Timor mortis conturbat me

Timor mortis conturbat me is a Latin phrase commonly found in late medieval Scottish and English poetry, translating to "fear of death disturbs me".

The phrase comes from a responsory of the Catholic Office of the Dead, in the third Nocturn of Matins:[1] Peccantem me quotidie, et non poenitentem, timor mortis conturbat me.

[citation needed] In terms of genre, poetry in this tradition frequently appears in the form of a meditation, or a sermon that employs exempla.

He hes done petuously devour, The noble Chaucer, of makaris flour, The Monk of Bery, and Gower, all thre; Timor mortis conturbat me.

The gude Syr Hew of Eglintoun, And eik Heryot, and Wyntoun, He hes tane out of this cuntre; Timor mortis conturbat me.

In The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White, [1938] the hawks' Ordeal Hymn references the traditional form, but modified for the philosophy of predators Life is blood, shed and offered.

The Latin phrase appears, translated as "The fear of death distresses me," and the novel's content is dominated by an extensive catalog of how hundreds of writers and artists died.