Virgil: Bucolics, Georgics and Aeneid

The three primary works of the great ancient poet Virgil – namely the Bucolics, Georgics, and the Aeneid – are counted among the most important documents in the history of world literature. The masterful tales revolutionized Latin poetry and shortly after Virgil’s death were already repeatedly transcribed, published, commented on, and reworked. The handwritten edition of the great poem, who’s original is stored today in the library of the University of Valencia, belongs among the most beautiful and lavish illuminated Vergil manuscript from the 15th century. The numerous high-quality illustrations of the work go above the simple illustration of the events occurring in the text and serves the reader as visual commentary, as a reminder, and as an aid to understanding.

A Primary Work of Ancient Literature

The three great works of Virgil are known by the titles Bucolics – the title translates to ‘pastoral poem’ – combining ten eclogues, the Georgics – a didactic poem consisting of four books concerning agriculture and animal husbandry, and the Aeneid epic that is divided into twelve books. The poetic writings were already unified into a Corpus in antiquity. In late antiquity, it was continuously annotated, primarily for use in schools, and was furnished with a comprehensive Vita, primers, and other complementary texts from the most varied of origins. Simultaneously, extremely luxurious editions of the work came to be, in which Virgil’s text was commented on with illustrative pictures. Today, two of these original illuminated texts still survive, if only in fragments. One of these historic ancient codices of unbelievable historical worth is the so-called Vergilius Romanus. The 15th century edition of the book at hand has its foundation in this work.

Contemporary Book Illustration

The text of the codex from Valencia is certainly strictly based on the ancient template of the masterpiece, however the illumination of the medieval edition deviates significantly from its predecessors. In the Middle Ages, specific iconographic traditions took shape for the illustration of narrative texts both biblical and profane. Certain topics of the Aeneid such as the stories of Troy, Dido, and the struggles of Aeneas in Latium, which were transcribed early on in vernacular adaptations, were illustrated for centuries in the medieval style. The ancient poetry was pictorially depicted through illumination in the garments of the time. Thus, the beautiful, dreamlike pictures of the Valencia codex show the events described in the literature in typical medieval surroundings. There are scenes from the life and work of medieval farmers, people in contemporary clothing and picturesque medieval cities.

On the History of the Manuscript

The manuscript, which is stored in Valencia, was most likely manufactured at the end of the 15th century for the humanist library of the Aragonese royal house of Naples. After the conquest of Naples by Charles VIII of France in 1495, it probably came to Spain with Ferdinand of Aragon – the son of Federico. So far, neither the author nor the illustrator of the manuscript from Valencia can be determined. There exists only clues and conjecture about the origins of the splendid work. The codex from Naples originated during the period of Renaissance humanism, in which the masters of the great Italian art centers found themselves in lively exchange. Not only the scholars and literati, but also copyists, calligraphers, and miniaturists alternated between Naples, Florence, and Rome, thus allowing for various influences to interplay with one another. Additionally, as has been shown in recent studies, manuscripts were sent hither and thither during their manufacture. Thus, one can assume that work on the masterpiece occurred in different places and was surely labored on by some of the most gifted illuminators of the Renaissance.