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The Vergilius Vaticanus, also known as Vatican Virgil (
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
,
Biblioteca Apostolica The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
, Cod. Vat. lat. 3225), is a
Late Antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
containing fragments 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 ...
'' and ''
Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...
''. It was made in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
in around 400 CE,Ingo F. Walther, Norbert Wolf, 2005, Codices illustres, The world’s most famous illuminated manuscripts, Köln,
Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Taschen Comics, pu ...
. p. 52
and is one of the oldest surviving sources for the text of the ''Aeneid''. It is the oldest and one of only three ancient illustrated manuscripts of
classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
.


Contents

The two other surviving illustrated manuscripts of classical literature are the Vergilius Romanus and the
Ambrosian Iliad The Ambrosian Iliad or ''Ilias Picta'' (Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Cod. F. 205 Inf.) is a 5th-century illuminated manuscript on vellum, which depicts the entirety of Homer's ''Iliad'', including battle scenes and noble scenes. It is considere ...
. The Vergilius Vaticanus is not to be confused with the Vergilius Romanus (Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Cod. Vat. lat. 3867) or the unillustrated
Vergilius Augusteus The Vergilius Augusteus is a manuscript from late antiquity, containing the works of the Roman author Virgil, written probably around the 4th century. There are two other collections of Virgil manuscripts, the Vergilius Vaticanus and the Vergil ...
, two other ancient Vergilian manuscripts in the
Biblioteca Apostolica The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
.
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 ...
created a classic of Roman literature in the ''
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 ...
''. He used vivid locations and emotions to create images through poetry in the story. It discusses
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
and his Trojan comrades wandering into the seas until reaching their final destination in Italy after escaping the city of
Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
after the Trojan War. The narrative includes themes of love, loss, and war. The
Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
is an inspiration and a catalyst in a long line of epic poetry that came after
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 ...
.


Attribution

The illustrations were added by three different painters, all of whom used iconographic copybooks. The first worked on the ''
Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...
'' and parts of the ''
Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by offer ...
''; only two worked on the ''
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 ...
''. Each individual artist's illustrations are apparent based on their ability. The first artist is distinguished by his knowledge of spatial perspective and anatomy. His illustrations creates in the ''Georgics'' and ''Eclogues'' focus on his skill of creating distances and
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
s. The illustration of the herd being led to water is found in the artist's illustration of the ''Georgics''. Each figure and object in the background is distinguishable with a realistic spatial arrangement. Compared to the first artist, the second artist, who worked on the ''Aeneid'', lacks the same familiarity with spatial perspective. The inclusion of crowds with buildings, people and mountains creates a striking contrast in the discovery of Carthage. There are ideas of spatial perspective, realistic space and figures in the third artist's illustrations. He used his ability to depict a realistic background based on his skill in human anatomy. One example was where the deceased
Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
lays in repose in her decorated bedchamber in the
Lamentation A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...
Over
Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
.


Description

There are 76 surviving leaves in the manuscript with 50 illustrations. If, as was common practice at the time, the manuscript contained all of the canonical works of Virgil, the manuscript would originally have had about 440 leaves and 280 illustrations. The illustrations are contained within frames and include
landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...
and
architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
and other details. Many of the folios survive in fragments. Some fragments are grouped in fours or fives. There are 50 damaged illustrations in poor condition. It is simple to reconstruct the original book based on each fragment. The canonical works of Virgil, containing 440 folios with 280 illustrations, was customary at the time containing no introductions. It is easy and handy to read. There is no evidence of a significantly older book which can be compared based on quality. Of the several editions of Virgil, the Vergilius Vaticanus is the first edition in codex form. It may have been copied from a set of
scrolls A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...
, which caused a lack of clarity with the transmission of the text. There was a well-organized workshop that created the Vergilius Vaticanus. By leaving spaces at certain places in the text, a master scribe planned the inclusion of illustrations when copying the text. Out of tradition and convenience, there were iconographic models that were from three different artists who filled in the illustrations. For the painter to finish this work, a set of illustrated rolls was studied and adapted which were to serve as iconographic models for the Aeneid. These kinds of small illustrations were placed in the columns of text which was written in papyrus style on rolls.  


Text and script

The text was written by a single scribe in
rustic capitals Rustic capitals ( la, littera capitalis rustica) is an ancient Roman calligraphic script. Because the term is negatively connoted supposing an opposition to the more 'civilized' form of the Roman square capitals, Bernhard Bischoff prefers to call ...
. As was common at the time, there is no separation between words. One scribe used a late antique brown ink to write the entire text. Using eight-power magnification, the ink is grainless which appears smooth and well-preserved. The Vergilius Vaticanus is in very good condition, compared to other manuscripts from the same time period, which had been inefficiently prepared causing the parchment to break from oak gallnuts and ferrous sulphate. For distinctions to be made between thick and thin strokes the scribe used a trimmed broad pen. The pen was nearly held at 60 degrees where most strokes would occur.


Illustrations

The miniatures are set within the text column, although a few miniatures occupy a full page. The human figures are painted in classical style with natural proportions and drawn with vivacity. The illustrations often convey the illusion of depth quite well. The gray ground of the landscapes blend into bands of rose, violet, or blue to give the impression of a hazy distance. The interior scenes are based on earlier understanding of perspective, but occasional errors suggest that the artists did not fully understand the models used. The style of these miniatures has much in common with the surviving miniatures of the
Quedlinburg Itala fragment The Quedlinburg ''Itala'' fragment (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Cod. theol. lat. fol. 485) is a fragment of six folios from a large 5th-century illuminated manuscript of an Vetus Latina, Old Latin ''Itala'' translation o ...
and have also been compared to the
frescos Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
found at
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
. Each miniature had a proportional figure with a landscape creating a hazy effect, featuring classical architecture and clothing. Popular myths such as Hylas and the Nymphs were represented by the nine surviving illustrations of the ''
Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...
'' through a command of pastoral and genre scenes by competent artists. The illustrations in the ''
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 ...
'' are mixed with the ''
Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...
;'' however, the ''
Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...
’'' artistic ingenuity is greater than the ''
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 ...
'' illustrations. Without decorated frames and painted backgrounds or landscape settings, the illustrated verses used only the essentials for telling a story using minimal figures and objects. Neither framed nor painted in the background, the Vergilius Vaticanus uses a roll of illustrations in the
Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
style.


Miniatures

One important miniature depicts
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
and
Achates In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) may refer to the following personages: *Achates (Aeneid), Achates, a companion of the exiled Aeneas. * Achates, a Sicily, Sicilian who came to Aristaeus in orde ...
discovering
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
(folio 13). The artist sacrificed style for pictorial accuracy in order to capture the city in its urgent progress and unity. There are two Trojans standing on a cliff surveying Carthage in an image that lacks perspective.
Achates In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) may refer to the following personages: *Achates (Aeneid), Achates, a companion of the exiled Aeneas. * Achates, a Sicily, Sicilian who came to Aristaeus in orde ...
and
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
are identified with labels above their heads. Aeneas’ body provides material for examination such as deteriorated drapes of clothes which prevents Achates’ body from being examined. Aeneas’s awkwardly composed anatomy is created with the artist’s smooth and thick brushstrokes. The drapery unnaturally positions the legs after covering the body. Aeneas’s body, in contrast to Achates, implies speech based on the extended stance. Maintaining textual accuracy, there is a clumsy perspective on the right of Aeneas which outlines Carthage. Two workers and an overseer, in the quarry below Aeneas, extracts raw materials for construction. There are
stonemasons Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
being watched by the supervisors in the background. Only stone
arches An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...
and walls are being displayed, not the actions in progress.


Materials

Preparing 220 sheets of parchment paper measured from 25 by 43 centimeters (10 by 17 in) was the first step in the bookmaking process. This is comparable to other luxurious manuscripts of the time, some of which required approximately 74 sheep in order for the manuscript to be created. Despite a few holes in the Vergilius Vaticanus, it remained in excellent quality.
Parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
is very thin with a smooth polished surface which are described by being the best books of the period. The hair side is slightly yellow creating a curl while the side of the flesh is white. The usage of the parchment at extensive length will lead to deterioration, fortunately the parchment can be used at great length based on its stiffness.


Provenance

The manuscript was probably made for a pagan noble. This late antique illuminated manuscript remained actively used for at least 200 years in Italy. The first record of the almost complete manuscript showed up at the monastery of Saint-Martin in Tours during the second quarter of the ninth century. There are only a few corrections and replacement have been done on the text. Before the manuscript was dismembered and further disappeared, the illustrations from the manuscript were studied delicately by artists. Those artists later established one of the most influential painting schools of Carolingian painting and one of the artists actually copied two figures from the manuscript to use in the
Vivian Bible The Firstfor disambiguation with the Second Bible of Charles the Bald, BNF Lat. 2, dated between 871 and 873. Bible of Charles the Bald ( BNF Lat. 1), also known as the Vivian Bible, is a Carolingian-era Bible commissioned by Count Vivian of T ...
. In 1448, the Italian humanist
Giovanni Pontano Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503), later known as Giovanni Gioviano ( la, Ioannes Iovianus Pontanus), was a humanist and poet from Cerreto di Spoleto, in central Italy. He was the leading figure of the Accademia Pontaniana after the death of Antonio ...
studied and collected the manuscript. At that time, as the manuscript lost around 164 folios. In addition, several folios were appear to have been cut by someone else. In around 1514, the manuscript, after it disappeared and suffered more dismemberment, showed up in Rome in the circle of
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
where several of the surviving illustrations were copied and adapted for other purpose. People feared that the manuscript would eventually completely deteriorate, so a copy of all the illustrations from the manuscript was created in the circle of Raphael (now Princeton MS104). In 1513, the manuscript was transferred to Rome, to the library of the humanist
Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, ( la, Petrus Bembus; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was an Italian scholar, poet, and literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller, and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the It ...
. When
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...
died in 1521, Bembo retired to
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
and brought the manuscript with him. Next, Pietro Bembo passed down the manuscript to his son, Torquato Bembo. Finally in 1579, the manuscript returned to Rome and some folios got trimmed down.
Fulvio Orsini Fulvio Orsini (11 December 1529 – 18 May 1600) was an Italian humanist, historian, and archaeologist. He was a descendant of the Orsini family, one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families, ...
bought the manuscript from Torquato Bembo. Fulvio Orsini eventually bequeathed his library to the
Vatican library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
in 1600.  Shortly after 1642, the manuscript was altered due to rebinding the codex and added patches on the parchment.Weitzmann (1979), p. 227


Facsimiles

The manuscript was published with color reproductions in 1980. Print Facsimile: Wright, David H. ''Vergilius Vaticanus: vollständige Faksimile-Ausgabe im Originalformat des Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3225 der Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana''. Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1984. Digital Facsimile
Vatican Library
All the illustrations are online, with commentary, in Wright, David H., ''The Vatican Vergil, a Masterpiece of Late Antique Art'', Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993
google books, full online text


Notes


References

* Calkins, Robert G. ''Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983. * Walther, Ingo F. and Norbert Wolf. ''Codices Illustres: The world's most famous illuminated manuscripts, 400 to 1600''. Köln, TASCHEN, 2005. * Weitzmann, Kurt. ''Late Antique and Early Christian Book Illumination''. New York: George Braziller, 1977. * Weitzmann, Kurt, ed.,
Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century
', no. 203 & 224, 1979,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York, ; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries * Stevenson, Thomas B. ''Miniature decoration in the Vergilius Vaticanus : a study in late antique iconography''. Tübingen, Verlag E. Wasmuth, 1983. * David Wright, “From Copy to Facsimile: A Millennium of Studying the Vatican Vergil,” The British Library Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring 1991), 12-35. * Wright, David H., ''The Vatican Vergil, a Masterpiece of Late Antique Art'' . Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993
google books, full online text
* Wright, David H. ''Codicological notes on the Vergilius Romanus (Vat. lat. 3867)''. Vatican City, Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 1992.


External links


Complete reproduction of Vergilius Vaticanus (Digital version at DigitaVaticana)More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
{{Authority control Italian poetry collections Literary illuminated manuscripts Aeneid 5th-century illuminated manuscripts Manuscripts of the Vatican Library