Psychomachia
Sign in to savethumb|British Library, Add MS 24199, part 1, 10th century thumb|Psychomachia, as the "battle between good and evil", on a Romanesque capital, Monastery of Sant Cugat, Catalonia, Spain The Psychomachia (Battle of Spirits or Soul War) is a Latin poem by Prudentius (348 CE - after 405 CE). Its precise date of composition is unknown. In roughly a thousand lines, the poet describes the conflict of vices and virtues as a battle in the style of Virgil's Aeneid. Christian faith is attacked by and defeats pagan idolatry to be cheered by a thousand Christian martyrs.
Book · Open Library
- Author
- ALLISON
- First published
- 2021
- Editions
- 1
- Subjects
- English literature
via Open Library
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Antecedents
- Characters
- Notable manuscripts
- Other uses of 'psychomachia'
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|British Library, Add MS 24199, part 1, 10th century thumb|Psychomachia, as the "battle between good and evil", on a Romanesque capital, Monastery of Sant Cugat, Catalonia, Spain The Psychomachia (Battle of Spirits or Soul War) is a Latin poem by Prudentius (348 CE - after 405 CE). Its precise date of composition is unknown. In roughly a thousand lines, the poet describes the conflict of vices and virtues as a battle in the style of Virgil's Aeneid. Christian faith is attacked by and defeats pagan idolatry to be cheered by a thousand Christian martyrs.
The poem was extremely popular, and survives in many medieval manuscripts, 20 of them illustrated. The work is often considered among the most influential medieval allegory , the first in a long tradition including the Romance of the Rose, Everyman, and Piers Plowman. The poem may be the subject of wall paintings in the churches at Claverley, Shropshire, and at Pyrford, Surrey, both in England. In the early twelfth century it was a common theme for sculptural programmes on façades of churches in western France, such as Aulnay, Charente-Maritime.