Paulinus von Nola, Carmen 18. Einleitung, Text und Kommentar

The late antique Latin poet Paulinus of Nola dedicated a large part of his poetic oeuvre to the memory of saint Felix of Nola. The collection of the so-called Carmina natalicia is, from its fourth poem (c. 15), devoted to Felix`s life and deeds. Within this metrical biography, c. 18 holds a key position, in so far as it marks the transition from earthly to heavenly existence nd miraculous powers of the Saint: In two parts of more ore less equal length, Paulinus first focuses on Felix`s funeral and heavenly ascent, then recounts an exemplary miracle performed by the saint after his death. The commentary presents a detailed analysis of the poem on linguistic, stylistic, poetic and literary historic matters, the main concern being as follows: Paulinus` use of classical, biblical and patristic sources and models as well as his use of the traditional literary genres. Then, there ist emphasis on the interpretation of the poem as a whole, its unity and its position within the context of the collection of "birthday poems". The analysis of the structure of the poem shows that the - at first glance - disproportion between the proem and the main subject, the account of the miracle, is intended to demonstrate the importance of the first part, the "prelude", as a "condicio sine qua non" of Felix`s thaumaturgical power. Further, it is shown that ba means of verbal and thematic resemlances Paulinus obviously works out a connection between the past of Felix`s death, the past of the miracle, and the present celebration of the dies natalis, and that he parallels his own person with the beneficiary of the miracle.