Prudentius writes Crowns of the Martyrs, 14 poems on martyrs of Hispania and from across the Empire. Written in Latin in Calahorra (northern Hispania), c. 400. Overview of the Peristephanon.
E00659
Literary - Poems
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Prudentius
Liber Peristephanon (Crowns of the Martyrs)
Crowns of the Martyrs I, on the martyrdom of *Emeterius and Celidonius (soldiers and martyrs of Calahorra, S00410). See E00761 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs II, on the martyrdom of *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037). See E00782 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs III, on the martyrdom of *Eulalia (virgin and martyr of Mérida, S00407). See E00787 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs IV, on the martyrdom of the *Eighteen Martyrs of Zaragoza (S00485). See E00799 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs V, on the martyrdom of *Vincentius/Vincent (deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia, S00290). See E00858 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs VI, on the martyrdom of *Fructuosus, bishop of Tarragona, and his deacons Augurius and Eulogius (S00496). See E00897 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs VII, on the martyrdom of *Quirinus (bishop and martyr of Siscia in Dalmatia, S00614). See E00933 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs VIII, on a baptistery constructed at the place of martyrdom of *Emeterius and Celidonius (soldiers and martyrs of Calahorra, S00410). See E00934 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs IX, on the martyrdom of *Cassianus (teacher and martyr of Imola, S00309). See E00938 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs X, on the martyrdom of *Romanus (deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch, S00120). See E00946 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs XI, on the martyrdom of *Hippolytus (martyr of Rome, S00509). See E04190 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs XII, on the martyrdom of the Apostles *Peter and *Paul (S00036 and S00008). See E04274 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs XIII, on the martyrdom of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). See $E04353 and related entries.
Crowns of the Martyrs XIV, on the martyrdom of *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, $S00097). See $E04418 and related entries.
Source
Aurelius Prudentius Clemens (348–after 405) was a Christian aristocrat from Calahorra in the Spanish province of Tarraconensis. He was a high official in the imperial bureaucracy in Rome, but withdrew from public life, returned to Calahorra, and dedicated himself to the service and celebration of God. Most of what we know about his biography comes from the preface to the ensemble of his works, which can be reliably dated to 404 (Cunningham 1966, 1-2), and other autobiographical remarks scattered throughout his works (for a detailed discussion, see Palmer 1989, 6-31). He composed several poetical works, amongst them the Peristephanon (literally, On the Crowns [of the Martyrs]), a collection of fourteen poems of different length describing martyrdoms of saints. We do not know exactly at which point in his literary career Prudentius wrote the preface (possibly at the very end, just before publication); for attempts at a precise dating of the Peristephanon, see Fux 2013, 9, n. 1.The poems in the Peristephanon, written in elegant classical metres, deal mainly with martyrs from Spain, but some of them are dedicated to saints of Rome, Africa and the East. The poems were widely read in the late antique and medieval West, and had a considerable influence on the diffusion of cult of the saints included. In later periods they were sometimes used as hymns in liturgical celebrations and had an impact on the development of the Spanish hymnody. Some indications in the poems suggest that they were written to commemorate the saints on their feast days, but Prudentius probably did not compose them for the liturgy of his time. Rather, they probably provided 'devotional reading matter for a cultured audience outside a church context' (Palmer 1989, 3; see also Chapter 3 in her book).
Discussion
Bibliography
Editions of the Peristephanon:Cunningham, M.P., Prudentii Carmina (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 126; Turnhout: Brepols, 1966), 251-389.
Bergman, J., Prudentius, Carmina (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 61; Vienna, 1926), 291-431.
Translations of the Peristephanon:
Eagan, C., Prudentius, Poems (Fathers of the Church 43; Washington D.C.: Catholic University Press, 1962), 95-280. English translation.
Thomson, H.J., Prudentius, vol. 2 (Loeb Classical Library; London Cambridge, Mass: W. Heinemann; Harvard University Press, 1953), 98-345. Edition and English translation.
Further reading:
Fux, P.-Y., Prudence et les martyrs: hymnes et tragédie. Peristephanon 1. 3-4. 6-8. 10. Commentaire, (Fribourg: Academic Press, 2013).
Malamud, M.A., A Poetics of Transformation: Prudentius and Classical Mythology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989).
Palmer, A.-M., Prudentius on the Martyrs (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989).
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Paulus | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Laurentius | Certain | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain | S00120 | Romanos, deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch | Romanus | Certain | S00290 | Vincentius/Vincent, deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia | Certain | S00309 | Cassianus, teacher and martyr of Imola | Certain | S00407 | Eulalia, virgin and martyr of Mérida | Certain | S00410 | Emeterius and Celidonius, soldiers and martyrs of Calahorra | Certain | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Certain | S00485 | Eighteen Martyrs of Zaragoza | Certain | S00496 | Fructuosus, Auguris and Eulogius, bishop and his two deacons, martyrs of Tarragona | Certain | S00509 | Hippolytus, martyr of Rome | Certain | S00614 | Quirinus, bishop and martyr of Siscia (Dalmatia) | Certain |
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