Ebook: The Reception of Vergil in Renaissance Rome

In this work Jeffrey Glodzik argues that Vergil played a central role in the prevailing discourse of Renaissance Rome. Roman humanists associated with the papacy employed the language of Vergil to express a vision for Rome and its divinely-ordained destiny.

Using the transformation methodology allelopoiesis, he shows that in their neo-Latin works Roman humanists focused on a Christian interpretation of the fourth eclogue to highlight an incipient Golden Age, ignored pessimistic readings of the Aeneid to emphasize the glories of a renewed imperium, and encapsulated Vergil’s words to celebrate papal Rome’s unquestionable destiny. Ultimately, Glodzik demonstrates that the interpretation and application of Vergil were not uniform throughout Europe; Vergil was instead shaped to fit the concerns of papal Rome.