Abstract The end is nigh! With the Vandal invasion of North Africa, Quodvultdeus, bishop of Carthage, saw himself faced with a double threat: As invaders, the Vandals were a threat to the physical life. As homoian heretics, they were a threat to the salvation of the Nicaean Christians of North Africa. In his preaching against the heretical invaders, Quodvultdeus utilises biblical animal metaphors, to illustrate for his congregation the imminent danger, arising from the Vandal presence. The stress Quodvultdeus lays on biblical imagery is part of a wider effort to prove the heresy of the Vandals solely based on scripture.
Stefan Metz (Fri,) studied this question.