“Est locus, aestifero” (Carm. 1.18) as an Example of the Locus Amoenus Topos in the Poetry of Venantius Fortunatus

Tadeusz Gacia

doi:10.18290/rh.2019.67.3-4en

Tadeusz Gacia The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh.2019.67.3-4en

Keywords: Venantius Fortunatus; topos of locus amoenus; poetry

Abstract

The Polish version of the article was published in Roczniki Humanistyczne vol. 61, issue 3 (2013).

In this article the author presents the poem “Est locus, aestifero,” which appeared in the first book of Carmina, against the background of the topic of locus amoenus in the poetry of Venantius Fortunatus. The poem has 18 lines and is written in elegiac meter. It is a description of the village (country estate) of Bissonum, near Bordeaux. The ekphrasis, into which are woven the elements of the topic we are interested in, is combined with a very clear motif of laudation. This is a characteristic feature of Venantius Fortunatus’ poetry. The English translation of the poem is an integral part of the essay.

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