The ''Psychomachia'' (''Battle of Spirits'' or ''Soul War'') is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

poem by Prudentius (348 CE - after 405 CE). Its precise date of composition is unknown. In roughly a thousand lines, the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

describes the conflict of

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

s and

virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...

s as a battle in the style of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

''.

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

is attacked by and defeats pagan

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...

to be cheered by a thousand Christian

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s. The poem was extremely popular, and survives in many medieval manuscripts, 20 of them illustrated. The work is often considered among the most influential medieval allegory, the first in a long tradition including the '' Romance of the Rose'', '' Everyman'', and '' Piers Plowman''. The poem may be the subject of wall paintings in the churches at Claverley,

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, and at Pyrford,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, both in England. In the early twelfth century it was a common theme for sculptural programmes on façades of churches in western France, such as Aulnay, Charente-Maritime. The word may be used more generally for the common theme of the "battle between good and evil", for example in sculpture. The duality depicts the different moral realms humans battle within themselves: all are participating in the war of the soul, because Vice and Virtue both live within them, while their decisions and actions determine the outcome of the conflict.

Antecedents

A manuscript discovered in 1931 records a speech by the second-century academic skeptic philosopher

Favorinus Favorinus (c. 80 – c. 160 AD) was a Roman sophist and skeptic philosopher who flourished during the reign of Hadrian and the Second Sophistic. Early life He was of Gaulish ancestry, born in Arelate (Arles). He received a refined educa ...

that employs psychomachia, suggesting the technique predates Prudentius.

Characters

The plot consists of the personified virtues of Hope, Sobriety,

Chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains from sexual activity that is considered immoral or from any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for exampl ...

, Humility, etc. fighting the personified vices of

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

, Wrath,

Paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

, Avarice, etc. The

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

s are women because in Latin, words for abstract concepts have feminine grammatical gender; an uninformed reader of the work might take the story literally as a tale of many angry women fighting one another, because Prudentius provides no context or explanation of the allegory.William R. Cook and Ronald B. Herzman (2001). ''Discovering the Middle Ages''.

The Teaching Company The Teaching Company, doing business as The Great Courses, formerly Wondrium, is a Media (communication), media production company which produces Education, educational, video, and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, and series ...

. *

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

(Fides) strikes Worship-of-the-Old-Gods

Idolatry Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...

(Veterum Cultura Deorum) on the head. *

(Pudicitia) is assaulted by Lust (Sodomita Libido), but cuts down her enemy with a sword. *

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

(Patientia) enrages Wrath (Ira), who attacks but cannot defeat or even injure her. Driven mad with frustration, Anger ultimately kills herself instead. * Humility (Mens Humilis) otherwise known as Lowliness, sees

(Superbia) charging her, but her horse stumbles, and Pride is thrown in a pit that Deceit has already dug across the field. * Sobriety (Sobrietas) plants her flag and restores the courage that was taken from the other virtues by the temptation of

Indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

(Luxuria). *

Good Works In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's exterior actions, deeds, and behaviors that align with certain moral teachings, emphasizing compassion, Charity (Christian virtue), charity, kindness and adherence to biblical pri ...

(Operatio) strangles Greed (Avaritia) who has seized the entire human race. * Concordia, having heard such great blasphemy, pins the tongue of Discordia with a spear and stops her breath. In a similar manner, various vices fight corresponding virtues and are always defeated. Biblical figures that exemplify these virtues also appear (e.g. Job as an example of patience). Despite the fact that seven virtues defeat seven vices, they are not the canonical

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...

, nor the three theological and four cardinal virtues.

Notable manuscripts

*Berne, Burgerbibliothek Cod. 264, region of Lake Constance c. AD 900. Parchment, 145 foll., 27.3/28.3 x 21.5/22 cm. The ms. is counted among the outstanding examples of Carolingian book art. It contains all seven poems by Prudentius plus an added eighth poem; given to the Strasbourg diocese in the 990s and later was acquired by Jacques Bongars. *Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 23; Prudentius, ''Psychomachia'' and other poems, 10th century, English. *London,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, Add MS 24199, part 1; Miscellany (Prudentius, ''Psychomachia''), 10th century. **MS Cotton Cleopatra C VIII; Prudentius, ''Psychomachia'', 10th century. *Munich, Staatsbibliothek, CLM. 29031b; Prudentius, Psychomachia, 10th century.

Other uses of 'psychomachia'

Theatre historian, Jonas Barish uses the term psychomachia to describe anti-theatrical conflict during the nineteenth century.See . Kirsty Allison used Psychomachia as the title for her cult novel, set in the 1990s ( Wrecking Ball Press, 2020). The first edition also publishes a translation, and a modernised edit was later published in LoveLove magazine.

Notes

References

* MS 23, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge * Magnus Frisch: ''Psychomachia. Einleitung, Text, Übersetzung und Kommentar'' (= ''Texte und Kommentare.'' Bd. 62). De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2020, .

External links

The Latin original of the poemSeveral medieval illustrations of the battle scenes described
(translated to English)
Psycomachia Vices
folio 200v of manuscript Hortus Deliciarum ca. 1170 CE, Strasbourg (online catalog Oberlin College)
Psycomachia Virtues
folio 201r of manuscript Hortus Deliciarum ca. 1170 CE, Strasbourg (online catalog Oberlin College)
British Library manuscript 24199 record and images
{{Catholic virtue ethics 5th-century poems 5th-century Christian texts Medieval literature Late Latin poems