Poems

The present volume is the first English translation of all twelve books of Fortunatus's poetry. The only poem omitted is the hexameter Vita Sancti Martini. Books 1 to 3 and 5 are addressed to figures in the church or deal with religious matters; Books 6 and 7 are addressed to secular figures. Book 4 stands apart and is made up entirely of epitaphs, including to church and secular figures, and Book 8 gathers poems dedicated to the Convent of the Holy Cross, its founder, Radegund, and its abbess, Agnes, along with a succession of poems to Fortunatus's chief patron, Gregory of Tours. Fortunatus adopts a variety of tones in his poetic corpus, but characteristically praise of his subject or addressee plays a prominent role. The subjects include the great and the good in Merovingian society, from substantial panegyrics of kings to less ambitious compositions on bishops or other clergy that rehearse their virtues, including charitable, preaching, and building activities. Preserved among Fortunatus's poems are eight letters in prose--nine, if the dedicatory letter to Gregory is included--and two prose treatises,the first, on the Lord's Prayer, incomplete.--