Aeneid 11.597–617

The cavalry battle begins

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Aen. 11.597At manus intereā mūrīs Trōiāna propinquat
Etrūscīque ducēs equitumque exercitus omnis,
compositī numerō in turmās.But meanwhile the Trojan force approaches the walls, with the Etruscan leaders and the whole army of horsemen, ordered by number into squadrons. Aen. 11.599Fremit aequore tōtō
600īnsultāns sonipēs et pressīs pugnat habēnīs
hūc conversus et hūc;Over the whole plain the prancing steed neighs and fights the tight-drawn reins, turning this way and that; Aen. 11.601tum lātē ferreus hastīs
horret ager campīque armīs sublīmibus ārdent.then far and wide the field bristles iron with spears, and the plains blaze with arms held high. Aen. 11.603Nec nōn Messāpus contrā celerēsque Latīnī
et cum frātre Corās et virginis ala Camillae
605adversī campō appārent hastāsque reductīs
prōtendunt longē dextrīs et spīcula vibrant,
adventusque virum fremitusque ārdēscit equōrum.And opposite, Messapus and the swift Latins, and Coras with his brother, and the wing of the maiden Camilla appear facing them on the plain, and draw back their right hands and thrust their spears far forward, and brandish their javelins, and the advance of men and the snorting of horses grow hot.

Aen. 11.608Iamque intrā iactum tēlī prōgressus uterque
substiterat: subitō ērumpunt clamōre furentīsque
610exhortantur equōs;And now each side, having advanced within a spear's throw, had halted: suddenly they burst out with a shout and urge on their frenzied horses; Aen. 11.610fundunt simul undique tēla
crēbra nivis rītū caelumque obtexitur umbrā.at once from every side they pour thick weapons like snow, and the sky is covered with shadow. Aen. 11.612Continuō adversīs Tyrrhēnus et ācer Aconteus
cōnīxī incurrunt hastīs prīmīque ruīnā
dant sonitum ingentī perfrāctaque quadrupedantum
615pectora pectoribus rumpunt: excussus Aconteus
fulminis in mōrem aut tormentō ponderis āctī
praecipitat longē et vītam dispergit in aurās.Straight away Tyrrhenus and keen Aconteus charge each other with all their force, spears levelled, and are the first to fall with a mighty crash, breaking their horses' chests, shattered, against each other's chests: Aconteus, flung off like a thunderbolt or a weight shot from an engine, hurtles far away and scatters his life into the air.

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Latin vocabulary for this passage (103 words)

at, conj.	but
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
intereā, adv.	in the meantime, meanwhile
mūrus, -ī, m.	wall
Trōiānus, -a, -um	Trojan
propinquō, -āre, -āvī	draw near, approach
que, enclitic conj.	and
dux, ducis, m. and f.	leader, commander
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
omnis, -e	all, every
compōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum	put together; mend, set in order
numerus, -ī, m.	number
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
turma, -ae f.	troop, squadron of cavalry
fremō, -ere, -uī, -itum	roar, growl; grumble (in + acc.: at)
aequor, -oris n.	level surface; the sea
tōtus, -a, -um	all the, the whole or entire
īnsultō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	leap on; mock, insult (+ dat.)
sonipēs, -pedis m.	horse ('sounding-foot')
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
premō, premere, pressī, pressus	press, check, restrain
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
habēna, -ae f.	rein
hūc, adv.	to this place, hither
convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus	turn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight
tum, adv.	then, at that time
lātē	widely
ferreus, -a, -um	of iron, iron
hasta, -ae f.	spear
horreō, -ēre, horruī	shudder at, dread
ager, agri, m.	field, land
campus, -ī, m.	plain, field
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
sublīmis, -e	high, lofty; in sublīme: up on high
ārdeō, ārdēre, ārsī, ārsus	be on fire, burn
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
nōn, adv.	not
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
celer, celeris, celere	swift, quick
Latīnus, -a, -um	Latin
cum, prep, with abl.	with
frāter, frātris, m.	brother
virgō, virginis, f.	maiden
ala, -ae, f.	wing
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
appāreō, -ēre, -uī, -itum	appear, come into view, show oneself
redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead or bring back; restore
prōtendō, -ere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch out, hold out
longē, adv.	far
dextra, -ae, f.	right hand (manus understood)
spīculum, -ī n.	point, sharp tip; dart, arrow
vibrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	brandish, shake
adventus, -ūs, m.	approach, arrival
vir, virī, m.	man
fremitus, -ūs, m.	roaring, roar
ārdēscō, -ere, ārsī	catch fire, blaze up; grow passionate
equus, -ī, m.	horse
iam, adv.	now, already
intrā, prep. with acc.	within
iactus, -ūs m.	throwing, a throw; fulminum iactūs: strokes of lightning
tēlum, -ī, n.	missile, spear, weapon
prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go forward, advance
uterque, utraque, utrumque	each, either, both
subsistō, -ere, -stitī	halt, make a stand
subitō, adv.	unexpectedly, suddenly
ērumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptum	burst out, sally
clāmor, -ōris, m.	shout, cry
furō, -ere	rage, rave, be mad
exhortor, -ārī, -ātus sum	encourage, urge on
fundō, -ere, fūdī, fūsum	pour; rout, scatter (an enemy)
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
undique, adv.	from or on all sides
crēber, -bra, -brum	frequent, numerous; close together
nix, nivis, f.	snow
rītus, -ūs m.	rite, ceremony; custom, manner
caelum, -ī, n.	heaven, sky
obtexō, -ere, -texuī	cover over, veil
umbra, -ae, f.	shadow, shade
continuō (adv.)	at once, immediately
ācer, ācris, ācre	sharp, shrill
cōnītor, -ī, -nīxus (-nīsus) sum	strive hard, struggle; make every effort
incurrō, -ere, -currī, -cursum	run (into), charge, rush at
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
ruīna, -ae f.	fall, collapse, ruin
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
sonitus, -ūs, m.	sound, noise
ingēns, -gentis, adj.	huge, vast
perfringō, -ere, -frēgī, -frāctum	break through
quadrupedāns, -antis	galloping; (m. as noun) steed, horse
pectus, pectoris, n.	breast
rumpō, rumpere, rūpī, ruptus	break, burst
excutiō, -ere, -cussī, -cussus	shake off, shake out
fulmen, -inis n.	thunderbolt, lightning
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
tormentum, -ī n.	artillery, siege engine
pondus, ponderis, n.	weight
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
praecipitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	throw headlong; sē praecipitāre: hurl oneself
vīta, -ae, f.	life
dispergō, -ere, -spersī, -spersum	scatter
aura, -ae, f.	air, breeze

Vergil, Aeneid XI. Latin text: J. B. Greenough, The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics of Virgil (Boston, 1881), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.