Eugenius Vulgarius (Italian ''Eugenio Vulgario''; '' fl. '' 887–928) was an Italian priest and poet. Eugenius' epithet may allude to a

Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...

heritage, and he may have been a descendant of the horde of Alzec that settled in the

Molise Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...

in the seventh century and were still distinguishable by their language in the late eighth century. The ethnonym was sometimes rendered as ''Vulgares'' in Latin. Knowledgeable of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, he was also deeply learned in the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and displays familiarity with

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, and the

tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

. Around 907, when he was a ''

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as ...

'' and teacher of

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

and

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

at the episcopal school in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Eugenius wrote a pamphlet defending

Pope Formosus Pope Formosus (896) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 891 until his death on 4 April 896. His reign as pope was troubled, marked by interventions in power struggles over the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the ...

, who had given him holy orders, from the attacks of the reigning

Pope Sergius III Pope Sergius III (c. 860 − 14 April 911) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 29 January 904 to his death. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions ...

. He produced a second treatise on this same subject in dialogue form.Eleanor Shipley Duckett (1988), ''Death and Life in the Tenth Century'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press), pp. 230–31. In these, entitled ''De causa Formosiana'' and ''Eugenius Vulgarius Petro Diacono fratri et amico'', he denies the authority of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and proclaims that only a deserving man can ever truly be pope. Sergius ordered him imprisoned in a monastery, probably that of the monks of

Montecassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

Teano Teano ( Teanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's ...

, where his compatriot, the defender of Formosus called Auxilius (a pseudonym meaning "defender"), was also protected. Sergius soon reversed his decree and summoned him to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for trial. Eugenius responded to the threat posed by this with a series of fawning verses of praise for Pope Sergius and the city of Rome, ''aurea Roma'' ("golden Rome"), to which the pope (he claimed) had brought renewed glory. He even went so far as to declare the pope's lover,

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

, "full of virtue". Eugenius composed three different

pattern poem Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

s eulogising the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Leo VI Leo VI (or Leon VI, notably in Greek) may refer to : * Leo VI the Wise, Byzantine emperor 886 to 912 * Pope Leo VI, 928 to 929 * King Leo VI of Armenia (1342 – 1393), of the House of Lusignan, last Latin king of the Armenian crusader Kingdom of C ...

; one (no. XVI) is in the shape of a pyramid. He credits Leo with victories over barbarians in both Europe and Africa. Eugenius also praised

Atenulf I of Benevento Atenulf I (died 910), called the Great (Latin ''magnus''), was the prince of Capua from 7 January 887 and of Benevento from 899, when he conquered that principality. He also used the title ''princeps gentis Langobardorum'': "prince of the Lombard ...

for his victories over the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

of the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri"). ...

. Among his other works are some glosses on

Martianus Capella Martianus Minneus Felix Capella (fl. c. 410–420) was a jurist, polymath and Latin prose writer of late antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education. He was a nati ...

and a poem about nature, the arrival of springtime, and the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

of the birds.F. M. Warren (1912), "The Troubadour ''Canso'' and Latin Lyric Poetry", ''Modern Philology'', 9(4), p. 481. J. E. Caerwyn Williams (1989/90), "The Nature Prologue in Welsh Court Poetry", ''Studia celtica'', 24/25, p. 78, credits Eugenius as the first to connect the "nature prologue", which was later to be so important to the

courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...

lyric, to a "love interest". Eugenius also produced metrical calendars.

Notes

External links

Metrum parhemiacum tragicum
from

The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...

{{Authority control 10th-century Latin writers 10th-century Italian clergy 10th-century Italian poets