Semper retis memorabile bellum (Raet. 7.565). Simon Lemnius in der Nachfolge Silius Italicus

Abstract

Semper Retis memorabile bellum (Raet. 7.565). Simon Lemnius in der Nachfolge des Silius Italicus In  his  epic  poem  Raeteis,  the  poet  Simon  Lemnius  (1522–1550)  sings  of  the battles that took place in 1499 between the Raetians (Grisons) and the troops of Maximilian I and the Swabian League. The following article shows that Lemnius did not base his poetry primarily on Virgil’s Aeneid, as often claimed in the past, but  that  Silius  Italicus and his Punica are his main  epic model.  This is demon- strated by the following points:  intertextual relations especially in the proem, the missing single hero, the populus as hero, historiographical source, comparisons of battles in the Raeteis with battles in the Punica.