Corippus | |
|---|---|
| Born | Between 470 and 495 Roman province of Africa |
| Died | Between 540 and 560 Africa |
Flavius Cresconius Corippus was a late Roman epic poet of the 6th century, who flourished under East Roman Emperors Justinian I and Justin II. His major works are the epic poem Iohannis , a panegyric called "Panegyric of Anastasius", and a poem in praise of the Emperor Justin II, In laudem Iustini minoris. [1] Corippus was probably the last important Latin author of Late Antiquity.
Flavius Cresconius Corippus name is known on a basis of just one document. [2] He was a native of Africa, and in one of the medieval manuscripts is called africanus grammaticus (teacher). [3] He has sometimes been identified, but on insufficient grounds, with Cresconius Africanus, [1] a Catholic bishop (7th century), author of a Concordia Canonum, or collection of the laws of the church. [4] Nothing is known of Corippus beyond what is contained in his own poems. He appears to have held the office of tribune or notary ( scriniarius ) under Anastasius, imperial treasurer and chamberlain of Justinian I, at the end of whose reign he left Africa for Constantinople, apparently in consequence of having lost his property during the Vandalic War and the subsequent Moorish revolts. [4]
He was the author of two poems, of considerable importance for the history of the times. One of these, Iohannis ("Tale of John") or De Bellis Libycis ("On the Libyan war"), the earlier of the two, was not discovered till the beginning of the 19th century. The full text survived in one copy, called Trivultianus 686; it was made by Arezzo poet Giovanni De Bonis in late 14th century, and was rediscovered in 1814 [5] [6] "in the library of the Trivulzio family just outside Milan". The second copy was found in 16th century in the Korvin library in Buda by Giovanni Cuspiniano; this copy was the only one that mentioned the poet's full name. The manuscript is now lost. Even the full text is fragmentory and contains a number of "lacunae", the most significant of them is the ending of the poem. [5] It was dedicated to the nobles of Carthage and relates the overthrow of the Moors by John Troglita, magister militum of Africa in a series of battles that lasted until 548. Iohannis is in eight books (the last is unfinished) and contains about 5000 hexameters, or 4700 lines. The narrative commences with the despatch of John to the theatre of war by Justinian, and ends with the decisive victory near Carthage (548). [4] [7]
Although Johannes Cuspinianus in his De Caesaribus et Imperatoribus professed to have seen a manuscript of it in the library at Buda (destroyed by Suleiman I in 1527), it was not till 1814 that it was discovered at Milan by Cardinal Mazzucchelli, librarian of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, from the codex Trivultianus (in the Biblioteca Trivulziana, the library of the marchesi Trivulzi), the only manuscript of the Johannis extant. [4] The Johannis "is not only a valuable historic source but a work of marked poetic merit." [8] It provides a description of the land and people of Late Roman Africa, which conscientiously records the impressions of an intelligent native observer; many of his statements as to manners and customs are confirmed both by independent ancient authorities (such as Procopius) and by our knowledge of the modern Berbers. [4]
The other poem, In Laudem Iustini Augusti minoris ("In praise of the younger Justin"), in four books, contains the death of Justinian, the coronation of his successor Justin II (November 13, 565), and the early events of his reign. The work was published at Antwerp in 1581 by Michael Ruyz Azagra, secretary to Emperor Rudolf II, from a ninth- or tenth-century manuscript. [4]
Virgil, Lucan, and Claudian were the poet's chief models. In laudem Iustini minoris, which was written when he was advanced in years, although marred by a "Byzantine" servility and gross flattery of a by no means worthy object, throws much light upon Late Roman court ceremony, as in the account of the accession of Justin and the reception of the embassy of the Avars. [4] On the whole the language and metre of Corippus, considering the age in which he lived and the fact that he was not a native Italian, is remarkably pure. That he was a Christian is rendered probable by negative indications, such as the absence of all the usual mythological accessories of an epic poem, positive allusions to texts of Scripture, and a highly orthodox passage (In laudem Iustini minoris iv. 294 ff). [4]
His "Panegyric" was written for Anastasius, a "Quaestor of the Sacred Palace and Master of Offices in the imperial capital". [5]
Justinian I, also known as Justinian the Great, was Eastern Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the principal Roman historian of the 6th century, writing the History of the Wars, the Buildings, and the Secret History.
Justin I, also called Justin the Thracian, was Eastern Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial guard and when Emperor Anastasius died, he out-maneouvered his rivals and was elected as his successor, in spite of being around 68 years old. His reign is significant for the founding of the Justinian dynasty that included his eminent nephew, Justinian I, and three succeeding emperors. His consort was Empress Euphemia.
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Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian, was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost entirely in hexameters or elegiac couplets, falls into three main categories: poems for Honorius, poems for Stilicho, and mythological epic.
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The Gesta Berengarii imperatoris is a Latin epic poem chronicling the career of Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy from 887 and Emperor from 915. It follows Berengar's career from its inception until his imperial coronation in Rome in December 915. It is a court panegyric and highly laudatory of its namesake.
Anicia Juliana was a Late Antique Roman imperial princess, wife of the magister militum of the eastern Roman empire, Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus, patron of the great Church of St Polyeuctus in Constantinople, and owner of the Vienna Dioscurides. She was the daughter of the Roman emperor Olybrius and his wife Placidia, herself the daughter of the emperor Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia, through whom Anicia Juliana was also great-granddaughter of the emperor Theodosius II and the sainted empress Aelia Eudocia. During the rule of the Leonid dynasty and the rise of the later Justinian dynasty, Anicia Juliana was thus the most prominent member of both the preceding imperial dynasties, the Valentinianic dynasty established by Valentinian the Great and the related Theodosian dynasty established by Theodosius the Great.
John Troglita was a 6th-century Byzantine general. He participated in the Vandalic War and served in North Africa as a regional military governor during the years 533–538, before being sent east to the wars with the Sassanid Persians. As dux Mesopotamiae, Troglita distinguished himself in several battles, and was noticed by agents of the Byzantine emperor, Justinian I. In summer 546, Justinian chose John Troglita to assume overall command of Byzantine forces in Africa, where a succession of revolts by the indigenous Moorish tribes and within the imperial army itself had seriously reduced the Byzantine position. Troglita quickly secured an initial victory in the winter of 546/547 against the Moors of Byzacena, but was defeated in summer 547 by the tribes of Tripolitania, and Africa was once again laid open to destructive raids. Troglita reorganized his army and secured the assistance of some tribal leaders, and confronted and decisively defeated the tribal coalition at the Fields of Cato in summer 548. This victory spelled the end of the Moorish revolt and heralded an era of peace for Africa. Troglita was also involved in the Gothic War, twice sending some of his troops to Italy to assist against the Ostrogoths.
Johannis may refer to:
Aelia Sophia was the Byzantine empress as the wife of Emperor Justin II. She was also ruler in her capacity as regent during the incapacity of her spouse from 573 until 578, though she was never a monarch. She was interested in economic and financial matters during Justin's reign.
Cresconius Africanus (Crisconius) was a Latin canon lawyer, of uncertain date and place. He flourished, probably, in the latter half of the 7th century. He was probably a Christian bishop of the African Church.
Vitalian was a general of the Eastern Roman Empire. A native of Moesia in the northern Balkans, and probably of mixed Roman and Gothic or Scythian barbarian descent, he followed his father into the imperial army, and by 513 had become a senior commander in Thrace.
Arabia was the only recorded daughter of Byzantine Emperor Justin II and Empress Sophia.
Vigilantia was a sister of Byzantine emperor Justinian I, and mother to his successor Justin II.
Ablabius was a Byzantine would-be assassin, known for a failed attempt to kill Emperor Justinian I in 562. The main sources about him are John Malalas and Theophanes the Confessor.
Anastasius was a Byzantine official, active in the reign of Justin II. He held the positions of magister officiorum and quaestor sacri palatii. He seems to have died by the mid-570s.
Antalas was a Berber tribal leader who played a major role in the wars of the Byzantine Empire against the Berber tribes in Africa. Antalas and his tribe, the Frexes initially served the Byzantines as allies, but after 544 switched sides. With the final Byzantine victory in his and his tribe once again became Byzantine subjects. The main sources on his life are the epic poem Iohannis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus and the Histories of the Wars of Procopius of Caesarea.
Cutzinas or Koutzinas was a Berber tribal leader who played a major role in the wars of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire against the Berber tribes in Africa in the middle of the 6th century, fighting both against and for the Byzantines. A staunch Byzantine ally during the latter stages of the Berber rebellion, he remained an imperial vassal until his murder in 563 by the new Byzantine governor.
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