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THEMINIATUREEPICINVANDALAFRICAANDTHEHERITAGEOFA.NON-GENRE’
Techaracteristicslistedabovecanbenowusedaspointsofreferenceforthereading
ofminiaturehexametricpoemscomposedinthelatefhcenturyVandalAfrica.Iwish
toconcentraterstontheaspectindicatedbyPerutelliasparticularlyrelevantforthe
Latinepyllion,namelytheroleofthenarrator.WehavejustnotedthatevenintheLatin
miniatureeposofthezclassicalphase,thenarratorcouldlookatthemythicalstoryas
amoralistorjudge.Tus,itseemsreasonabletoexpectthatasimilarapproachshould
beallthemoreznatural,ifanancient,paganmythistobepresentedandcommentedby
anegospeakingforapoetsteepedinboththeclassicaltraditionandtheChristianfaith.63
Next,IshallanalyzeDracontius,spoemsasznon-Homeric,epic.Obviously,Allen,s
expressionevokedhereisusedonlymetaphoricallyasahelpfullabelunderwhichcertain
compositionalfeaturescanbegrouped.Itisnotmyintentionofcoursetocompareor
rathercontrastDracontius,sepylliatoHomer,soeuvreassuch.Ishalldiscusssuchas-
pectsastheselectionofmotifstobeelaborated,theirtreatment,andtheportrayalofthe
protagonists.
Lastly,IshallfocusontheproblemoftheKreuzungderGattungen,theexploitationof
zother,
,extra-epicliteraryformsandstrategiesinthetextsinquestion.AsIhavealready
stressed,thezmixingofgenres,withinanepyllicpoemisaimedabovealltogiveitsome
particularcoloring,sentimentalor,indeed,tragic.ItisfromthisstandpointthatDracon-
tius,stextswillbestudiedhere.
Inthenalchapter,IshalldedicateafewwordstotheAegritudoPerdicae,apoem
inevitablydestinedtobejuxtaposedwithDracontius,sminiatureepic.Infact,myown
approachwillnotbemuchdiferentinthisrespect.Nevertheless,mygoalisnottocom-
parecertainstylisticpeculiaritiesortoestablishwhoofthetwomakesabetterpoet(and
whythismustbeDracontius).WhatIshallconcentrateonisexactlythequestionoftheir
understandingoftheepylliontradition:towhatextentwhattheytwoproposeisconver-
gent,whatandhowdeepthediferencesare.
63TroughoutmystudyofDracontius,sepyllia,Icannotavoidposingmyselfquestionscon-
cerningDracontius,sreligiousattitude,eventhoughtheproblemdoesnotconstitutemymajor
pointofinterestandIfullyacknowledgemylimitationsinprovidingdecisiveconclusionsinthis
respect.Nevertheless,mypersonalviewisthatwhatwecanspeakofinDracontius,scaseisnot
somuchaconversionsensustricto(therefore,Ihavestatedabove“apoetsteepedintheChris-
tianfaith,”andhencealsotheinvertedcommaswheneverIusethetermzconversion,inreference
toDracontius)butrathermaturationoffaith,orevenmaturationofreligiousconsciousness,the
resultofwhichare(amongothers)moreandmoreimportantmoralissuesthatthepoetproposes
inhisepyllia.Inotherwords,whatIbelieveisthedecisivefactorinDracontius,sreligiousnessis
somekindofdynamics,ratherthan(only)steadinessemphasizedbyBright,whoevengoesasfar
astonametheCarthaginianpoeta“Christianapologist”(seebelowinCh.I.2).Mypositionthen,
being,inthisrespect,somewhatdiferentalsofromSimons,s(forwhosebookIgenerallyhave
muchappreciation),iscloseparticularlytoGrillone,s(andearlierAricò,s,stilleventoRomano,s,
infact).Terefore,myreadingofthechronologyofDracontius,sepylliaisalsozconservative,(for
anzinnovative,approachtotheproblem,seeBright1999):IseetheOrestisTragoediaas(clearly)
posteriorandevencomplementaryinsomerespecttotheMedea.TeDeraptuHelenae,in
suchacontext,shouldseemsomewhatzanterior,
,eventhoughitisequallyimpressiveinemploying
variedliterarystrategiesifpoeticqualityweretobetakenintoconsideration.