'd explode again.
Every single time.
If someone from MetaFilter could message jenkinsEar for me and tell him thanks for the mention, I'd super appreciate it! Tell him he has excellent taste in Asterix/Dwarf/comic related blogs.
ReplyDeleteThe Prof might have noted that "Vae Victis" in the first panel is also a quote of a famous real-life Gaul who gave the Romans a famous real-life kicking:
ReplyDelete"In 390 BC, an army of Gauls led by Brennus attacked Rome, capturing all of the city except for the Capitoline Hill, which was successfully held against them. Brennus besieged the hill, and finally the Romans asked to ransom their city. Brennus demanded 1,000 pounds of gold and the Romans agreed to his terms.
Livy, in Ab Urbe Condita (Book 5 Sections 34–49),[1] records that the Gauls provided steelyard balances and weights, and the Romans brought out their gold. But the Romans noticed that the weights were fixed, and the tribunes dared to complain to Brennus about the issue. Brennus took his sword, threw it on to the weights, and exclaimed: "Vae victis!", for the conquered have no rights, forcing the Romans to bring even more gold to fulfil their obligation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vae_victis
The Prof might have noticed it if I'd asked him!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. Interesting stuff!
This wins the internet!
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