Accidit autem ut parvum lumen in villa prope viam videret; ita ad ianuam accessit et auxilium petivit.

This is a very common Latin pattern.

• accidit = it happened
• ut introduces the clause explaining what happened
• autem is a connecting word meaning something like however, moreover, now, or sometimes just a mild and

So accidit autem ut... means it happened, however, that... or more naturally now it happened that...

Latin often uses accidit ut + subjunctive where English would simply use an ordinary past verb.

Because autem is a postpositive word. That means it normally comes second in its clause, not first.

So Latin prefers:

• Accidit autem...

rather than

• Autem accidit...

This is normal for words like autem, enim, and igitur.

Because after accidit, Latin normally uses an ut-clause with the subjunctive.

So instead of saying:

• it happened that he saw with an indicative-style verb,

Latin says:

• accidit ut videret

This is just the regular construction after accidit. Even though English would usually say he saw, Latin uses the subjunctive because the action is inside that dependent clause.

This is mainly due to sequence of tenses.

• accidit is in a past tense
• after a past-tense main verb, Latin usually uses a secondary sequence
• in secondary sequence, the subjunctive is often imperfect or pluperfect

So videret is the expected form after past accidit.

In English we would usually translate it simply as saw, but Latin grammar requires the subjunctive here.

The subject is understood, not stated.

Latin often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Here:

• videret = he/she was seeing / saw in this construction
• accessit = he/she approached
• petivit = he/she asked for / sought

So the same person is understood throughout. Context tells you whether it is he or she.

Parvum lumen is the direct object of videret, so it is in the accusative.

• lumen is a neuter noun
• parvum agrees with it in gender, number, and case

So:

• lumen = light
• parvum lumen = a small light

Because lumen is neuter singular, the adjective is also neuter singular accusative: parvum.

Because in with the ablative means in or inside a place.

So:

• in villa = in the house / in the villa

This is different from in with the accusative, which usually shows movement into a place.

Also note that villa here is ablative singular, though without macrons it looks the same as the nominative. With a macron, it would be villā.

Because prope is a preposition that takes the accusative.

So:

• prope viam = near the road

That is simply the case required by prope.

It most naturally describes where the light was:

• a small light in a house near the road

In practice, Latin word order is flexible, so a phrase like this can sometimes feel slightly open. But here the natural sense is that the speaker saw a light located in a villa near the road.

Here ita means something like so, thus, or therefore.

It connects the first event to the next one:

• he saw the light;
• so he went to the door and asked for help.

So ita helps show the result or next logical step in the story.

Because ad + accusative shows movement toward something.

• ianuam is accusative singular
• ad ianuam = to the door

And accessit means approached or went up.

So ad ianuam accessit means he approached the door or he went to the door.

Both are perfect indicative active, third person singular.

• accessit = he/she approached
• petivit = he/she asked for / sought

In narrative Latin, the perfect often works like a simple English past tense. So the most natural translation is just:

• approached
• asked for

Yes. Auxilium petere is a normal Latin way to say:

• to ask for help
• to seek help

Here:

• auxilium is the direct object
• petivit means asked for or sought

So this is a very standard phrase, not a strange literal expression.

Not as much as it would be in English. Latin word order is relatively flexible because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

Still, the order here is quite natural:

• Accidit autem ut...videret sets up the event
• parvum lumen comes before the verb for emphasis on what was seen
• accessit and petivit move the story forward in sequence

So the order is not random, but the grammar depends more on the endings than on position.