You wrote: >I've been told that the Aeneid, unlike other pieces of classical >literature, was preserved and popular during the middle ages and that the >reason for this was that some believed it foretold the coming of Christ. >But, Aeneas is shown only the future of Rome and great Romans. Clearly, >the empire that Aeneas is told he shall begin is not associated with >Christianity, so why would readers think this? Is it the somewhat >critical reflection on the morality of power and empire that make the >Aeneid a more Christian epic?
------------------------------------- As I understand it, Vergil, known as Virgil (from virga = magician's wand) in the middle ages, was was admired as a kind of pagan magician who prophesied the birth of Christ in his fourth Eclogue. But I have never heard of any belief that the Aeneid was thought of as so prophesying. The fourth Eclogue tells of the birth of a child and a coming golden age, so it is not an unlikely interpretation which medieval readers of Virgil made. Stuart Wheeler >----------------------------------------------------------------------- >To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. >Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message >"unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You >can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
