I was listening to Gregorius praesul chant today and then wanted to read about it. Accidentally, as if fate is challenging me, the first result I’ve received in the search engine was a wiki page in french. There was literally no translation to even english. So I did read it!!
dans le royaume carolingien (in the Carolingian kingdom.)
At first I assumed that royaume means what instead règne does. Maybe because I subconsciously linked it to regimen, which is unrelated and is régime. Alright, so we have royaume for kingdowm, règne for reign and régime for regimen. Roi / king -> royaume / kingdom
Il s’agit d’un texte attribuant l’auteur du livre au pape saint Grégoire I. (It is a text attributing the book’s authorship to Pope Saint Gregory I.)
Wasn’t sure about il s’agir. Apparently it’s a set structure meaning either “to be about” or “it is necessary”. So in this context for me it works as an abstract marker setting the scope.
Back to Madame Bovary.
Encore endormi par la chaleur du sommeil, il se laissait bercer au trot pacifique de sa bête. (Still drowsy from the warmth of sleep, he let himself be lulled by the peaceful trot of his beast.)
Chaleur - heat. Will put it on the same shelf with froid, chaud and tiède.
Bercer - lull. Such a pretty meaning for a word I have completely different associations with. I assumed it met something long “berserk”.. many false friends, many. Hmm. Wiktionary says it’s related to proto-celtic “bereti” which means “to carry”.
elle s’arrêtait d’elle-même devant ces trous entourés d’épines que l’on creuse au bord des sillons (she stopped of her own accord in front of those holes surrounded by thorns that are dug at the edge of furrows)
“D’elle même” - herself, by herself. Même is still a bit vague to me and I can’t grasp it for sure.
Charles se réveillant en sursaut (Charles woke up with a start)
En sursaut seems like another set phrase to me, even wiktionary lists a quotation with the same context: “être réveillé en sursaut (to be woken up with a start)”
les branches des pommiers sans feuilles (the branches of the leafless apple trees)
Very conventient that branch is a true friend now.
hérissant leurs petites plumes (bristling their little feathers)
To bristle is another word I didn’t even know in English. Glad to keep working on both vocabulars.
La plate campagne s’étalait à perte de vue (The flat countryside stretched as far as the eye could see)
Interesting that in French there is plat for dish. And in English there is plate, but in French it’s assiette. But plate in French is flat in English. What a mess. I will not enjoy remembering it.
At first I thought étaler was a weird conjugation or product of être, but of course it’s not. Instead it’s just another way to say “spread”, just like already mentioned in previous notes étendre and écarter. I understand they have different tones, but it’s still going to be a mess in my head.
des taches d’un violet noir (dark purple stains)
And here it is, a false friend within the very language I am learning: tâcher / “to try” and tacher / “to stain”. Hence la tache / “a spot” or “a stain”.
bientôt il entrait dans une sorte d’assoupissement (soon he would fall into a sort of drowsiness)
Bientôt - soon. Simple and very usable. I will definitely need it.
ses sensations récentes se confondant avec des souvenirs (his recent sensations blending with memories)
Confondre - to confuse, to mix up. Looks very similar to how it’s in English, hopefully I remember.