Timor mortis conturbat me
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Timor mortis conturbat me is a Latin phrase commonly found in late medieval English poetry. It can be translated into a number of different ways, most literally as "fear of death confounds me". However, a better translation in the context of the poetic usage of the phrase is "fear of death upsets me". Another looser translation is "I am scared to death of dying".
In the Middle Ages, it was common for poetry to be given no title, particularly in the case of poetry written in religious manuscripts or treatises. As a result of this, many of the titles of poems that we have today were actually given to the work by editors at a much later date. Often, editors would select a phrase from the poem if it appeared more than once within the poem. Since the phrase "timor mortis conturbat me" was popular in medieval literature, and was frequently repeated in poetry, it is no surprise that there are numerous poems that bear the title timor mortis conturbat me.
In terms of genre, poetry in this tradition frequently appears in the form of a meditation, or a sermon that employs exempla. In some cases, the poetry also took the form of a list (e.g. a list of different famous people appears within the poem). Although the list is not technically a form of genre, it is a common medieval literary convention.
Several themes appear in timor mortis poetry which are also frequently found in other medieval poems on the subject of death. A common theme is death's triumph over people no matter how great or powerful a person was in life. Another common theme is the uncertainty of when one's life will end. Poets invariably pointed out that there is no guarantee that a person will live from one moment to the next, and that death could strike suddenly and without warning. This naturally led to the theme of the immediate need for penance and good works. It was stressed that a person should not delay in seeking penance or doing good works, lest they should perish and suffer eternally in hell for it.
A sonorous poem by William Dunbar employs the phrase at the third line of each verse, and as its title implies, "A Lament of the Makers" written around the end of the 15th century refers back to medieval Scottish poets.
