Description and Objectives

Students will read ~1,000 lines of Juvencus’s translation of the Latin Gospels into the genre and meter of Classical Epic. A contemporary of Constantine, Juvencus allows us to study the first Christian poet who adopted a pagan form just as Christianity gained legal equality in the Roman world.

Textbooks

Materials will be provided by the teacher.

Course Requirements

Students will read 20 lines per night and will be responsible for understanding not only the Latin, but also the poetic devices and choices that Juvencus makes as he adapts the stories of the Gospels to Epic traditions.

Successful Students

A successful student will re-read, scan lines, and work in Latin as much as possible (i.e. translating from poetry to prose before attempting to render into Latin).