Tiberianus (poet)

Tiberianus was a late Latin writer and poet, surviving only in fragments, who experimented with various metrical schemes.

He is a possible candidate for the authorship of the Pervigilium Veneris.[1]

Identity

Tiberianus has traditionally been identified with Annius Tiberianus, the "eloquent" [disertus] governor of Gaul in 336 AD mentioned by Jerome.[1]

An earlier candidate is however the prefect of Rome 303–4, Iunius Tiberianus.[2]

Known poems

Four poems (and a fragmentary fifth on a sunset) are known to have been written by Tiberianus:[3] Spring Day [Amnis ibat]; an attack on the power of gold; a hymn; and a description of a dying bird.[4]

Other writings
  • Fabius Planciades Fulgentius attributed to Tiberianus the writing of prosimetra, dialogues in verse and prose, (from which the extant poems may have been taken).[5]
  • E. Baehrens in the 19thC suggested Tiberianus as the author of the Pervigilium Veneris,[1] something metrical parallels with Amnis ibat would seem to support.[6] Alan Cameron in the 20thC strengthened the case for his authorship through thematic and vocabulary parallels.[7]

Influences

Tiberianus was influenced by Silver Age poets such as Ovid and Statius, and also by Titus Calpurnius Siculus, as well as by the prose of Apuleius.[3]

Read and quoted by Fulgentius and Augustine,[8] his metrical experiments may also have influenced such Christian poets as Hilary of Poitiers and Prudentius.[9]

See also

References
  1. H J Rose, A Handbook of Latin Literature (London 1967) p.527
  2. A Cameron, Studies in Late Roman Literature and History (Bari 2016) p. 16
  3. A Cameron, Studies in Late Roman Literature and History (Bari 2016) p. 14
  4. E Kenney ed., The Cambridge History of Classical Literature (Cambridge 1983) p. 14
  5. A Cameron, Studies in Late Roman Literature and History (Bari 2016) p. 15
  6. Helen Waddell, The Wandering Scholars (Fontana 1968) p. 42
  7. A Cameron, Studies in Late Roman Literature and History (Bari 2016) p. 14-18
  8. A Cameron, Studies in Late Roman Literature and History (Bari 2016) p. 15-6
  9. A Cameron, Studies in Late Roman Literature and History (Bari 2016) p. 21

Further reading
  • E Courtney, The Fragmentary Roman Poets (1993)
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