Dracontius

North African Christian lawyer and poet (c. 455 – c. 505)

PersonhumanQ885446

Also known as Blossius Aemilius Dracontius

Born: 455
Died: 505
1
Sources
1.Stated in AlKindi
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Carthage
Citizenship: Ancient Rome
Occupation: poet
1
Sources
1.Stated in Dictionnaire Bouillet
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, writer
1
Sources
1.Stated in Mirabile: Digital Archives for Medieval Culture
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, priest
1
Sources
1.Stated in Dictionnaire Bouillet
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Languages spoken, written or signed: Latin
3
Sources
1.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
2.Stated in Mirabile: Digital Archives for Medieval Culture
3.Stated in CONOR.SI
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Notable work: Orestes

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Blossius Aemilius Dracontius of Carthage was a Christian poet who flourished in Roman Africa during the latter part of the 5th century. He belonged to a family of landowners, and practiced as a lawyer in his native place. After the conquest of the country by the Vandals, Dracontius was at first allowed to retain possession of his estates, but was subsequently despoiled of his property and thrown into prison by the Vandal king Gaiseric, whose triumphs he had omitted to celebrate, while he had written a panegyric on a foreign and hostile ruler. He subsequently addressed an elegiac poem to the king, asking pardon, and pleading for release. The result is not known, but it is supposed that Dracontius obtained his liberty and migrated to northern Roman Italy in search of peace and quiet. This is consistent with the discovery at Bobbio of a 15th-century MS., now in the Biblioteca Nazionale at Naples, containing a number of poems by Dracontius.

Overview

Author of

4 linked to Dracontius in Wikidata

All data

110 statements · 25% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Sex or gender: male
1
Sources
1.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Time period: Western Roman Empire
Vandal Kingdom
Gens: Aemilia gens
Blossia gens
Writing language: Latin
Copyright status as a creator: copyrights on works have expired applies to jurisdiction: worldwide
Praenomen: unknown
Nomen gentilicium: Blossius
Aemilius

On other databases

83 identifiers linking Dracontius across the web's reference databases

Data quality

110

statements

25%

externally sourced

Source last edited July 22, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Dracontius (Q885446). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/dracontius-Q885446