Venanzio Fortunato patriis vagus exul ab oris

An intertextual approach to Venantius Fortunatus’ poem 6.8 allows to fully place it into the climate of literary lusus that characterised late antique Gallic production from Ausonius onward. However, the mention of the main character of the Historia Apollonii regis Tyri (v. 6) does not seem to be a literary device introduced with mere self-mocking intent and entirely related to the comic story of Venantius’ shipwreck on the Moselle. The comparison between the two troubled fates might suggest much deeper autobiographical similarities.