A cento is a poetical work composed wholly of verses or passages taken from other authors, especially the Greek poet Homer and the Roman poet Virgil, arranged into a new form or order. Rather than original composition, the cento works through the creative recombination and recontextualization of borrowed lines.
Facts
Place of OriginLate antiquity, the 3rd or 4th century AD. 1 Notable ExampleFaltonia Betitia Proba's Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi, a life of Christ composed entirely from lines of Virgil. 1 Defining TraitBuilt from fragments no shorter than half a line and no longer than a line and a half each, by the rule Ausonius set for the form. 1 Sources
1. Cento (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)History section, second paragraph, third sentence
The individual fragments of poetry used should be no shorter than one half-line (one hemistich) and no longer than a full line and a half.
History section, opening sentence
The cento originated in the 3rd or 4th century AD.
History section, third paragraph, opening sentence
Faltonia Betitia Proba wrote a Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi, in which she details the life of Jesus and deeds of the Old and New Testaments; it was written entirely in centos taken from Virgil.
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