Greetings all I seek to have the above sentence from the greenland sagas translated into latin. It is to be used a motto for a loge / fraternity. If possible I would also be seeking a translation of "Brothers of honor" - this would be the name of the fraternity. I have been suggested "Honoris Fratres" from a friend, but I am not sure it is correct. I thank you all in advance.
I hate it when I have to copy and paste the title because they haven’t put the phrase to be translated in the post. Literally: Nudum est tergum ei qui nullum fratrem habet. Should work. There are various options for shortening it.
Thank you all for the translation. My sincere apologies to correctrix for not writing the line in the body as well. Correctrix how would you shorten it while still maintaining the integrity of the original saying? Ie. I still want the sense carried in the sentence, not something cooked down to "he without friend has a naked back" or similar. If the sentence is at it should be could anyone please second it?
Well, it still says ‘brother’ rather than ‘friend’. As for the overall structure, we can’t simplify it if you want a really literal translation.
In case anyone is missing the sense of the phrase, I think it derives from "I got your back". It seems to me that "unshielded" would be better than "unclothed" here...
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=nudus&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059 Examples of both Sallust and Livy using nudum corpus to mean defenceless
Well, he said it came from Viking sagas, not US slang. I think the idea of have a bare back or chest or whatever, in the sense of having no armour or even clothes to get between your skin and a blade, is fairly universally comprehensible notion.
It is from the Viking sagas yes, and I already have the old Norse inscription. As nikolaos correctly states it derives from fighting in units so your brothers defend your back. Which is also the origin of "I got your back" it's not slang.
