Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. AD 306/315 – c. 353/366) was 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 ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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 ...

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 ...

, perhaps the earliest female Christian poet whose work survives. A member of one of the most influential aristocratic families, she composed the ''

Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi ''Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi'' (; ''A Virgilian Cento Concerning the Glory of Christ'') is a Latin poem arranged by Faltonia Betitia Proba ( AD 352384) after her conversion to Christianity. A ''cento'' is a poetic work composed of ver ...

'', a

cento Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...

composed with verses by

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 ...

re-ordered to form an epic poem centred on the life of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Life

Proba belonged to an influential family of the 4th century, the '' Petronii Probi''. Her father was

Petronius Probianus Petronius Probianus ( 315–331 AD) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Life Probianus was a member of the '' Petronii Probi'', a family of the senatorial aristocracy. He was the son of Pompeius Probus, consul in 310, the father of Petroniu ...

Roman consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

in 322, while her mother was probably called Demetria.Fassina. She had a brother, Petronius Probinus, appointed consul in 341; also her grandfather,

Pompeius Probus Pompeius Probus ( 307–314) was a politician of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy, active at the Eastern court under Emperors Galerius and Licinius. Life Probus was a member of the Petronia gens, Petronii Probi, a family of the senatorial a ...

, had been a consul, in 310. Proba married

Clodius Celsinus Adelphus Clodius Celsinus Adelphius or Adelfius (''fl.'' 333–351) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Life He was married to the poet Faltonia Betitia Proba, and they had two sons, Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (consul in 379) and Falto ...

, ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

'' of Rome in 351, thus creating a bond with the powerful ''gens'' Anicia. They had at least two sons,

Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (''floruit'' 361384) was a Roman politician, ''praefectus urbi'' of Rome from 368 to 370 and Roman consul in 379. Olybrius has been characterized as belonging to "the breed of flexible politicians who did well ...

and

Faltonius Probus Alypius Faltonius Probus Alypius (''floruit'' 370–397) was a politician of the Roman Empire. Life Alypius was the son of Clodius Celsinus Adelphius, ''Praefectus urbi'' of Rome in 351, and of the Christian poet Faltonia Betitia Proba. His brother, ...

, who became high imperial officers. She also had a granddaughter

Anicia Faltonia Proba Anicia Faltonia Proba (died in Africa, 432) was a Roman noblewoman of the ''gens'' Anicia. Biography Proba's father was Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (consul in 379); the famous poet Faltonia Betitia Proba was her grandmother. She marr ...

, daughter of Olybrius and Turrania Anicia Juliana. Her family was

pagan 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 ...

, but Proba converted to Christianity when she was an adult, influencing her husband and her sons, who converted after her. Proba died before Celsinus. She was probably buried with her husband in the

Basilica di Sant'Anastasia al Palatino Sant'Anastasia is a minor basilica and titular church for cardinal-priests in Rome, Italy owned by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Basilica Sant'Anastasia was built in the late 3rd century - early 4th century, possibly by a Roman woman name ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where, until the 16th century, there was their funerary inscription, later moved to

Villa Borghese Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third-largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres), after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphil ...

before disappearing. The bond between Proba and this church might be related to Saint Anastasia, who probably belonged to the ''gens'' Anicia: Proba and Celsinus could have received the honour of being buried ''ad sanctos'' (next to the tomb of a saint), because of the particular veneration of the Anicii for this saint.Lizzi Testa. With her husband she owned the

Horti Aciliorum The Horti Aciliorum was a luxurious villa-estate in the city of Rome, created in the 2nd century AD on the Pincian Hill, between the Porta Pinciana and what is now the Spanish Steps. History Surrounded to the north, west and east by ''opus reti ...

, on the

Pincian Hill The Pincian Hill ( ; ) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of the ancient city of Rome, and was ...

Works

Two poems are attributed to "Proba", and only one is

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

. Most modern scholars identify Faltonia Betitia Proba as the author of these works, with the other possible identification being her niece

''Constantini bellum adversus Magnentium''

The first poem, now lost, is called ''Constantini bellum adversus Magnentium'' (''The War of Constantine against Magnentius'') by the ''Codex Mutinensis''. It dealt with the war between Roman Emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

and the usurper

Magnentius Magnus Magnentius ( 303 – 10 August 353) was a Roman general and usurper against Constantius II. Of Germanic descent, Magnentius served with distinction in Gaul, where the army chose him as a replacement for the unpopular emperor Constans. Ac ...

. Proba was involved to this war through her husband

, who had been ''

'' of Rome in 351, the same year Italy passed from the sphere of influence of Magnentius to Constantius after the

Battle of Mursa Major The Battle of Mursa was fought on 28 September 351 between the eastern Roman armies led by the Emperor Constantius II and the western forces supporting the usurper Magnentius. It took place at Mursa, near the Via Militaris in the province of ...

. The existence of this first poem is based on the first verses of the second poem. Here Proba rejects her first Pagan composition, and scholars think that the Pagan poem was destroyed according to her will.

''Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi''

Proba's most famous work is a

ian

a patchwork of verses extracted from several works of Virgil, with minimal modificationsentitled ''Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi'' (''A Virgilian Cento Concerning the Glory of Christ''). The 694 lines are divided into a proemium with invocation (lines 1–55), episodes from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

(lines 56-345), episodes from the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

(lines 346–688), and an epilogue (lines 689–694).

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

"Proba/Faltonia Betitia Proba (c. 322–c. 370)" by Dorothy Disse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proba, Faltonia Betitia 300s births 310s births 350s deaths 360s deaths 4th-century Christians 4th-century Roman women 4th-century Romans 4th-century Roman poets Ancient Roman women writers 4th-century women writers 4th-century writers in Latin Christian poets Italian women poets Ancient women poets Petronii