Prudentius

  • Aurelius Prudentius Clemens (348-c.413 CE) was a Roman Lawyer and Provincial Governor from Iberia, who worked during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I.
  • He retired from public life to become a Christian poet and collect and publish Christian poetry, and his ‘Psychomachia’ became the inspiration for medieval allegorical literature.

Works

  • Psychomachia
    • Meaning ‘Battle of the spirits’, this 1,000 line allegorical poem describes the conflict between vice and virtue and the struggle against idolatry.
  • Liber Cathemerinon
    • Meaning ‘Book in accordance with the Hours’ which consists of 11 books of hymns for daily use and church festivals, and 1 book of poems for every hour of the day.
    • Two of the Hymns are still used today:
      • ‘Da, puer, plectrum’ (of the Father’s Love Begotten)
      • ‘O sola magnarum urbium’ (Earth Has Many A Noble City)
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