Geography and space in the poetry of Prudentius by Cillian Conor O'Hogan A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Classics University of Toronto © Copyright by Cillian Conor O'Hogan 2012 Geography and space in the poetry of Prudentius Cillian Conor O'Hogan Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics University of Toronto 2012 Abstract This dissertation examines the themes of geography and space in the poetry of the late antique Latin poet Prudentius (348-c.405 CE). The first chapter discusses the geography of reading, and suggests that Prudentius’ Peristephanon provides a means for the reader to experience the sites of the cults of the martyrs by reading about them rather than by having to travel to see them. It is also argued that the varying orders of the poems of the Peristephanon in the manuscript tradition can be explained by the differing interests of early readers, and that the arrangement extant in one group of manuscripts can be seen to be the result of organising the poems to fit a geographical itinerary. The second chapter investigates the intertextual aspect of literary journeys, and argues that late antique descriptions of journeys are as much indebted to the literary tradition as they are to “lived” experience on the part of the narrator. This chapter focuses in particular on Ausonius' Mosella, and the third, ninth, and eleventh hymns of Prudentius' Peristephanon. The third chapter discusses the representation of the city in the works of Prudentius, and shows how Prudentius’ approach to the civic nature of martyrdom in the Peristephanon must be related to the contemporary Christian perception that earthly civic obligations are not fundamentally incompatible with participation in the heavenly city of the afterlife. The fourth chapter examines the representation of pastoral spaces in the Liber Cathemerinon and the discussion of farming and religion in the Contra Orationem Symmachi. ii The final chapter addresses Prudentius' descriptions of works of art and architecture, particularly churches, and argues that Prudentius exhibits a marked preference for the word over the image as a means of conveying knowledge. A brief conclusion suggests that Prudentius’ representation of physical and imaginary spaces is always governed by a belief in the primacy of the written word, and by a fundamentally bookish approach to the world. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor, Michael Dewar, for his generous advice and mentorship over the course of my doctoral training: there is not a page of the dissertation that has not benefited from his erudition and critical acuity. I am grateful to my supervisory committee, Andreas Bendlin, John Magee, and David Townsend, for their comments on successive drafts of the thesis, and to my examiners, Martha Malamud and Michael Herren, for their thoughtful and challenging comments and questions. Christer Bruun and Victoria Wohl, successive graduate coordinators, provided much-needed support, and I would also like to thank Coral Gavrilovic and Ann-Marie Matti for their assistance in matters administrative. Timely completion of the project was made possible by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship and by financial support from the Department of Classics and Massey College. Conversations with Jessica Blum, Peter Buchanan, Tim Harrison, Justin Haynes, Angela Holzmeister, Duncan Macrae, and Melanie Marshall helped to sharpen many of the ideas in this thesis. Aaron Pelttari read and commented on extensive sections, and Rowan Stewart and Catherine Ware generously undertook to read the penultimate draft in its entirety. My parents and my sister Gráinne have been tireless cheerleaders from afar. The greatest debt of all is the one I owe to Claire Battershill. iv Table of Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v Table of figures ............................................................................................................................. vii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Recent research on Prudentius ....................................................................................................2 Geography in late antiquity .........................................................................................................4 Outline of this dissertation ..........................................................................................................7 Chapter One: Reading as a journey ...............................................................................................10 1.1 The transmission of the Peristephanon: a brief survey .......................................................11 1.2 Technical handbooks, armchair pilgrims, and ethnography ...............................................18 1.3 Nature is a language: the world as text ...............................................................................25 1.4 The travelling reader ...........................................................................................................33 1.5 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................39 Chapter Two: Intertextual journeys ...............................................................................................41 2.1 Travel and experience .........................................................................................................41 2.2 Ausonius’ Mosella ..............................................................................................................48 2.3 Eulalia .................................................................................................................................52 2.4 Hippolytus ...........................................................................................................................59 2.5 Cassian ................................................................................................................................63 2.6 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................82 Chapter Three: The martyr and the city .........................................................................................84 v 3.1 Early Christian ideas about the city ....................................................................................84 3.2 The martyr as saviour of the city ........................................................................................90 3.3 The community and the martyr: procession and celebration ..............................................96 3.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................107 Chapter Four: Prudentius and the pastoral ...................................................................................109 4.1 Endelechius and Christian pastoral ...................................................................................110 4.2 Farming and faith in the Contra Orationem Symmachi ....................................................120 4.3 Visions of heaven ..............................................................................................................126 4.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................137 Chapter Five: Art and architecture in the Peristephanon ............................................................138 5.1 The problem of interpreting Christian art .........................................................................138 5.2 Idolatry ..............................................................................................................................147 5.3 Ambiguous architecture ....................................................................................................156 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................168 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................173 Texts used ...............................................................................................................................173 Modern works cited ................................................................................................................178 Copyright Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................199 vi Table of figures Figure 1.1: Cod. Sang. 136, p.43 .................................................................................................. 30 Figure 1.2 Order of the poems of the Peristephanon in the manuscript tradition (table from Fux (2003)