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 FORTUNATUS

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FORTUNATUS

systematic technic in microscopy. From his many accurate descriptions, it is evident that his researches extended to many animals, and particularly to in- sects. In view of all this, it seems warranted to as- sert that Fortunato was the first morphologist, espe- cially as not the slightest hint of this most important branch of comparative anatomy is found in Malpighi, Morgagni, Leeuwenhoek, or Haller, the path-finders in microscopic anatomy.

Gemelli, Un precursore delta modema morjologia comparata in Alii del Congresso dei Naluralisli Italiani (Milan, 1907); Idem, P. Forlunalo da Brescia in Rivista di fisica, malemalica e scienze nalurali (Pavia, 1908), with portrait and complete bibliograpiiy.

A. Gemelli.

Fortunatus, Father. See Rajputana, Prepec- TnRE Apostolic of.

Fortunatus, Venantius Honorids Clembnti- ANUS, a Christian poet of the sixth century, b. between 530 and 540 in Upper Italy, between Ceneda and Tre- viso. He receiveil his literary education at Ravenna. Here he first manifested his poetical ability by a poem celebrating the iledication of a church to St. Andrew by the bishop, Vitalis. He appears to have left Ravenna in 565, crossing the Alps and a part of South- ern Germany and reaching in the autumn the banks of the Moselle. The stages of his journey may be traced in his poems. They were: Mainz, where he celebrated the construction of the baptistery and church of St. George (II, 11 and 12), and in which he compliments the bishop, Sidonius (IX, 9) ; Cologne, where he accepted the hospitality of Bishop Caren- tinus (III, 14); Trier, where he praises Bishop Nice- tius 1,111, 11) who had built a castle on the Moselle (111,12); Metz, which he describes (III, 13). He then made a journey on the Moselle, of which he gives a humorous account (VI, 8). But the principal event of his sojourn at Metz was his presentation at the court of King Sigebert, where he arrived at the time of the king's marriage with Brunehild (566), for which oc- casion he wrote an epithalamium (VI, 1). Shortly afterwards Brunehild renouncetl Arianism for Catho- licism, and Fortunatus extolled this conversion (VI, 1"). He won the favour of the courtiers by his eulo- gies, notably that of Gogo and Duke Lupus, the latter one of the most remarkable men of the time, a real sur- vival, amid barbarian surroundings, of Roman culture and traditions. Fortunatus soon resumed his jour- ney. New poems repaid the hospitality of the ESish- ops of Verdun (II, 23) and Reims (III, 15); at Soissons he venerated the tomb of St. Medardus (II, 16), and finally arrived at Paris, where he praised the clergy for their zeal in reciting the Divine Office (II, 9) . His description of the chanting of the Office on the eve of a feast accompanied by an orchestra is a curious document. He made the acquaintance of King Cari- bert, whom he compares to Solomon, Trajan, and Fabius, and whose Latin eloquence he praises highly (VI, 2). From Paris he went to Tours, which was probably his original destination, for while at Ra- venna he had been miraculously cured of a disease of the eyes through the intercession of St. Martin. He worshipped at the tomb of the saint and gave thanks to the bishop, Euphronius (III, 3), whom he after- wards came to know more intimately.

From Tours Fortunatus went to Poitiers, attracted, no doubt, by the renown of St. Radegunde and her monastery. This circumstance had a decisive influ- ence on the remainder of his life. Radegunde, daugh- ter of the King of Thuringia, had been taken prisoner by Clotaire I, the son of Clevis, after the defeat of her uncle, Hermanfried, and the conquest of her country (531). Hermanfried had slain her father. She be- came, against her will, the wife of Clotaire. Her brother having been put to death by the Franks, she sought refuge with St. Medardus, Bishop of Verman- dois (St-Quentin and Soissons), who caused her to

take the veil, and she remained at Poitiers. The mon- astery of Poitiers was very large and contained about 200 religious. At first they lived without a definite rule, but about 567 Radegunde accepted that of St. Ca"sarius of Aries. At this time, which was previous to the death of Caribert (568), she caused the conse- cration as abbess of her beloved adoptive daughter Agnes. It was at the same period that Fortunatus be- came the friend of the two women antl took up his resi- dence at Poitiers, where he remained till the death of Radegunde, 13 Aug., 587, Agnes, doubtless, having died shortly before. The closest friendship sprang up between them, Fortunatus calling Radegunde his mother and Agnes liis sister. It was one of those tender and chaste friendships between ecclesiastics and pious women; similar, for example, to the relations between St. Jerome and the Roman ladies, delicate friendships enhanced by solid piety, confirmed in peace by a mutual love of Goil, and which do not exclude the charming child's play usually marking feminine friendship. In this instance it brought about a constant interchange of letters in which the art and grace of Fortunatus found their nat^ ural vent. He was an epicure, and there were sent to him from the convent, milk, eggs, dainty dishes, and savoury meats in the artistic arrangement of which the cooks of antiquity exercised their ingenuity. He did not allow himself to be outdone and sent to his friends at one time flowers, at another chestnuts in a basket woven by his own hands. The little poems which accompanied them are not included in the works pub- lished by P^ortunatus himself; it is probable that many of them are lost, no great importance being attached to them. Circumstances provided him with graver subjects which necessitated the production of more serious works. About 568 Radegunde received from Emperor Justin a particle of the True Cross, to which the monastery had been dedicated, and Fortunatus was commissioned to thank the emperor and empress for their gift. This religious event letl him to write a series of poems (II, 1-6) ; two, the " Vexilla Regis Pro- deunt" and the " Pange Lingua " (II, 6, 2), have been adopted by the Church. The vigorous movement of these poems shows that Fortunatus was not lacking in strength and seriousness. Two of this series are " figu- rate" poems, i. e. the letters of each verse, being ar- ranged with due regularity, form artistic designs. It was one of the least happy inventions of this period of literary decadence.

Radegunde was in constant communication with Constantinople, for Amalafried. a cousin whom she dearly loved, had found refuge in the East where he was in the service of the empire. Through Fortuna- tus Radegunde bewailed the sad lot of her country and her family; this long elegy, full of life and movement, and addressed to Amalafried, is one of the poet's best and most celebrated works (Appendix, I). Another elegy deplores the premature death of Amalafried (Ap- pendix, 3). The death of Galeswintha was also the oc- casion for one of those elegies in which Fortunatus shows himself at once so profoimd and so natural. This princess, the sister of Brunehild, was married to Chilperic, and had just been put to death l>y the order of her husband (569 or 570). Shortly before this For- tunatus had seen her arrive from Spain and pass through Poitiers in a silver chariot, and it was on this occasion she had won the heart of Radegunde. In re- calling these things and in his portrayal of the mother of the unhappy young woman and their heart-break- ing farewell, he succeeded, despite many rhetorical artifices, in depicting true grief. Other poems written at Poitiers deal with religious subjects. Fortunatus explained to his "sister" Agnes that his love was wholly fraternal (XI, 6), and devoted 400 lines to the praiseof virginity (VIII, .3). While abounding inChris- tian sentiments he develops in a singularly realistic style the inconveniences of marriage, especially the