Carmen figuratum
Carmen figuratum is a poem that has a certain shape or pattern formed either by some or all the words it contains. As a form of visual poetry, carmina figurata are similar to the calligram, notably the Calligrammes by Guillaume Apollinaire. Like calligraphy and typography, carmina figurata occupy a liminal space between graphic design and visual art. An example is France Prešeren's "Zdravljica", where the shape of each stanza resembles a wine goblet.
Origin of the term
The term derives from the carmina figurata of Renaissance texts – works in which a sacred image was picked out in red letters against a field of black type so that a holy figure could be seen and meditated on during the process of reading. Carmina figurata spread in the Carolingian period to spread the use and study of Latin.Examples
Latin poetry
- Rabanus Maurus' De laudibus sanctae crucis or In honorem sanctae crucis '', a medieval collection of metrical Latin poetry from the Carolingian period that use a crossword puzzle-like grid in manuscripts to visually represent Cruciform imagery in a variety of colorful compositions that range in complexity from poems shaped into basic visual patterns, such as numbers and single words with Christian symbolism, to full-figure representations, including a Crucifix, a portrait of Louis the Pious, and Rabanus' own self-portrait.
| Portrait of patron | Self-portrait of artist | Carolingian Cross |
File:Ludwik I Pobożny.jpg|500px|thumb|alt=Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi, with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. Part of De laudibus Sanctae Crucis, a larger collection of cruciform carmina figurata by Rabanus Maurus.|Contemporary depiction of Louis the Pious from 826 as a miles Christi, with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. Part of De laudibus Sanctae Crucis, a larger collection of cruciform carmina figurata by Rabanus Maurus, 9th-century manuscript at the Vatican Library: Vat. Reg.lat.124, f. 4v. https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Reg.lat.124/0012 | File:Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 9, f. 2v – Hrabanus Maurus, Liber de Laudibus Sanctae Crucis.JPG|500px|thumb|center|alt=Carmen figuratum depicting a Carolingian cross in an 11th-century manuscript of Rabanus Maurus' Liber de laudibus Sanctae Crucis, Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod.9, f. 2v.|Carmen figuratum depicting a Carolingian cross in an 11th century manuscript of Rabanus Maurus' Liber de laudibus Sanctae Crucis'', Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Codex 9, folio 2 verso |
Poetry in other languages
- France Prešeren's "Zdravljica", written in Slovenian.