De viris illustribus

De Viris Illustribus, meaning "concerning illustrious men", represents a genre of literature which evolved during the Italian Renaissance in imitation of the exemplary literature of Ancient Rome. It inspired the widespread commissioning of groups of matching portraits of famous men from history (Uomini Famosi) to serve as moral role models. With its inception in the circle of Cicero, various ancient works bear the titles De Viris Illustribus or De hominibus illustribus, including: Cornelius Nepos' De Viris Illustribus, from which Aulus Gellius draws an anecdote of Cato the Elder; Cornelius Nepos also produced a Liber De Excellentibus Ducibus Gentium (Lives of Eminent Commanders). Suetonius' fragmentary Lives include grammarians, rhetoricians, historians, and poets. An anonymous De Viris Illustribus probably dating to the first half of the 4th century is a compilation of 86 brief biographies of individuals important to Roman history, from the legendary Alban king Proca to Cleopatra. This work was initially attributed to Aurelius Victor, under the name De Viris Illustribus Romae. Jerome's collection of Christian biographies, De Viris Illustribus, contains 135 brief notices. Gennadius of Massilia's De Viris Illustribus, who continued Jerome's work. Isidore of Seville's De Viris Illustribus. During the Middle Ages the inspirational series took two paths: the specifically Christian models were enshrined in hagiography, in which miracles attracted the attention and the qualities exemplified by martyrs were those of fortitude, faith and obedience. On the secular side, the worldly models were contracted and codified in the Nine Worthies, chivalric exemplars of valiant courtoisie, the instructive models of aristocratic courtly behavior. The literary biographies were reflected in illustrated versions in illuminated manuscripts, tapestry and other media.