Maffeo Vegio ( la, Maphaeus Vegius) (1407–1458) was an Italian poet who wrote in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

; he is regarded by many as the finest Latin poet of the fifteenth century. Apotheosis of Aeneas Wellcome L0011929

Born near Lodi, he studied at the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

, and went on to write some fifty works of both prose and poetry. His greatest reputation came as the writer of brief

epics The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is a set of software tools and applications used to develop and implement distributed control systems to operate devices such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large sci ...

, the most famous of which was his continuation of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'', known variously as the ''Supplementum'' (Supplement) or ''Aeneidos Liber XIII'' (Book 13 of the ''Aeneid''). Completed in 1428, this 600-line poem starts immediately after the end of Virgil's epic, and describes Aeneas's marriage to Lavinia and his eventual deification. Its combination of classical learning and piety made it very popular in its day; it was often included in editions of the ''Aeneid'' in the fifteenth and sixteenth-centuries. An electronic text can be found at th
Latin Library
Vegio also wrote an epic ''

Astyanax In Greek mythology, Astyanax (; grc, Ἀστυάναξ ''Astyánax'', "lord of the city") was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and his wife, Princess Andromache of Cilician Thebe."Astyanax". ''Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Oxford, 1 ...

'' (1430), on the death of the son of Hector, prince of Troy, and a four-book epic ''Vellus Aureum'' (the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

) (1431). During 1436–37 he completed his epic on the life of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Saint Anthony, the ''Antoniad''.

Michael C. J. Putnam Michael Courtney Jenkins Putnam (born September 20, 1933) is an American classicist specializing in Latin literature, but has also studied literature written in many other languages. Putnam has been particularly influential in his publications con ...

edited and translated Vegio's ''Short Epics'' for the

I Tatti Renaissance Library The I Tatti Renaissance Library is a book series published by the Harvard University Press, which aims to present important works of Italian Renaissance Latin Literature to a modern audience by printing the original Latin text on each left-hand lea ...

(Harvard University Press). Vegio flattered his way into the papal court, and was made

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

in 1443; it was an office he held until his death in 1458. Some of Vegio's poems were later set as motets by renaissance composers – an example being ''Huc me sidereo'', set by

Josquin Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

Jacobus Vaet Jacobus Vaet ( – 8 January 1567) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, writing smooth polyphony with pervasive imitation, and he was a friend both of Clemens non Pap ...

Orlando Di Lasso Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palest ...

and the first motet of

Adrian Willaert Adrian Willaert ( – 7 December 1562) was a Flemish composer of High Renaissance music. Mainly active in Italy, he was the founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers ...

's 1559 ''Musica Nova'' collection.

Works

Vegio, Maffeo – Vocabula ex iure civili excerpta, 1477 – BEIC 12480906

(partial list) ;Poems * ''Poemata et epigrammata'', 1422 * ''Rusticalia'' * ''De morte Astyanactis'', 1430 * ''Velleris aurei libri quattuor'', 1431 ;Religious texts * ''Antoniados sive de vita et laudibus sancti Antonii'', 1436–1437 * ''De perseverantia religionis'' * ''De quattuor hominis novissimis, morte, judicio, inferno et paradiso meditationes'' * ''Vita sancti Bernardi Senensis'' * ''Sanctae Monicae translationis ordo. Item de sanctae Monicae vita et ejus officium proprium'' ;Works about ethics * ''Disceptatio inter solem, terram, et aurum''. * ''Dialogus Veritatis et Philalethis''. * ''Palinurus sive de felicitate et miseria'', 1445. ;Historical works * ''De rebus antiquis memorabilibus Basilicae sancti Petri Romae'', 1455–1457.Charles L. Stinger, ''The Renaissance in Rome'', Indiana University Press, 1985, pp. 179–183. ;Works about law *

References

External links

Maffeo Vegio
Catholic Encyclopedia
Philalethes
From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

(SPC) MSS BH 100 COCH Volume of works by Nicole Oresme, Maffeo Vegio, and Jordanus von Osnabrück at OPenn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vegio, Maffeo 1407 births 1458 deaths People from the Province of Lodi Italian Renaissance humanists Italian poets Italian male poets 15th-century Latin writers University of Pavia alumni Italian Roman Catholics