The Origin of "Puella Docta"

So, this journal’s url is “puelladocta.blogspot.” Right, that’s pretty obvious. Even my twitter is “puelladocta.”

Yet, I’m sure a few of you out there are wondering. “Why, Christina?” you may ask. “Why, oh, why, oh, why ‘puelladocta’ of all things? Your name isn’t even close to Puella Docta, nor are you a docta (read “doctor”), and what the heck is a “puella?”

Well, I’ll tell you, Little Billy! Just have a seat and let me learn ya somethin’!

Once upon a time, back when I was in high school, I was taking Latin, and I won the foreign language award for being an outstanding Latin student! In addition to my prize, my teacher gave me a card with a lovely poem she wrote in Latin, based off a poem by Catullus we read in class. My teacher really encouraged my writing, and so the poem made mention of my story. The last lines were, roughly translated:

…So take possession of the reward for your work, such as it is, o learned girl, may it aid your unfinished work: your beautiful world. 

In Latin, “learned girl” is “puella docta.” Literally it’s, “girl learned.” There really isn’t much more to it than that, except that I adopted the phrase and wear it like a badge! Hope that clears things up!

Keep a lookout for a Valentine’s Day entry!

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