Rhythmical clausulae in the Codex Theodosianus and the Leges Novellae Ad Theodosianum Pertinentes
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In two recent studies we have examined the prose rhythms in the clausulae of late imperial Latin authors. We found two clausular systems to be prevalent, thecursusand thecursus mixtus. Thecursusinvolves the use of accentual rhythms and consists of three basic cadences:planus, tardus, andvelox. Thecursus mixtushas been defined by modern scholars as a type of prose rhythm in which the clausula is structured along both accentual and metrical lines, that is by the combination of one of the three forms of thecursuswith one of the standard metrical forms derived from Cicero's system cretic-spondee, dicretic, cretic-tribrach, or ditrochee.
