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Prudentius practised law with some success, and was twice provincial governor, perhaps in his native country, before the emperor Theodosius summoned him to court. Towards the end of his life (possibly around 392Events August 22 Arbogast elevates Eugenius as Roman Emperor. Theodosius issues an edict reinforcing the prohibition of prayers or sacrifices at non- Christian temples in the Roman Empire. Births Deaths May Valentinian II, Roman Emperor 392.) Prudentius retired from public life to become an ascetic, fasting until evening and abstaining entirely from animal food. Prudentius later collected the Christian poems written during this period and added a preface, which he himself dated 405.
The poetry of Prudentius is influenced by early Christian authors, such as TertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullian (b. 150- 160, d. 220- 240) is a highly ambivalent character in early Christianity. On one hand, he was the first great writer of Latin Christianity. He was born, lived, wrote, and died in Carthage, in what is today Tun and St. Ambrose, as well as the BibleThe Bible (From Greek βιβλια biblia meaning "books", which in turn is derived from βυβλος byblos meaning "papyrus", from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) and the acts of the martyrsHistorically, a martyr (from Greek martys for "witness") was considered to be a person who died for his or her religious faith, typically by being tortured to death. History In Christianity Christian martyrs in the first three centuries A. were crucified. His ChristmasChristmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a traditional holiday in the Christian calendar which takes place on the twenty-fifth day of December and celebrates the nativity of Jesus Christ. Christmas is also celebrated as a secular holiday throughout mu plainsongBroadly speaking, plainsong is the name given to the body of traditional songs used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. The liturgies of the Orthodox Church, though in many ways similar, are generally not classified as plainsong, though the musical f hymnSee also the hymn-project a program to decrypt iTunes music files. A hymn is a song specifically written as a song of praise, adoration or prayer, typically addressed to God. A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist or hymnodist and the process of singing Divinum Mysterium ("Of the Father's Love Begotten") and the hymn for Epiphany O sola magnarum urbium ("Earth Has Many a Noble City"), both from the Cathemerinon, are still in use today. The allegorical Psychomachia, however, is his most influential work and became the inspiration and wellspring of medieval allegorical literature.
The works of Prudentius include: