Pseudo-Ovid orPseudo-Ovidius is the name conventionally used to designate any author of a work falsely attributed to theLatin poetOvid (43 BC – AD 17/18). The term first appears in the second edition of theLexicon Latinae Linguae Antibarbarum Quadripartitum ofJohann Friedrich Nolte in 1744.[1] The collective term for such texts isPseudo-Ovidiana, which may be defined simply as "works not authored by Ovid that circulated under his name".[2]
An English translation of the collective Pseudo-Ovidiana was published as part of the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library in 2020 under the titleAppendix Ovidiana, by analogy with theAppendix Vergiliana.[3]
There are several types of pseudo-Ovidian text. Some texts were intentionally written in Ovid's name asliterary forgeries. In other instances, anonymous texts attracted an attribution to Ovid.[4] Many of these convincingly imitate Ovid, but the motivations and expectations of their actual authors are largely unknown.[5] Another class of pseudo-Ovidian text are interpolations in other authentic works of Ovid.[6]
Some works were only "intermittently Ovidian", that is, they were only occasionally ascribed to Ovid, like theConflictus veris et hiemis, which was also attributed toVergil, and theBirria, which was in fact byVitalis of Blois.[4] According toRalph Hexter,Wilken Engelbrecht [nl] suggests that "when teachers and students relied for their study of theauctores [authors] increasingly onflorilegia and excerpts, imitations of Ovid crafted only two centuries earlier could more readily be mistaken as ancient productions".[7] Hexter has suggested the term "para-Ovidian" as an alternative, since the prefix "pseudo-" is often taken to imply deception.[5]
Mere imitation of Ovid, popular throughout antiquity and theMiddle Ages, does not constitute Pseudo-Ovidiana.[8] Neither does the use of Ovid's name or persona in an overt work of fiction constitute Pseudo-Ovidiana.Baudri of Bourgueil wrote an exchange of letters betweenFlorus and Ovid in the style of theHeroides, but they were always understood as works of fiction and correctly ascribed to Baudri.[9]
The authenticity of several of the 21 letters found in Ovid'sHeroides has been questioned. The same is true of the couplets that introduce each letter.[10] Any inauthentic material would, by definition, be pseudo-Ovidian, although "theHeroides themselves pose a challenge to any stable concept of authenticity, since Ovid theauthor prides himself on masquerading in turn asPenelope,Phyllis,Briseis,Dido,Oenoneet al."[11] In the fifteenth century,Juan Rodríguez del Padrón passed off three letters of his own—Carta de Madreselua a Manseol,Troylos a Brecayda andBrecayda a Troylo—as Ovid's in hisBursario, otherwise aCastilian translation ofHeroides.[12] Soon after, the Italian humanistAngelo Sabino composed letters that were included in editions of theHeroides and at times accepted as Ovid's own work. Imitation of Classical sources was characteristic of Renaissance literary production, and the categories of creative imitation, impersonation, and forgery often elude certainty about the author's intention.[13]
Several excerpts of Ovid'sAmores circulated independently during the Middle Ages. One of these,Amores 3.5, which appeared under the titlesDe somno andDe rustico, has often had its authenticity doubted.[14]
Two poems datable to the first century have been ascribed to Ovid, but are suspect.Halieutica was accepted as Ovid's byPliny the Elder, but has been doubted on grounds of style.Nux, on the other hand, is one of the best Ovidian imitations if it is not authentic. It was treated as Ovid's byConrad of Hirsau, who included it in hisaccessus ad auctores, andDesiderius Erasmus, who published a commentary on it.[15]
Excerpts of the 12th-century poemFacetus: Moribus et vita circulated under Ovid's name as supposed pieces of the authenticArs amatoria andRemedia amoris. They have been labelled the "Pseudo-Ars" and "Pseudo-Remedia".[31]
In the Middle Ages, many of the works now regarded as pseudo-Ovidian were generally accepted. Medieval biographies of Ovid generally regard them as productions of his later years, afterAmores andHeroides. In the fifteenth century, on the other hand,Sicco Polenton argued that they were early works.[26] Until the thirteenth century, few manuscripts contain more than a single pseudo-Ovidian work, but thereafter mixed collections containing many authentic and inauthentic works are common.[32]
Some works that were never attributed to Ovid in the Latin tradition, came to be seen as his in the vernacular. Thus,Pamphilus was treated as his work in French and Spanish writings, as inJuan Ruiz'sLibro de buen amor.[29]