Joannes Burmeister: "Aulularia" and other Inversions of Plautus (Bibliotheca Latinitatis Novae)

Joannes Burmeister of Lüneburg (1576-1638) was among the greatest Neo-Latin poets of the German Baroque. His masterpieces, now mostly lost, are Christian "inversions" of the classical Roman comedies of Plautus. With only minimal changes in language and none in meter, each transforms Plautus' pagan plays into comedies based on biblical themes. Fascinating in their own right, they also bring back to attention forgotten genres of Renaissance literature. This volume offers the first critical edition of the newly discovered Aulularia (1629) , which exists in a sole copy, and the fragments of Mater-Virgo (1621) , which adapts Plautus' Amphitryo to show the Nativity of Jesus.The introduction offers reconstructions of Susanna (based on Casina) and Asinaria (1625) , his two lost or unpublished inversions of Plautus. Fontaine also provides the only biography of Burmeister based on archival sources, along with discussions of his inimitable Latinity and the perilous context of war and witch burning in which Burmeister wrote. Burmeister's inversions bear witness to the special talent of his age for the creative reworking of classical literature, such as Monteverdi's Poppea or Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, as well as to his tumultuous times, with his views on military abuses in the Thirty Years War prefiguring those of Grimmelshausen's Simplicius Simplicissimus.

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Alles in allem haben wir es hier mit der mustergültigen Präsentation eines Textes zu tun, an dem jeder Freund lateinischer Poesie seine Freude haben dürfte und der allein schon deswegen eine Neuedition verdient hatte.
Niklas Holzberg, Gymnasium, Band 123 (2016) / Heft 2



Fontaine has resuscitated an exceptionally creative Neo-Latin poet-dramatist and considerably enriched our knowledge of Protestant Latinity in the German empire.
James A. Parente Jr., Renaissance Quarterly, volume 70, nummer 1, Spring 2017



The
interpretation that Fontaine ventures on in the introduction is solid and the
ready access to the texts provided by this volumes will make the works of
Burmeister available for additional scrutiny by subsequent scholars. Overall
this volume is an excellent addition to the Bibliotheca Latinitas Novae and is
useful reading for anyone interested in the reception of Plautine drama.Seth A. Jeppesen, Latomus 76/3, September 2017



Ein abschlieàYendes Urteil zu Burmeisters Aulularia steht dem Rez., der kein Fachmann für Neulatein ist, nicht zu. Doch darf er F. hochstes Lob für sein ungewohnlich groàYes Engagement aussprechen, mit dem er einen 'verlorenen' Dichter wieder allgemein zugänglich gemacht hat.
Walter Stockert, WIENER STUDIEN, Band 129/2016, 333 -; 365



F. provides his reader with an English translation, where he attempts to imitate the numerous puns; if he does not succeed, he explains the pun in a footnote. The series Bibliotheca Latinitatis Novae can be proud of this volume from a distinguished Plautus expert, presenting an extraordinary piece of reception to their readers. Florian Schaffenrath, Neo-Latin News Vol. 64, Nos. 1&2



Mit diesem Buch ist der Anfang gemacht, einen deutsch-lateinischen Autor aus der Obskurität in die Philologie zu holen.
Ludger JoriàYen, Germanistik 2015, Band 56, heft 1-2



This very handsomely produced book concludes with a brief bibliography, general index, an index locorum biblicorum and, getting the last word, an index jocorum. But no joke: Fontaine's clean, thorough, and user-friendly edition of a newly discovered script cribbed from Plautus should be an essential acquisition for university libraries with holdings in classical tradition and reception.
Fred Franko, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, March 20, 2016

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Fontaineis Associate Professor of Classics at Cornell University.

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