About this Book

The Roman Vergil (or Codex Romanus so named by Valeriano in 1521) is one of the most precious manuscripts in the Vatican Library. Produced in Rome before the end of the fifth century AD, it is an enormous and beautifully made copy of the works of Vergil, finely designed and illuminated. Its influence on the development of mediaeval manuscript art is important in many ways: for example the first page of the text of the Aeneid is the earliest-known decorated incipit page. In this volume, all 20 illuminated pages are reproduced in sequence, with explanatory text. In the accompanying commentary Professor Wright provides a wide-ranging discussion of the place of the manuscript in the history of art and book design, illustrated with comparative material from other manuscripts, mosaics and ivories, along with an analysis of the script and letter forms.