Virgil: A Concise Biography

What it is

This is a concise scholarly biography of Virgil by Henry Nettleship, published in 1879. Its introduction describes how Virgil was the most popular classical writer for centuries. Nettleship writes that Virgil's poems were studied by his own countrymen, used as school texts within fifty years of his death, and quoted by monks, philosophers and scholars in the Middle Ages. The book was written long after Virgil's death, so it is a later interpretation.

Why it matters

Nettleship's account shows how Virgil's reputation grew over time, from Roman classrooms to medieval chronicles. It also shows how a nineteenth-century scholar framed the poet for students of his own age, comparing Roman schoolboys with those of an English public school. The biography reveals as much about its own time as about Virgil.

Look closer

• Why does Nettleship think Virgil remained so popular across many centuries?
• What comparison does he make between Roman schoolboys and English students, and what does it tell you?
• What evidence does this introduction provide, and what might it leave out about Virgil's own life?