Praising through Intertext. On Jakob Liefer’s Literary Technique in the Neo-Latin Epic Bellum Sundense

This paper examines Jakob Liefer’s (1571‑1655) method of composing a carmen novo modo, that is a combination of laus urbis, epic, and cento. It demonstrates how Liefer systematically employs allusions and citations to turn his account of the historic Margrave War (1308‑1317) into a praise of the city of Stralsund and its inhabitants. The analysis focuses on the work’s intertextual engagement with the characters and settings of Lucan’s Pharsalia and Vergil’s Aeneid. Liefer not only borrows from canonical texts to put Stralsund on the same exalted level as Massilia and Troy respectively, but he also modifies his source texts so as to have the heroes before Stralsund surpass the achievements of their literary role models. This technique includes both quantitative and qualitative amplificationes, as the author emphasises not only the scale of Stralsund’s military victory but also the humility and Christian piety of its inhabitants.