WRITER

Claudian

370 - 404

Claudian

Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (Greek: Κλαυδιανός; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Claudian has received more than 209,067 page views. His biography is available in 40 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). Claudian is the 685th most popular writer (up from 713th in 2019), the 137th most popular biography from Egypt (down from 133rd in 2019) and the 9th most popular Egyptian Writer.

Claudian is most famous for his epic poem "De Bello Gothico" which was written in the fifth century. This poem tells the story of the Gothic Wars, a series of wars between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths.

Memorability Metrics

210k
Page Views (PV)
64.50
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
40
Languages Editions (L)
9.51
Effective Languages (L*)
2.60
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Claudian

History

An exhaustive study of Claudian's unfinished mythological epic, with a text, apparatus criticus, and commentary. The long introduction begins with a catalogue of manuscripts; and this leads to an investigation into the manuscript tradition and the history of the poem's transmission. Dr Hall then surveys the most important printed editions of the poem. He examines various theories of dating and discusses the sources of the story. He concludes the introduction with a brief critical assessment of the form and style of the poem. Dr Hall establishes his text after an examination of all the extant manuscripts. The apparatus, though very full, is selective in that it records readings of younger manuscripts only when they offer something new. It also ignores trifling corruptions. The commentary is similarly selective. In general, it discusses everything relevant to the establishing of the text and ignores points of purely mythological and literary interest.

1922

Works

1922

De raptu Proserpinae

1628

Carmina

1998

Claudii Claudiani Carmina minora

2001

Panegyricus de sexto consulatu Honorii Augusti

Poetry

Claudian is often called the last Latin poet of the classical tradition. This is the first ever English edition of his last extant work, complete with an introduction, newly edited text, facing English translation, and richly detailed commentary. The De Sexto Consulatu Honorii shows Claudian at the height of his considerable powers. A superb example of the literature of Late Antiquity, it records in exquisite and glittering verse the splendour of the Western Imperial Court, and is also a unique historical witness to the events and attitudes of the last years of the Roman Empire. The poem celebrates the defeat of Alaric the Visigoth's first invasion of Italy in AD 402 and ironically, predicts that he will never trouble the Romans again. Only a few years later, in AD 410, Alaric took Rome itself - the first capture of the city by a foreign army in eight centuries - thus shaking to the foundations the ancient world's perceptions of Rome's imperial destiny. This book provides a detailed analysis not only of the historical background but above all of Claudian's language, style, imagery, and impressive use of a wide range of Greek and Latin sources.

1996