The Elegies of Maximianus


Book Description

Not much can be known about the life of Maximianus, who has been called "the last of the Roman poets," beyond what can be inferred from his poetry. He was most likely a native of Tuscany, probably lived until the middle of the sixth century, and, at an advanced age, went as a diplomat to the emperor's court at Constantinople. A. M. Juster has translated the complete elegies of Maximianus faithfully but not literally, resulting in texts that work beautifully as poetry in English. Replicating the feel of the original Latin verse, he alternates iambic hexameter and pentameter in couplets and imitates Maximianus's pronounced internal rhyme, alliteration, and assonance. The first elegy is the longest and establishes the voice of the speaker: a querulous old man, full of the indignities of aging, which he contrasts with the vigor and prestige he enjoyed in his youth. The second elegy similarly focuses on the contrast between past happiness and present misery but, this time, for the specific experience of a long-term relationship. The third through fifth elegies depict episodes from the poet's amatory career at different stages of his life, from inexperienced youth to impotent old man. The last poem concludes with a desire for the release of death and, together with the first, form a coherent frame for the collection. This comprehensive volume includes an introduction by renowned classicist Michael Roberts, a translation of the elegies with the Latin text on facing pages, the first English translation of an additional six poems attributed to Maximianus, an appendix of Latin and Middle English imitative verse that illustrates Maximianus's long reception in the Middle Ages, several related texts, and the first commentary in English on the poems since 1900. The imminence of death and the sadness of growing old that form the principal themes of the elegies signal not only the end of pagan culture and its joy in living but also the turn from a classical to a medieval sensibility in Late Antiquity.




The Elegies of Maximianus


Book Description

A. M. Juster presents a faithful, poetic translation of the elegies of Maximianus, "last of the Roman poets." This comprehensive volume includes an introduction by renowned classicist Michael Roberts, the first English translation of an additional six poems attributed to Maximianus, and the first commentary in English on the elegies since 1900.




Maximianus’ ‘Elegies’


Book Description

This book is the first study to focus on a metaliterary interpretation of Maximianus’ Elegies, and aims to fill a major gap in international literature concerning the thoughts of the last love elegist on the evolution and renovation of the genre of love elegy during Late Antiquity. The book includes all known subjects of Maximianus’ poetry (e.g., the division of his work into six elegies, its attribution to Cornelius Gallus by Pomponius Gauricus in 1502, its reception in recent years, the intellectual milieu of the Ostrogothic Italy, the historical contextualization of his poetry, the Appendix Maximiani, the impact of the Augustan love elegy (and especially Ovid’s) upon it, etc.), in order to offer a more complete picture of it. However, the content of the book is predominantly prototype, as it examines subjects that have not previously been discussed in the past. These include: a) The generic interaction between the ‘host’ genre of love elegy, and several ‘guest’ genres (e.g., Roman comedy, epic, pastoral); b) The hidden metapoetic discourse regarding the genre of love elegy itself. The book is intended for scholars or students working on or interested in Roman love elegy and its generic evolution in Late Antiquity.




The Cambridge Companion to Latin Love Elegy


Book Description

Latin love elegy is one of the most important poetic genres in the Augustan era, also known as the golden age of Roman literature. This volume brings together leading scholars from Australia, Europe and North America to present and explore the Greek and Roman backdrop for Latin love elegy, the individual Latin love elegists (both the canonical and the non-canonical), their poems and influence on writers in later times. The book is designed as an accessible introduction for the general reader interested in Latin love elegy and the history of love and lament in Western literature, as well as a collection of critically stimulating essays for students and scholars of Latin poetry and of the classical tradition.




Genres Rediscovered


Book Description

A reader of the epyllion by Dracontius, the elegy by Maximianus, and the epigram by Luxorius should not expect that these works--and these new embodiments of the 'old' genres--will be wholly identical with their 'archetypes'. Were it so, it would mean that we read but second-rate versifiers, indeed. We may expect rather that thanks to the reading of Dracontius's epyllion, Maximianus's elegy, and Luxorius's epigram our understanding of these very genres may become fuller and deeper than if it was narrowed only to the study of the 'classical phase' of the Roman literature. Therefore, I have decided to employ in the title of my book the expression genres rediscovered. I have found it fair to emphasize that the poets whose works have been studied here merit appreciation for their creativity, and indeed courage, in reusing and reinterpreting the classical--and truly classic--literary heritage. In addition, I have found it similarly fair to stress that for the students of Latin literature the borderline between the 'classical' and the 'post-classical' is, and should be, flexible. It is not my intention of course to imply that aesthetic and poetological differences should be ignored or blurred. Quite the reverse, these differences are profound and multidimensional and as such must be properly understood and explained. The main issue is the fact that studies of Latin literature--or rather of literature in general - and especially generic studies require a proper, i.e. diachronic, perspective. A description of a certain genre based merely on its most important or generally known representative/representatives will always risk becoming incomplete and limited. In genology, one must be utterly prudent in defining the 'main' and the 'marginal', the 'relevant' and the 'negligible'. In this sense, an insight into a few genres practiced by some 'classical'--and classic--Roman poets from the perspective of their 'post-classical' followers may be, also for a genologist, an intriguing rediscovery.







Wonder and Wrath


Book Description

Original and translated poetry from award-winning poet and critic A. M. Juster.




Gabriele Zerbi, Gerontocomia: on the Care of the Aged ; and Maximianus, Elegies on Old Age and Love


Book Description

Gabriele Zerbi (1445-1505), born in Verona of an old patrician family, was a remarkable medical man & anatomists of his time. He probably studied at the University at Padua, where he began to teach medicine in 1467, having obtained the doctorate at the age of 22. He then taught medicine & logic at the University of Bologna, lived & worked in Rome, & finally returned to Padua. Maximianus the Etruscan, as he calls himself, lived in Rome in the age of Justinian, the 6th century. Only a few biographical facts about him can be gleaned from his 6 poems. Chapters: Introduction to Zerbi & His Works; text of The "Gerontocomia": On the Care of the Aged; Intro. to Maximianus's Elegies on Old Age & Love; & The Elegies. Bibliography.




Accessus ad auctores


Book Description

Medieval commentaries typically included an accessus, a standardized introduction to an author or book. In the twelfth century these introductions were anthologised, referred to now as Accessus ad auctores. They served as the first handbooks of literary criticism. The earliest and most comprehensive example, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 19475, saec. XII,is presented here for the first time in a faithful critical edition, with a new translation and explanatory notes addressing different aspects of the text. This book's aim is to present an accurate version of the text while respecting the arrangement and integrity of the anthology as a whole, and includes previously unpublished material from the anthology.