Sic filia didicit et ubi humi liber iaceret et quomodo paenulae, baltei, linum, purpuraque a fullone aut a textore curarentur.

The sentence has one main clause and then two dependent clauses:

• Sic filia didicit = Thus/so the daughter learned
• et ubi humi liber iaceret = both where the book lay on the ground
• et quomodo paenulae, baltei, linum, purpuraque ... curarentur = and how cloaks, belts, linen, and purple cloth were dealt with/processed ...

So didicit governs two indirect questions:

• ubi ... iaceret = where ... lay
• quomodo ... curarentur = how ... were treated

The pattern is basically she learned both X and Y.

Sic usually means thus, so, or in this way.

Here it connects this sentence to what came before: So/Thus the daughter learned... In other words, something earlier happened, and as a result she learned these things.

This is the idiom et ... et ..., which means both ... and ....

So:

• et ubi ...
• et quomodo ...

means:

• both where ...
• and how ...

Latin often uses repeated et to join two parallel ideas.

Because they introduce indirect questions.

After a verb like didicit (learned), Latin often uses an indirect question instead of a simple statement. So:

• ubi humi liber iaceret = where the book was lying
• quomodo ... curarentur = how ... were treated

These are not direct questions like Ubi liber iacet? or Quomodo curantur? Instead, they are embedded inside the larger sentence: she learned where... / she learned how...

Because Latin normally puts the verb of an indirect question in the subjunctive.

That is why you get:

• iaceret instead of an indicative form like iacebat
• curarentur instead of curabantur

This is a very common rule:

• direct question: Ubi liber iacebat?
• indirect question: didicit ubi liber iaceret

So the subjunctive here does not necessarily make the meaning doubtful or hypothetical; it is required by the construction.

They are imperfect subjunctive because the main verb didicit is past, and Latin normally follows sequence of tenses in indirect questions.

A simple way to think about it:

• main verb in past time (didicit)
• dependent verb often goes into the imperfect subjunctive if it is viewed as happening at the same general past time

So:

• didicit ubi liber iaceret = she learned where the book was lying/lay
• didicit quomodo ... curarentur = she learned how ... were treated

Humi is a special form meaning on the ground.

It is the locative form of humus. The locative is an old case used especially for place where, and a few nouns keep it in Latin.

So:

• humi = on the ground, on the floor

This is something you just learn as a set expression. English speakers often expect in humo, but humi is perfectly normal Latin.

Here it is the noun liber = book.

You can tell from the context and syntax:

• liber is nominative singular
• it is the subject of iaceret

So ubi humi liber iaceret means where the book lay on the ground.

It is not the adjective līber meaning free, even though the dictionary forms look similar in writing.

They are nominative, because they are the subjects of curarentur.

More specifically:

• paenulae = nominative plural
• baltei = nominative plural
• linum = nominative singular
• purpuraque = nominative singular + -que

Even though some are singular and some are plural, together they form a compound subject, so the verb is plural:

• curarentur = were treated

Because the whole list acts as a compound subject.

Latin, like English, uses a plural verb when several things are joined together:

• paenulae
• baltei
• linum
• purpura

Together they mean cloaks, belts, linen, and purple cloth/dye, so the verb is plural:

• curarentur = were dealt with / were processed

-que means and, but unlike et, it is attached to the end of a word.

So:

• purpuraque = and purple

Latin often uses -que to add the final item in a list. So instead of writing et purpura, the author writes purpuraque.

That is a very common Latin style.

Literally, curare often means to care for, to look after, or to attend to. But in context, the sense is broader.

Because the agents are:

• a fullone = by a fuller
• a textore = by a weaver

the verb probably means something like:

• were treated
• were prepared
• were worked on
• were processed

So it is not just emotional or personal care. It is practical handling of cloth and clothing.

Because this is the ablative of personal agent with a passive verb.

The verb is passive:

• curarentur = were treated

When Latin says by someone with a passive verb, it usually uses:

• a/ab + ablative

So:

• a fullone = by a fuller
• a textore = by a weaver

This is the standard construction for a personal agent.

Here aut means or.

Very often:

• aut is a more definite or
• vel can be a looser or, sometimes closer to or even or if you like

In this sentence, a fullone aut a textore means by a fuller or by a weaver. The idea is that different materials might be handled by one kind of worker or the other.

You do not need to force a huge contrast here, but aut is the normal word for a straightforward or.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because endings show how words function.

For example, English depends heavily on position:

• the book lay on the ground

Latin can move things around for emphasis or rhythm because forms like liber, humi, and iaceret already show their roles.

So:

• ubi humi liber iaceret

does not need to match English order exactly. A Roman reader can still tell that:

• liber is the subject
• humi gives location
• iaceret is the verb

Didicit means learned, which emphasizes the process of coming to know something.

That fits well here, because the daughter is acquiring information:

• where the book lay
• how these materials were treated

A verb like scivit would emphasize simply knew, not the act of learning. So didicit is a natural choice for she learned/found out.