Spätantike Vorlagen in Cathwulfs Brief an Karl den Großen
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36191/mjb/2023-58-3-6Schlagworte:
Cathwulf, Charlemagne, late antique literary models, Lactantius, Heptateuch poet, Bede, epistolography, admonitory letter, mirror for a princeAbstract
Rainer Carl Wierzcholowski: Late antique models in Cathwulf’s letter to Charlemagne
This article examines two hitherto overlooked models in Cathwulf’s famous admonitory letter to Charlemagne (ca 775): Lactantius’ De opificio Dei (19,4 – 5) in the exordium and the so-called Heptateuch poet (exod. 507 – 521) in the concluding poem. Analysing Cathwulf’s adaptation of these texts, the article sheds light not only on the textual transmission, but above all on stylistic and literary features of the letter. Firstly, while Cathwulf relies on De opificio Dei to support his argument, he also tries to improve his model stylistically. Secondly, the adaptation of the Heptateuch reveals an elaborate literary device: Drawing on the Canticle of Moses, the poet praises Charlemagne as ›new Moses‹. As a result, Cathwulf proves himself to be a literarily ambitious epistolographer who both demonstrates and demands erudition in his correspondence.
