Heavenly Virtue, Epic Form: Rethinking Heroism in the Parthenicae by Baptista Mantuanus (1447-1516)

Baptista Mantuanus (1447–1516), a Carmelite monk and one of the most prolific Christian poets of the Italian Quattrocento, was hailed by his contemporaries as a “Christian Virgil.” A man of integrity and remarkable intellect and spirit – later beatified for his virtuous life – Mantuan embodied the ideal of a poet who united classical learning with Christian faith. His Latin poetry, adorned with vivid imagery and classical elegance, reimagines the pagan epic as a vehicle of faith and contemplation.

The most highly regarded of his literary works, the Parthenicae, comprises seven epics on the lives of holy virgins – Virgin Mary, Catherine, Margaret, Agnes, Agatha, Apollonia and Cecilia. By making these virgins the heroines of an epic poem, Mantuan participates in the Renaissance practice of Christianising classical genres, transforming the battlefield of heroes into the spiritual arena of virgin martyrs. In the Parthenicae, ancient monsters become demonic tempters, and the warrior’s virtus is transfigured into the virtue of virginitas.

This paper explores how Mantuan constructs a new kind of epic heroine – the Christian virago: a beautiful young woman who wages war not with the sword but with faith, and whose triumph lies in heroic death. Particular attention will be given to the fusion of virgo and virago, and to the role of the docta puella, the learned maiden who combats evil with the weapons of rhetoric and reason. Through this poetic transfiguration, Mantuan reveals a Christian heroism that conquers not kingdoms, but the self.