The Tradition of the Goddess Fortuna in Roman Literature and in the Transitional Period (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

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Excerpt from The Tradition of the Goddess Fortuna in Roman Literature and in the Transitional Period

The purpose of this essay is to study the nature and functions of the Goddess of Fortune in Roman literature and the literature of the transitional period.1 The frequent appearance of this figure in documents of the Middle Ages is well-known, although, perhaps, not adequately appreciated. It is well-known, too, that the goddess existed in earlier days in Rome, and was actually wor shipped as a prominent member of the pantheon. She is important, therefore, as a deity Who was taken over after the transition from a polytheistic to a monotheistic religion, and her interest thus becomes twofold.

Traits of the goddess in Rome, Which were reflected in the literature, would naturally survive in the literary treatment of later ages. This fact would suggest the possibility that some of the old religious feeling might be retained in the Christian period. Are the references to Fortuna in the Middle Ages simply orna mental and perfunctory, or has she inspired fresh imaginative endeavor? Does she appear in only one sort of literature: for example, as a lay figure in a Classical background? Or is she a vital element in every variety of plot? Where precisely does the change from religion to allegory occur, or indeed does it really occur at all?

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