Alexandru Cizek - Regarding the Medieval Image of Exiled Ovid
(pag. 91-106)
There is at least a threefold image of the exiled Ovid in the Middle Latin letters drawing inspiration from his all the time broadly used and imitated poetry. During the Early Middle Age Carolingian poets, such as Theodulph of Orléans, Ermoldus Nigellus, Walafrid Strabo and later on Godescalc of Orbais, Hildebert of Lavardin, who suffered persecution inflicted to them by tyrannic sovereigns or prelates, were identified or identified themselves with the banished ancient poet. In the 12-th century the prelate and poet Baudri of Bourgeuil, composed the Psudo-ovidian epistles Florus Ovidio and Ovidius Floro out of biographic items taken from the Tristia and Pontica and shaped an already "medievalized" image of Ovid according to the spirit of his time. He also shows a remarcable artistic and temperamental congeniality with the ancient poet. Some literary accesus ad Tristia and ad Pontica from the 12-th and 13- th century coming especially from southern German monastery schools such as those from Benedictbeuren (where the codex with Carmina Burana was written almost contemporarily) or Tegernsee, famous for its literary circle, ascribed Ovid's banishment primarily to his adulterous liaison with Livia. In one of them Livia was identified with Corinna, Ovid being anachronistically converted into an adulterous troubadour suffering both the ira of the "horned" Augustus and the treachery of Vergil, who is depicted as his poetic rival in a very ludicrous episode. Some other such accessus as well as the Pseudo-Ovidian De vetula (called also De immutatione vite) created the legend of Ovid's conversion (caused by an erotic trauma) into a prophet of Christ or even a martyr and bishop of the island Pontus, a sanctus Ovidius, as disciple of St. John the Evangelist during his exile in the "neighboured" Patmos. In his novel Dieu est né an exile, written in the 70-ies years of the last century, the Romanian exiled novelist Horia Vintilă drew upon the last one hypostasis of Ovid depicting his conversion in Tomis, under the influence both of "Zamolxian" and Christian religion, into a "Protoromanian" prophet and apostle of a syncretistic religion.