Flavius Merobaudes was a commanding officer, imperial adviser, and court poet in the 430s and 440s CE. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, although it has been argued that the latter occurred in the course of the 460s CE. “Flavius” was the usual courtesy title for officers (Cameron, 1988, 30), while the name Merobaudes points to Frankish descent, plausibly in the lineage of the 4th-century CE magister militum and emperor maker Flavius Merobaudes (PLRE, vol. I, s.v. “Flavius Merobau…