Prudentius

Thomas Tsartsidis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Dates

Born 348
Died c. 405
Activity 368-c. 405

Places

Born in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)
Active in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Biography

Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, as his name is attested in the manuscripts, was a Roman Christian poet from Spain (348- after 404/5 AD). Although the evidence from his poems favours Calagurris (modern Calahorra) as his hometown (Perist. 1.116, 2.537-40, 4.31-32), Prudentius also mentions Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza/Saragossa) and Tarraco (modern Tarragona) as ‘ours’ (Perist. 4.1-4 and 6.143 respectively), indicating connections with these cities as well. Prudentius’ family was most likely Christian.

Information about Prudentius’ life comes mainly from his Praefatio, a poem written as an introduction to a substantial edition of the poet’s oeuvre. In this …

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2116 words

Citation: Tsartsidis, Thomas. "Prudentius". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3656, accessed 10 May 2024.]

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