Vergilius Vaticanus

Vergilius Vaticanus: vollstandige Faksimile-Ausgabe im Originalformat des Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3225 der Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1984

xZ114 V3 1984

Facsimile

One of the earliest known Roman manuscripts to survive from antiquity, the Vergilius Vaticanus was produced sometime between 370 and 430. Only seventy-five of the original 430 folios still exist. The surviving manuscript contains a series of fragments of the “Georgics” and the “Aeneid” of Virgil, the Roman poet whose works were an essential component in the teaching of Latin throughout the Middle Ages. Like most manuscripts of its time, there is no word separation within the text. The opening letter of each page is slightly enlarged. Written in single columns of the elegant formal script, Roman Rustic Capitals, it is characteristic of other early surviving manuscripts of Virgil. The script was copied in the Utrecht Psalter, a later, Carolingian manuscript.

 

Illustrated in the Roman style similar to wall paintings found at Pompeii, small miniature paintings are interspersed within the verses. Larger full-page compositions are also found throughout the manuscript. It is possible that the miniatures were adapted from an earlier edition. The lavishness of the illustrations points to the importance of Virgil’s texts throughout this era and a revival of Roman literature in the late Empire.  Raphael saw the manuscript while visiting the Vatican and was strongly influenced by it. The painter based his Plague at Pergamea on two of the manuscript's miniature illustrations. (Early Medieval)