Prudentius

Aurelius Prudentius Clemens was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348. He probably died in Spain, as well, some time after 405, possibly around 413. The place of his birth is uncertain, but it may have been Caesaraugusta Saragossa, Tarraco Tarragona, or Calagurris Calahorra.

Prudentius practised law with some success, and was twice provincial governor, perhaps in his native country, before the emperor Theodosius I summoned him to court. Towards the end of his life (possibly around 392) Prudentius retired from public life to become an ascetic, fasting until evening and abstaining entirely from animal food. Prudentius later collected the Christian poems written during this period and added a preface, which he himself dated 405.

The poetry of Prudentius is influenced by early Christian authors, such as Tertullian and St. Ambrose, as well as the Bible and the acts of the martyrs. His Christmas plainsong hymn Divinum Mysterium ("Of the Father's Love Begotten") and the hymn for Epiphany O sola magnarum urbium ("Earth Has Many a Noble City"), both from the Cathemerinon, are still in use today. The allegorical Psychomachia, however, is his most influential work and became the inspiration and wellspring of medieval allegorical literature.

The works of Prudentius include:

• Liber Cathemerinon -- ("Book in Accordance with the Hours") comprises 12 lyric poems on various times of the day and on church festivals.
• Liber Peristephanon -- ("Crowns of Martyrdom") contains 14 lyric poems on Spanish and Roman martyrs.
• Apotheosis -- ("Deification") attacks disclaimers of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus.
• Hamartigenia -- ("The Origin of Sin") attacks the Gnostic dualism of Marcion and his followers.
• Psychomachia -- ("Battle of Souls") describes the struggle of faith, supported by the cardinal virtues, against idolatry and the corresponding vices.
• Libri contra Symmachum -- ("Books Against Symmachus") oppose the pagan senator Symmachus's requests that the altar of Victory be restored to the Senate house.
• Dittochæon -- ("The Double Testament") contains 49 quatrains intended as captions for the murals of a basilica in Rome.

See also

• Allegory in the Middle Ages

External links

• Works by Prudentius at Project Gutenberg
• Liber peristephanon - Latin text.
• The Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Christian Classics Ethereal Library
• Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes

References

• R. Herzog, Die allegorische Dichtkunst des Prudentius, Munich, 1966 (Zetemata, 42).
• M. M. van Assendelft, Sol ecce surgit igneus. A Commentary on the Morning and Evening Hymns of Prudentius, Groningen, 1976.
• J.-L. Charlet, La création poétique dans le Cathemerinon de Prudence, Paris, 1982.
• R. Henke, Studien zum Romanushymnus des Prudentius, Frankfurt am Main/Berne/New York, 1983 (Europäische Hochschulschriften 15/27).
• C. Gnilka, XPHSIS: Die Methode der Kirchenväter im Umgang mit der antiken Kultur, I-II. Basel, 1984,1993.
• A.-M. Palmer, Prudentius on the Martyrs, Oxford, 1989.
• M. Roberts, Poetry and the Cult of the Martyrs. The Liber Peristephanon of Prudentius, Ann Arbor, 1993.
• C. Gnilka, Prudentiana, Т. I-III, Munich/Leipzig, 2000, 2001, 2003.
• Maria Lühken, Christianorum Maro et Flaccus. Zur Vergil- und Horazrezeption des Prudentius, Göttingen, 2002 (Hypomnemata, 141).
• Maria Becker, Kommentar zum Tischgebet des Prudentius (cath. 3). (Wissenschaftliche Kommentare zu griechischen und lateinischen Schriftstellern). Heidelberg, Universitätsverlag Winter, 2006, viii, 279 S. (рец. тук).
• Mastrangelo, Marc, The Roman Self in Late Antiquity. Prudentius and the Poetics of the Soul. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, Pp. viii, 259.