Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: Polidoro Virgili, commonly Latinised as Polydorus Vergilius; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent much of his life in England. He is particularly remembered for his works the Proverbiorum libellus (1498), a collection of Latin proverbs; De inventoribus rerum (1499), a history of discoveries and origins; and the Anglica Historia (drafted by 1513; printed in 1534), an influential history of England. He has been dubbed the "Father of English History".Galdieri 1993, pp. 316–17. This sobriquet has also been assigned to other historians, notably the Venerable Bede.
Vergil is sometimes referred to in contemporary documents as Polydore Vergil Castellensis or Castellen, leading some to assume that he was a kinsman of his patron, Cardinal Adriano Castellesi. However, it is more likely that the alias simply indicates that he was in Castellesi's service.Hay 1952, p. 3.
Biography
Early life in Italy Vergil was born in about 1470 either at Urbino, or more probably at Fermignano, within the Duchy of Urbino.Connell 2004. His father, Giorgio di Antonio, owned a dispensary. His grandfather, Antonio Virgili, "a man well skilled in medicine and astrology", had taught philosophy at the University of Paris; as did Polydore's own brother, Giovanni-Matteo Virgili, at Ferrara and Padua. Another brother, Girolamo, was a merchant trading with England.Hay 1952, pp. 1, 15–16. The niece of Polydore Vergil, Faustina, married Lorenzo Borgogelli, count of Fano, from whom descend the family of Borgogelli Virgili.
Polydore was educated at the University of Padua, and possibly at Bologna. He was ordained by 1496.Hay 1952, pp. 1–2. He was probably in the service of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, before 1498, as in the dedication of his Proverbiorum Libellus (April 1498) he styles himself Guido's client. His second book, De Inventoribus Rerum, was dedicated to Guido's tutor, Lodovico Odassio, in August 1499.
At some point prior to 1502 Polydore entered the service of Pope Alexander VI.
Move to England
In 1502, Vergil travelled to England as the deputy of Cardinal Adriano Castellesi in the office of Collector of Peter's Pence, and, in practice, the Cardinal's agent in a variety of affairs. In October 1504 he was enthroned Bishop of Bath and Wells as proxy for Adriano; and in 1508 he himself was installed as Archdeacon of Wells. He probably spent little time in Wells, but was active as the Chapter's representative in London.Hay 1952, pp. 8–9, 19–20. He also donated a set of hangings for the quire of Wells Cathedral.Harris 2005. He held other ecclesiastical sinecures, including, from 1503, the living of Church Langton, Leicestershire; from 1508 prebends in Lincoln and Hereford Cathedrals; and from 1513 the prebend of Oxgate in St Paul's Cathedral.
As an established author, and a representative of Italian humanist learning, Vergil was received in England as a minor celebrity, and was welcomed at court by King Henry VII, who was more interested in humanist scholars than his predecessors.Hay 1952, pp. 4–5. He recognized the advantages humanism would offer to legitimise his claim to the throne, which was still vulnerable to challenge after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and the role that diffusion of humanist education would take in establishing a more educated, bureaucratic government than the feudal aristocracy. It was at the King's behest that Vergil began work on his Anglica Historia, a new history of England, probably as early as 1505, retelling the history of the Wars of the Roses to emphasise that the war ended with the new monarch's reign.
On 22 October 1510, he was naturalised English.
Early in 1515, through the intrigues of Andrea Ammonio, who sought the subcollectorship for himself, an ill-judged letter from Vergil was intercepted by the authorities. It contained what was read as implied criticism of both Thomas Wolsey and Henry VIII, and as a result Vergil was imprisoned in April in the Tower of London. His supporters and advocates included Pope Leo X, who wrote to the King on his behalf. From prison Vergil wrote to Wolsey, begging that the approaching Christmas season – a time which witnessed the restitution of a world – might also see his pardon: his letter's tone has been described as "almost blasphemous". He was released before Christmas 1515, but never regained his subcollectorship.Hay 1952, pp. 10–13.
Return visits to Italy and death Although Vergil lived predominantly in England from 1502 onwards, he paid several return visits to Urbino, in 1513–14, 1516–17 and 1533–34. In 1534, Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino, in recognition of his literary achievements, admitted Vergil and his family to the ranks of the nobility.Franco Negroni, "Punctualizzazioni archivistiche sulla famiglia Virgili di Urbino", in Bacchielli 2003, pp. 39–51, at p. 42.
In 1546 Vergil resigned the Archdeaconry of Wells to the Crown, perhaps in anticipation of his retirement to Italy. He was licensed to return to Urbino in 1550, and probably left England for the last time in the summer of 1553. He died in Urbino on 18 April 1555.
Works Perotti's Cornucopiae Vergil published his first work in 1496. This was an edition of Niccolò Perotti's Cornucopiae latinae linguae, a commentary on Martial's Epigrams.
Proverbiorum Libellus (Adagia) Vergil's Proverbiorum Libellus (Venice, 1498), retitled in later editions as Adagiorum Liber, and often known as the Adagia, was a collection of Latin proverbs. It was the first such collection printed, preceding the similar Adagia of Erasmus by two years. The initial controversy between the two authors that arose from their rival claims for priority (Erasmus still believed as late as 1533 that his work had been the earlier) gave place to a sincere friendship. The first edition of Vergil's work contained 306 proverbs taken from classical sources. A second, expanded, edition appeared in 1521: it contained a further series of 431 Biblical proverbs, and was dedicated to Wolsey's follower, Richard Pace. This edition is preceded by an interesting letter sent in June 1519, which gives the names of many of Vergil's English friends, including Thomas More, William Warham, Thomas Linacre and Cuthbert Tunstall.
The Adagia ran through about 20 editions down to 1550.
De Inventoribus Rerum Vergil's De Inventoribus Rerum was published in 1499, having been written in only three months. It was a history of origins and inventions, describing in three books the "first begetters" of all human activities. Book I investigated the origin of the gods and the word "God", along with such matters as the creation, marriage, religion and learning. Book II covered, among other topics, the origins of law, time, military science, money, precious metals and art. Book III covered, again among other topics, the origins of agriculture, architecture, towns, theatres, tools and materials, maritime navigation, commerce and prostitution.
For the edition of 1521, Vergil added five more books, devoted to the initia institorum rei Christianae, i.e. the origins of Christian rites and institutions. He probably thought that this addition would be a popular one, but it was also a concession towards critics who had labelled the De Inventoribus a work of heretics and depravity. The work nonetheless included criticisms of monks, priestly celibacy, indulgences, and of the policies and constitutional status of the papacy. As a consequence it was placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (papal list of prohibited books) in 1564: an expurgated text, sanctioned by Gregory XIII, was published in 1576.
De Inventoribus was, however, exceedingly popular, and was quickly translated into French (1521), German (1537), English (1546) and Spanish (1551). Thirty Latin editions had been published by the time Vergil died in 1555; and the work eventually ran to around 70 Latin editions, and another 35 translations.Hay 1952, pp. 52, 74. The English edition of 1546 was an abridgement made by Thomas Langley, which also proved highly successful and was reprinted several times.Hay 1952, pp. 66–69.
The work is notable for the immense industry that went into its compilation, and the range of ancient and modern writers on which Vergil was able to draw.Hay 1952, pp. 54–59.
Gildas …de calamitate, excidio et conquestu Britanniae In 1525 Vergil published an edition of Gildas' 6th-century history, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, probably at Antwerp.Hay 1952, pp. 29–30. He dedicated it to Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of London. This was the first critical edition of a British historical text.Hay 1952, pp. 17, 30.Galdieri 1993, p. 319. In publishing it, Vergil reflected a growing interest in post-classical texts among German and Italian scholars. This interest sprang mainly from self-conscious nationalism which makes it curious at least that a foreigner chose a text about Britain. Vergil did, however, have a motive; this project provided a background for his anti-Arthurian position. Tunstall supplied one of the source manuscripts (hence the dedication), and the work of editing was undertaken by Vergil and Robert Ridley. Their editing was for the most part conscientious, although they rearranged certain words in the interests of clarity, and also suppressed a few anti-clerical passages.Hay 1952, pp. 30–31.
Dialogus de Prodigiis Vergil's Dialogus de Prodigiis was written in 1526–27, and printed in 1531. It was dedicated to Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino. This treatise, in three books, takes the form of a Latin dialogue between Vergil and his Cambridge friend Robert Ridley on the subject of the natural and the supernatural, and whether credence should be given to such alleged phenomena as prodigious events and portents. The setting for the dialogue is the open air, at Vergil's country house near London. Vergil's role is to state the problems and supply the historical illustrations; his friend's to explain, rationalise and deprecate as best he can.Hay 1952, pp. 34–45.
The De Prodigiis also achieved great popularity, and was translated into Italian (1543), English (1546) and Spanish (1550).
Anglica Historia Vergil's history of England, the Anglica Historia, was begun at the instigation of King Henry VII, perhaps as early as 1506.Hay 1952, pp. 9, 79. This first version was completed in 1512–13. However, the work was not published until 1534; and four distinct versions can therefore be identified:Hay 1952, p. 79.
Manuscript written in 1512–13: covering events up to 1513 (MS) First edition, Basel, 1534, folio; covering events up to 1509 (A) Second edition, Basel, 1546, folio: covering events up to 1509 (B) Third edition, Basel, 1555, folio: covering events up to 1537 (C)