The Virgilian Tradition

by : Michael C. J. Putnam

This indispensable anthology gathers texts and translations that cover major aspects of the Virgilian tradition from the Roman poet's own lifetime to the year 1500. Unprecedented in scope, the book presents a vast compendium of materials that illuminate how poets, teachers, students, and common folk responded to Virgil and his poetry. The volume offers a brief commentary of each text, many of which are translated into English for the first time. The book begins with a chronological survey of Virgil's influence upon writers from Augustan Rome to Renaissance Italy. There follow detailed reviews of biographies of Virgil, of how his writings were received and used, and of how the poet was envisaged and explained through the centuries. The final section focuses on the tradition of legends associated with Virgil.