Hello to all!
I've come across the above phrase in Book XV, Chapter 25 of William of Tyre's history.
This is the context: the town of Ascalon, still held by the Muslims, has long been a thorn in the side for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Very close to Jerusalem, it's a base from which the Muslims can easily raid Christian-held territory. To try to contain the threat, the Christians have built two fortresses in strategic locations, and this measure has proven to be very effective. So now they're proposing to build a third fortress (which William alternately refers to as a "castrum", "praesidium", "oppidum" or "municipium").
Hic complacuit prudentioribus praesidium fundari, eo quod aliis quae ad usus similes facta erant municipiis et civitati [Ascalon] vicinius, et loco situque munitiore videretur. Proposito igitur satisfacientes, dominus rex et principes ejus, una cum domino patriarcha et praelatis ecclesiarum, circa veris initium, hieme transcursa, ad locum unanimiter conveniunt, et vocatis artificibus, simul et populo universo necessaria ministrante, aedificant solidis fundamentis et lapidibus quadris oppidum, cum turribus quatuor congruae altitudinis.
For "proposito igitur satisfacientes" the translation I have gives "Well satisfied with this idea, the king . . .", and I simply can't see this. It seems to me that satisfaciens is active, "satisfying, giving satisfaction, making amends, etc." Nothing I find in Lewis and Short would justify interpreting it passively as "satisfied".
My initial interpretation was along the lines of "making good on their proposal". I.e., they've proposed something and now they have to do the necessary "to satisfy it", to carry it out. I might simply translate it as, "In order to carry out the project, the king . . ." It doesn't appear to me that the word would have been used like this in classical times, but this is William of Tyre.
Any comments would be most welcome.
I've come across the above phrase in Book XV, Chapter 25 of William of Tyre's history.
This is the context: the town of Ascalon, still held by the Muslims, has long been a thorn in the side for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Very close to Jerusalem, it's a base from which the Muslims can easily raid Christian-held territory. To try to contain the threat, the Christians have built two fortresses in strategic locations, and this measure has proven to be very effective. So now they're proposing to build a third fortress (which William alternately refers to as a "castrum", "praesidium", "oppidum" or "municipium").
Hic complacuit prudentioribus praesidium fundari, eo quod aliis quae ad usus similes facta erant municipiis et civitati [Ascalon] vicinius, et loco situque munitiore videretur. Proposito igitur satisfacientes, dominus rex et principes ejus, una cum domino patriarcha et praelatis ecclesiarum, circa veris initium, hieme transcursa, ad locum unanimiter conveniunt, et vocatis artificibus, simul et populo universo necessaria ministrante, aedificant solidis fundamentis et lapidibus quadris oppidum, cum turribus quatuor congruae altitudinis.
For "proposito igitur satisfacientes" the translation I have gives "Well satisfied with this idea, the king . . .", and I simply can't see this. It seems to me that satisfaciens is active, "satisfying, giving satisfaction, making amends, etc." Nothing I find in Lewis and Short would justify interpreting it passively as "satisfied".
My initial interpretation was along the lines of "making good on their proposal". I.e., they've proposed something and now they have to do the necessary "to satisfy it", to carry it out. I might simply translate it as, "In order to carry out the project, the king . . ." It doesn't appear to me that the word would have been used like this in classical times, but this is William of Tyre.
Any comments would be most welcome.