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UBI SUNT Ubi sunt was a common poetic motif
employed in the Middle Ages. The term derives from
the Latin phrase Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt (Where
are the ones who came before us?) and evokes a sense
of loss, longing, and nostalgia. Poems utilizing the
theme often lament the transience of youth, beauty,
and life.
In commenting on the brevity of human existence,
the ubi sunt theme is somewhat related to the CARPE
DIEM (seize the day) topos popularized by the classical
poet Horace. However, the ubi sunt motif does not
urge the audience to embrace worldly pleasures;
instead, it cautions the reader or listener to prepare for
the inevitable loss of these pleasures. One of the dis-
tinguishing features of the ubi sunt theme is its melan-
cholic tone, which longs for the “good old days” that
will never come again; the present can never measure
up to the glories of the past due to the poet’s or speak-
er’s circumstances.
One of the best-known Old English examples of the
ubi sunt motif is “The WANDERER,” in which a solitary
exile questions where the former joys of his life have
gone. The answer, of course, which serves as a
memento mori, a remembrance of death, is that they
are dead and gone, as we all shall be someday. The
MIDDLE SCOTS poem, The TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID by
ROBERT HENRYSON, provides a later example of this

motif, which is also found in many MIDDLE ENGLISH

LYRICS AND BALLADS.

See also CONTEMPT FOR THE WORLD.

Clinton Atchley and Michelle M. Sauer

“URIEN OF YRECHWYDD” TALIESIN (sixth

century) This poem, contained in the Book of Taliesin,

is one of the oldest poems in Welsh. It is attributed to the

poet TALIESIN, who was active at the end of the sixth cen-

tury. The poem itself is a tribute to Urien, king of Rheged

(590 C.E.), one of Taliesin’s patrons. Bards of kings in

Celtic and Germanic medieval societies were expected to

praise their lords in order to publicize their fame within

the community as well as to other neighboring tribes and

enemies; the poems and songs also preserved their mem-

ory into future generations. Urien is described as a gener-

ous Christian man whom many poets rejoice and praise.

A paramount leader and ruler by whom the Lloegrians

have suffered defeat, he is Rheged’s defender and a great

battle-lord, one that Yrechwydd can be proud of. Because

of this poem, his reputation will live on.

See also POETS OF THE PRINCES.

FURTHER READING

Evans, Stephen S. The Heroic Poetry of Dark-Age Britain: An

Introduction to its Dating, Composition, and use as a Historical

Source. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1997.

Bradford Lee Eden

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