Saint Venantius Fortunatus or Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus (c. 530-c. 600/609) was a Latin poet and hymnodist, and a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.
Venantius Fortunatus was born in northern Italy somewhere between Valdobbiadene, Ceneda, and Treviso. He grew up during the Byzantine reconquest of Italy and was educated at Ravenna. His later work shows familiarity not only with classical poets such as Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Statiu...
more
Saint Venantius Fortunatus or Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus (c. 530-c. 600/609) was a Latin poet and hymnodist, and a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.
Venantius Fortunatus was born in northern Italy somewhere between Valdobbiadene, Ceneda, and Treviso. He grew up during the Byzantine reconquest of Italy and was educated at Ravenna. His later work shows familiarity not only with classical poets such as Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Statius, and Martial, but also with Christian poets, including Arator, Claudian, and Sedulius.
Fortunatus eventually migrated through Germany to Gaul in the mid-560s, probably with the specific intention of becoming a poet in the Merovingian court. After political circumstances impeded his court career, Fortunatus received patronage from various religious figures, including St Gregory of Tours. He became bishop of Poitiers sometime before the year 600.
He is best known for two poems that have become part of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church,...
less