Laus martyris… tua laus est. I carmi XV e XVI di Paolino di Nola, fra tradizione epica ed exemplum neoplatonico

Abstract

: Laus martyris … tua laus est . The poems XV and XVI of Paulinus Nolanus between epic tradition and Neo-Platonic exemplum . The poems XV and XVI by Paulinus Nolanus constitute, in the author’s corpus , a real vita Felicis , built on the basis of different literary genres, from the Hellenistic exemplum to the classical epos . The textual analysis demonstrates the harmony with the contemporary Neoplatonic reflection, which inspires the lexical choices and the ways of presenting the figure of the confessor, whose story is structured according to the key concepts of late antiquity philosophical schools. With the two poems examined, Paulinus anticipates some characteristics of the subsequent me-dieval epic and, at the same time, outlines the model of the politician of the new Christian era. antic