Table of Contents

Abbreviations; Introduction; The man and his poetry; Curiositas and credulity; The form and purpose of the Peristephanon; Prudentian Imitatio and Christian 'Augustanism'; 'Egregiae Animae'; Prudentius and the Imperial poets; The martyrdom of bishop Fructuosos and his deacons; The Peristephanon and its sources; Epilogue

Reviews

'the sophistication and sensitivity of its overall approach makes it indispensable reading for all students of Prudentius and the Latin poetry of Late Antiquity'
Jill Harries, St Salvator's College, St Andrews, Classical Review
'This Oxford doctoral thesis is wholly worthy of its place in the series of Oxford Classical Monographs and worthy also of its subject ... this is an excellent work and an indispensable aid to understanding Prudentius and the veneration of martyrs in the West at the end of the fourth century'
Henry Chadwick, Peterhouse, Cambridge, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
'she is intelligent and careful ... It is to be hoped that Palmer's book will achieve her expressed aim of enabling these poems to regain 'the recognition and appreciation they deserve' among students of Latin literature. The omens appear to be favourable.'
T.D. Barnes, Journal of Theological Studies, Vol.41, No.2
'anyone interested in late antiquity will find plenty to savour, and food for much further thought, in these pages'
Neil McLynn, Lincoln College, Oxford, Journal of Roman Studies LXXX 90
'this is a classicist's reading of Prudentius on the martyrs: an important reading'
I.N. Wood, University of Leeds, History, Vol. 77, October 1992
'this is a classicist's reading of Prudentius on the martyrs: an important reading...'
I N Wood, History, Oct 1992