Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman

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 ...

, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula 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).

Life

Prudentius practiced law with some success, and was twice provincial governor, perhaps in his native country, before the emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

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; and writing poems, hymns, and controversial works in defence of Christianity. Prudentius later collected the Christian poems written during this period and added a preface, which he himself dated 405.

Poetry

The poetry of Prudentius is influenced by early Christian authors, such as

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

and St. Ambrose, as well as the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and the acts of the

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. His

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

''Da, puer, plectrum'' (including "Corde natus ex parentis": " 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, incorporating as it did elements of both Hellenic epic and inner psychological conflict. It became the inspiration and wellspring of medieval allegorical literature, its influence (according to

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

) exceeding its intrinsic artistic merit. In the battle between virtue and vice, full weight is given to the power of Luxuria, “Flowershod and swaying from the wine cup, Every step a fragrance”. With her attendants Beauty and Pleasure, and her weapons of rose-petals and violets, she succeeds in swaying the army of Virtue “in surrender to love”, before succumbing to ultimate defeat.

Influence

With his merger of Christianity with classical culture, Prudentius was one of the most popular medieval authors, being aligned as late as the 13th century alongside such figures as

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

and Statius in Henri d'Andeli's ''Battle of the Seven Arts'' between Grammar (poetry) and Logic.Helen Waddell, ''The Wandering Scholars'' (1968) p. 141-2

Works

The list of Prudentius's works given in the preface to his autobiography mentions the hymns, poems against the Priscillianists and against Symmachus and Peristephanon. The Diptychon is not mentioned. The twelve hymns of the Cathemerinon liber ("Daily Round") consist of six for daily use, five for festivals, and one intended for every hour of the day. The specific works 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. Some were suggested to Prudentius by sacred images in churches or by the inscriptions of Pope Damasus I. * ''Apotheosis'' -- ("Deification") attacks disclaimers of the Trinity and the

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

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 ...

. * ''Hamartigenia'' -- ("The Origin of Sin") attacks the

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

dualism of Marcion and his followers. In this and the ''Apotheosis'', Tertullian is the source of inspiration. * '' Psychomachia'' -- ("Battle of Souls") describes the struggle of

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 ...

, supported by the cardinal virtues, against idolatry and the corresponding

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. * ''Libri contra Symmachum'' -- ("Books Against Symmachus") oppose the pagan

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Symmachus's requests that the altar of

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

, which had been removed by Gratian, be restored to the Senate house. * ''Dittochæon'' -- ("The Double Testament") contains 49 quatrains intended as captions for the

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s of a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in Rome.

Editions

* Bergman, J. (ed.). ''Aurelii Prudenti Clementis carmina''. Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1926. (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, 61). * Cunningham, M.P. (ed.). ''Aurelii Prudentii Clementis Carmina''. Turnhout: Brepols, 1966 (Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina, 126). * Thomson, H.J. (ed. and trans.). ''Prudentius''. 2 vols. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1949-53 (Loeb Classical Library). * Tränkle, H. (ed.). Prudentius, ''Contra Symmachum - Gegen Symmachus''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2008. 284 p. (Fontes Christiani, 85).

References

* Albrecht, M. von. 1997. "Prudentius." In ''A History of Roman Literature: From Livius Andronicus to Boethius with Special Regard to its Influence on World Literature.'' Vol. 2. By M. von Albrecht. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. * Cameron, A. 2011. ''The last Pagans of Rome.'' New York: Oxford Univ. Press. * Conybeare, C. 2007. "Sanctum, Lector, Percense Volumen: Snakes, Readers, and the Whole Text in Prudentius’s Hamartigenia." In ''The Early Christian Book.'' Edited by W. E. Klingshirn and L. Safran, 225–240. Washington, DC: Catholic Univ. of America Press. * Deferrari, Roy J., and James Marshall Campbell. 1932. ''A Concordance of Prudentius.'' Cambridge, Mass.: The Mediaeval Academy of America. * Dykes, A. 2011. ''Reading Sin in the World: The Hamartigenia of Prudentius and the Vocation of the Responsible Reader.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. * Fux, P.-Y. 2003. ''Les sept passions de Prudence (Peristephanon 2.5.9. 11–14): Introduction générale et commentaire.'' Fribourg, Switzerland: Éditions Univ. Fribourg Suisse. * Fux, Pierre-Yves. 2013. ''Prudence et les martyrs: hymnes et tragédie (Peristephanon 1.3-4.6-8.10). Commentaire'', Paradosis 55, Fribourg. *Gnilka, Christian 2000: ''Prudentiana I. Critica.'' K. G. Saur, München. *Gnilka, Christian 2001: ''Prudentiana II. Exegetica.'' K. G. Saur, München. *Gnilka, Christian 2003: ''Prudentiana III. Supplementum''. K. G. Saur, München. *Gnilka, Christian 2017: ''Contra orationem Symmachi, Eine kritische Revue.'' Aschendorff, Münster. *Gnilka, Christian 1963: ''Studien zur Psychomachie des Prudentius'' (= ''Klassisch-Philologische Studien'' 27), Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. * Krollpfeifer, Lydia 2017. ''Rom bei Prudentius. Dichtung und Weltanschauung in »Contra orationem Symmachi«'' (=''Vertumnus. Berliner Beiträge zur Klassischen Philologie und zu ihren Nachbargebieten.'' Vol. 12). Goettingen: Edition Ruprecht. * Lease, Emory B. 1895. ''A Syntactic, Stylistic and Metrical Study of Prudentius.'' Baltimore: The Friedenwald Company. * Malamud, M. 1989. ''A Poetics of Transformation: Prudentius and Classical Mythology.'' Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell Univ. Press. * Malamud, M. A. 1990. "Making a Virtue of Perversity: The Poetry of Prudentius." In ''The Imperial Muse: Ramus Essays on Roman Literature of the Empire.'' Edited by A. J. Boyle, 64–88. Bendigo, Australia: Aureal. * Mastrangelo, M. 2008. ''The Roman Self in Late Antiquity: Prudentius and the Poetics of the Soul.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press * O’Daly, G. 2011. "Choosing to be a Christian poet: Prudentius, Praefatio and Cathemerinon 2.37–56." In N''octes Sinenses: Festschrift für Fritz-Heiner Mutschler zum 65. Geburtstag.'' Edited by A. Heil, M. Korn, and J. Sauer, 373–378. Heidelberg, Germany: Winter. * Palmer, A.M. 1989. ''Prudentius on the Martyrs.'' Oxford: Clarendon. * Pucci, J. 1991. "Prudentius’ Readings of Horace in the Cathemerinon." ''Latomus'' 50:677–690. * Roberts, M. 1993. ''Poetry and the Cult of the Martyrs: The Liber Peristephanon of Prudentius.'' Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press. * Roberts, M. 2001. "Rome Personified, Rome Epitomized: Representations of Rome in the Poetry of the Early Fifth Century." ''American Journal of Philology'' 122:533–565. * Witke, C. 1968. "Prudentius and the Tradition of Latin Poetry." ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 99:509–525.

External links

Works by Prudentius at Perseus Digital Library
* *
Prudentius, Loeb Classical Library, Volume I
- Latin and English, H. J. Thomson, 1949
Prudentius, Loeb Classical Library, Volume II
- Latin and English, H. J. Thomson, 1953
Liber peristephanon
- Latin text.

* ttp://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_10_0348-0413-_Aurelius_Prudentius.html ''Opera Omnia'' by Migne's ''Patrologia Latina'' with analytical indexes {{DEFAULTSORT:Prudentius Romans from Hispania Christian writers Christian poets 4th-century Romans 5th-century Romans 4th-century Christians 5th-century Christians 4th-century writers in Latin 5th-century writers in Latin 4th-century Roman poets 5th-century Roman poets 410s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Aurelii 348 births