Genre history of the panegyric epic in the late antiquity

The political and societal changes in late antiquity that allocated ruler cult a central position in the political system, led, especially in Latin literature, to the emergence of a new form of epic poetry, the panegyric epic. The panegyric epic, together with the "mythological" and "historical" epics, but also the Christian epic, which emerged in the fourth century as well, combined the traditional methods of the historical epic with those used for praising emperors. The most important panegyric epic texts from the 4th to 9th century are the panegyric poems from Claudian, Sidonius Apollinaris and Flavius Merobaudes, Priscian`s panegyricus, Venantius Forunatus` poems of praise, as well as the epics from Corippus and Ermodus Nigellus. The aim of the research project will be to demonstrate, using a comparative approach, that these panegyric works belong to a new and genuine genre, and to place them in their historical-cultural and literary-historical context. Furthermore, the nature of the relationship between panegyric and epic literature and their different forms will be explored, as well as the development of the panegyric epic from its first representative, Claudian, into the early Middle Ages. The main focus of the examination will thus be the typological classification of the different panegyric epic texts, using thorough analyses of the individual poems, of their structure, and their "panegyric" and "epic" elements, as well as the function as a means of praising the emperor, and finally the relationship of the poems to each other. Such a portrayal will not only contribute to the understanding of an epoch which has long been ignored in research, but also demonstrate the innovative creativity of late antiquity poets and document the transition of a certain genre from antiquity to late antiquity and from late antiquity into the early Middle ages.