Lucan in Prešeren

Abstract

The problem of the sources for the Krst pri Savici is one of the most discussed subjects by Prešeren's scholars. The present article develops the hypothesis that Prešeren has been influenced by the Roman epic poet Lucan. In his work Prešeren quotes Lucan twice (in the epigram Narobe Katon and in the Krst); there are also proved Lucan's influences on the Krst, both formal and ideological, concerning the contents. It must be borne in mind that the poems which are usually regarded as Prešeren's sources (Byron's Siege oj Corinth, Mickiewitz's Konrad Wallenrod, Werne's Das Kreuz an der Ostsee) deal with wars between two nations, on the contrary Lucan's central subject (and Prešeren's too) is civil war. Itwould seem quite strange, if Prešeren, who was found of ancient literature, hadn't considered the most renowned Roman epic poem describing and blaming the horrors of civil wars.