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the first poem to express the united opinions of King, court and people, but not
necessarily his own mind since his opinion is not officially called for.
The reasons for praising Lupus need not logically be specific—his position at
Sigibert’s court is sufficient, but in the case of Lupus this kind of double elucidation of
specific events, the German and the Latin appreciation of his return, fits Lupus’ character,
his ambition at the Austrasian court and perhaps his vanity.
In the second poem Venantius takes care to point out that Lupus embraces both
classical and Germanic ideals and it is therefore no more than right that Venantius,
who understands both, should find it fitting to praise Lupus in a rather pompous and
Germanic way as well as with his somewhat sugary late-classical dulcedo (cf.
Koebner 1915, pp. 34 f.). In the Austrasian setting this is a matter of praising the
Germanic ideal officially in the king’s hall and then praising the classical ideal in the
private poem, which is to be read rather than recited. There are two sides of Lupus,
and Venantius, seeking a patron, knows both of them.
Although the two panegyrics cannot logically be linked to the same historical situation,
it seems quite in keeping with Venantius’ role as an intermediate between Classical
and Germanic culture to depict the same historical situation in two different and
complementary ways. It is, moreover, consistent with Lupus role to be flattered by
both types of panegyric, and the two poems are obviously structured to link the two
ideals.
The first starts with a reference to the Roman Republic and tells us that with Lupus
those happy days are brought back to us, but the rest of the poem is concerned
solely with the Germanic ideal and the references to Cato, Scipio and Pompey are
there only to prove the similarity between Roman and Germanic respect for the
welfare of the people. In the other poem the allusion to the Germanic ideal – the
lieder of the barbarians – occupies very little space, but it is a reference that presupposes
knowledge of the first poem. On the other hand, the Late Classical ideal of
letting nature reflect the sentiments of a human being and transferring these general
sentiments to a specific person and his situation, namely the stranger Venantius in the
Germanic world, is most elaborate. Venantius is welcomed in this world by Lupus
who, instead of acting the way Venantius expected a Germanic chieftain or patron to
do, he acts like a father or a mentor, with confidence in the young Venantius. So,
despite his being the perfect Germanic official hero of the poetry which is sung to a
crotta, harp or lyre, he is also a most devoted individual.
We can see that Lupus is in fact engaging Venantius in a relationship of goodness
in the same way as Hroðgar started a relationship with the child Beowulf simply by
recognising him, but we cannot be sure that Venantius understands the meaning of
Lupus’ kindness.
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