Bissula
Bissula was an Alemannic woman who, as a young woman, became a Roman prisoner of war in 368 and came into the possession of the Roman poet Ausonius (approx. 310–394).
Ausonius had participated than about 60-year-old widower in a Alemanni campaign, in which he Valentinian I served. Here Bissula had been awarded him as booty. He developed a deep love for her, which is why he acquitted her and wrote the poem de Bissula ("About Bissula") on her, which he sent to his friend Axius Paulus. Ausonius lived at the imperial court for about 20 years after the campaign, where he held high offices.
reception
Felix Dahn describes in his historical novel Bissula , which is based on the events of the Migration Period (378 AD), the history of the relationship between the Roman Ausonius and the Alemannic Bissula, albeit in the exact opposite direction to the historically proven facts. For example, he reinterprets the outcome of the Alemannic War, in which Ausonius participated, as a victory for the Alemanni.
literature
- Friedrich Marx : Ausonius 3 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Sp. 2562-2580, here Sp. 2564 and Sp. 2571.
Web links
- Latin text: Bissula
- Ausonius: love poems to Bissula . In the German translation by MW Besser, 1908
Remarks
- ^ Felix Dahn: Collected works . First series, volume 3. Berlin 1884.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bissula |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Alemannic slave |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 368 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th century |