One of the most important and substantial bodies of texts emanating from late sixth-century Gaul is the corpus of poetry and prose by Venantius Fortunatus, most of which is to be found in the twelve-book collection known as the Carmina [Poems]. Selections have been translated and published by, among others, Judith George and Joseph Pucci, but many important poems have remained untranslated. This has now been remedied by the long-awaited translation of the entire Carmina by Michael Roberts in the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library.
All in all, this is a great moment in Fortunatus studies. There is a vast amount of work yet to be done on his writings. He still remains too little known. But the greatest obstacle to a flourishing of English-language study on Venantius Fortunatus has been removed with Roberts’s superb new translation of the Carmina. For this, as much as for the excellence of the translation, Roberts deserves thanks and praise.
Benjamin Wheaton
Journal of Medieval Latin
