ABSTRACT
The De Gelesuintha (Carmen 6.5), the so-called "Elegy on Galswintha," is one of Venantius Fortunatus' longest and most ambitious compositions. The elegy on Galswintha generally is described as a consolatio, and this fits well the external structure of the poem. It begins with an exordium on the fragility of human life, as illustrated by the death of Galswintha, one of the two "towers" (the other being Brunhild) that Spain had sent to Gaul. Fortunatus employs the standard scheme of the consolatio as a formal framework within which to develop a poetically ambitious composition on the theme of Galswintha's death. The emphasis on the pathos of Galswintha's death and the grief it occasions seems disproportionate and threatens to undermine the consolatory function of the poem. For Fortunatus, Galswintha is an innocent victim of circumstance. The sympathy aroused by Fortunatus for the young princess can only enhance the apparent wickedness of her husband and murderer in the historian's version.
