Prudentius

Prudentius (Aurelius Clemens Prudentius) , b. 348, Christian Latin poet, b. Spain. He wrote a number of hymns, occasional Christian lyrics, and poems on saints. Although he held a high place at the Roman court, he eventually retired to devote himself to religion.

Bibliography: See B. M. Peebles, The Poet Prudentius (1951).

Prudentius ( Aurelius Prudentius Clemens) (348–post-405), a Christian Latin poet born in Spain, the composer of many hymns. His Psychomachia, an allegorical account of the battle for the soul of man, was a very important influence on the development of medieval and Renaissance allegorical works.

Prudentius, the common title of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens (348–c.410), Latin poet and hymn-writer. A Spaniard by birth, he had a successful career in civil administration and spent his retirement in devout exercises and Christian writing. His didactic poems exhibit distinction in abstract thought as well as in the imitation of classical models. The ‘Psychomachia’, an allegorical description of the struggle of the Christian soul and of the Church, influenced later writers. Extracts from his lyrical poems or ‘hymns’ are found in most W. breviaries. Those in common use include ‘Bethlehem, of noblest cities’.