Poems to Friends

Owing to the rich storehouse of information they contain, the poetry of Venantius Fortunatus (c.535-600 C. E.) has long been mined as a historical source for Merovingian society, a focus that has tended to overshadow an appreciation of the poems' literary qualities. This volume, offering freeverse translations of Fortunatus' personal poetry, remains faithful to the historical sweep of the poet's lines while paying attention to the literary qualities that make these poems masterpieces of their kind.