Flavius Rusticius Helpidius was a fifth-century poet.

Identity

His name appears in the manuscript of

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...

and

Julius Paris Julius may refer to: People * Julius (name), a masculine given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) * Julius (nomen), the name of a Roman family (includes a list of Ancient Romans with the name) ** Julius Caesar (100– ...

as the signature of a reviser, in the form Fl. Rusticius Helpidius Domnulus. Julius Paris is an abbreviator of

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...

, and lived at the end of the fourth century or the beginning of the fifth. Among the signatures of revisers of certain manuscripts he appears as ''

quaestor sacri palatii The ''quaestor sacri palatii'' (, usually simply ; English: Quaestor of the Sacred Palace) was the senior legal authority in the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, Byzantium, responsible for drafting laws. In the later Byzantine Empir ...

'' ("count of the consistory"). There is a correspondent of

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Born into the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, he was son-in-law to Emperor Avitus and was appointed Urb ...

named Domnulus, who, along with other major aristocrats, was present at a formal banquet for the Emperor

Majorian Majorian (; 7 August 461) was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Late Roman army, Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia (456), Battle of Place ...

during the winter of 458/459; this event is usually placed at

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, but some authorities locate it at

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Sidonius calls his acquaintance an ex-quaestor, which has led experts to not only identify the two, but also one Rusticus Helpidius, another ex-quaestor and author of the ''Historiarum testamenti veteris it novi'' and the ''Carmen de Christi Iesu beneficiis'' as the same person. Twenty-four strophes of three hexameters each, on scenes from the Old and New Testaments, survive attributed to Helpidius, the "former quaestor". Sixteen of these scenes correspond to one another, e.g. as type and fulfilment. These verses were probably intended as texts for the decoration of a church. Under the title of "Rustici Elpidii carmen de Christi beneficiis" a short poem of one hundred and forty hexameters celebrates the miracles of Christ. Its opening prayer is addressed to Christ as Creator and intimately united with the Father. A very mystical tone dominates these verses. There is an edition of

W. Brandes W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

(1890). For the aforesaid tristichs there are the old editions in ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

''.LXII, 545.

Helpidius the Deacon

The

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

Helpidius (died about 533), friend of

Magnus Felix Ennodius Magnus Felix Ennodius (473 or 47417 July 521 AD) was Bishop of Pavia in 514, and a Latin rhetorician and poet. He was one of four Gallo-Roman aristocrats of the fifth to sixth-century whose letters survive in quantity: the others are Sidonius A ...

and physician of

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name w ...

, King of the Ostrogoths, is unquestionably another person.

Notes

References

;Attribution This entry cites: *

Max Manitius Max Manitius (23 March 1858 - 21 September 1933) was a German medievalist and Latin scholar. Life and work Max Manitius, son of the Court Councillor and secretary in the Saxon Ministry of Justice Wilhelm Manitius (1808-1885), attended the Gymnas ...

, (Stuttgart, 1891), 379 *

Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...

, , XII, 297. {{DEFAULTSORT:Helpidius, Flavius Rusticus 5th-century Roman poets 5th-century writers in Latin