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CORIPPUS, FLAVIUS CRESCONIUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 155 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CORIPPUS, FLAVIUS CRESCONIUS , See also:Roman epic poet of the 6th See also:century A.D. He was a native of See also:Africa, and in one of the See also:MSS. is called grammaticus (teacher). He has been identified, but on insufficient grounds, with Cresconius, an See also:African See also:bishop (7th century), author of a See also:Concordia Canonusn, or collection of the See also:laws of the See also:church. Nothing is known of Corippus beyond what is contained in his own poems. He appears to have held the See also:office of See also:tribune or See also:notary (scriniarius) under See also:Anastasius, imperial treasurer and See also:chamberlain of Justinian, at the end of whose reign he See also:left Africa for See also:Constantinople, in consequence of having lost his See also:property during the Moorish and Vandal See also:wars. He was the author of two poems, of considerable importance for the See also:history of the times, one of which was not discovered till the beginning of the 19th century. The latter poem, dedicated to the nobles of See also:Carthage, which comes first in point of See also:time, is called Johannis or De bellis Libycis, and relates the overthrow of the See also:Moors by a certain Johannes, magister militum in 546; it is in eight books (the last is unfinished) and contains about 5000 hexameters. The narrative commences with the despatch of Johannes to the See also:theatre of See also:war by Justinian, and ends with the decisive victory near Carthage (548). The other poem (In laudem Justini minoris), in four books, contains the See also:death of Justinian, the See also:coronation of his successor See also:Justin II.. (14th of See also:November 565); and the See also:early events of his reign. It is preceded by a See also:preface, and a See also:short and fulsome See also:panegyric on Anastasius, the poet's See also:patron. The Laus was published at See also:Antwerp in 1581 by See also:Michael Ruyz Azagra, secretary to the See also:emperor See also:Rudolf II., from a 9th or loth century MS.

The preface contains a reference to a previous See also:

work by the author on the wars in Africa; and although Johannes Cuspinianus (1473–1529) in his De Caesaribus et Imperatoribus professed to have seen a MS. of it in the library at Buda (destroyed by See also:Suleiman II. in 1527), it was not till 1814 that it was discovered at See also:Milan by See also:Cardinal Mazzucchelli, librarian of the Ambrosian library, from the codex Trivultianus (in the library of the See also:marquis Trivulzi), the only MS. of the Johannis still extant. The Johannis is of See also:great value, not only from a purely See also:historical point of view, but also as giving a description of the See also:land and See also:people of Africa, which conscientiously records the impressions of an intelligent native observer; many of his statements as to See also:manners and customs are confirmed both by See also:independent See also:ancient authorities (such as See also:Procopius) and by our knowledge of the See also:modern See also:Berbers. See also:Virgil, See also:Lucan, and Claudian were the poet's See also:chief See also:models. The Laus, which was written when he was advanced in years, although marred by See also:Byzantine servility and See also:gross flattery of a by no means worthy See also:object, throws much See also:light upon Byzantine See also:court ceremony, as in the See also:account of the See also:accession of Justin and the reception of the See also:embassy of the See also:Avars. On the whole the See also:language and See also:metre of Corippus, considering the See also:age in which he lived and the fact that he was not a native See also:Italian, is remarkably pure. That he was a See also:Christian is rendered probable by negative indications, such as the See also:absence of all the usual mythological accessories of an epic poem, See also:positive allusions to texts of Scripture, and the highly orthodox passage Laus iv. 294 ff. The See also:editions of the Johannis by P. Mazzucchelli (182o) and of the Laus by P. F. Foggini (1797) are still valuable for their commentaries. They are both included in the 28th See also:volume of the See also:Bonn Corpus scriptorum historice Byzantinae.

The best modern editions. are by J. Partsch (in Monumenta Germaniae historica, 1879), with very valuable prolegomena, and M. Petschenig (Berliner Studien fiir klassische Philologie, iv., 1886) ; see also See also:

Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. xlv.

End of Article: CORIPPUS, FLAVIUS CRESCONIUS

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