Editing Virgil (section)

===Legends===
The legend of "Virgil in his basket" arose in the [[Middle Ages]], and is often seen in art and mentioned in literature as part of the [[Power of Women]] [[literary topos]], demonstrating the disruptive force of female attractiveness on men. In this story Virgil became enamoured of a beautiful woman, sometimes described as the emperor's daughter or mistress and called Lucretia. She played him along and agreed to an assignation at her house, which he was to sneak into at night by climbing into a large basket let down from a window. When he did so he was hoisted only halfway up the wall and then left trapped there into the next day, exposed to public ridicule. The story paralleled that of [[Tale of Phyllis and Aristotle|Phyllis riding Aristotle]]. Among other artists depicting the scene, [[Lucas van Leyden]] made a [[woodcut]] and later an [[engraving]].<ref>[[James Snyder (art historian)|Snyder, James]]. 1985. ''Northern Renaissance Art''. US: [[Abrams Books|Harry N. Abrams]], {{ISBN|0136235964}}. pp. 461–62.</ref>

In the Middle Ages, Virgil's reputation was such that it inspired legends associating him with magic and prophecy. From at least the 3rd century, Christian thinkers interpreted [[Eclogue 4|''Eclogue'' 4]], which describes the birth of a boy ushering in a golden age, as a prediction of [[Nativity of Jesus|Jesus's birth]]. In consequence, Virgil came to be seen on a similar level to the [[Bible prophecy|Hebrew prophets of the Bible]] as one who had heralded Christianity.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ziolkowski|first1=Jan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpsPueOp8cUC|title=The Virgilian Tradition: The First Fifteen Hundred Years|last2=Putnam|first2=Michael C. J.|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300108224|pages=xxxiv-xxxv|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Relatedly, ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' argues that medieval legends about the [[golem]] may have been inspired by Virgilian legends about the poet's apocryphal power to bring inanimate objects to life.<ref>{{Jewish Encyclopedia |no-prescript=1 |title=Golem}}</ref>

Possibly as early as the second century AD, Virgil's works were seen as having magical properties and were used for [[divination]]. In what became known as the ''[[Sortes Vergilianae]]'' ("Virgilian Lots"), passages would be selected at random and interpreted to answer questions.<ref name=Ziolkowskixxxiv>{{cite book|last1=Ziolkowski|first1=Jan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpsPueOp8cUC|title=The Virgilian Tradition: The First Fifteen Hundred Years|last2=Putnam|first2=Michael C. J.|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300108224|page=xxxiv|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> In the 12th century, starting around [[Naples]] but eventually spreading widely throughout Europe, a tradition developed in which Virgil was regarded as a great [[Magician (paranormal)|magician]]. Legends about Virgil and his magical powers remained popular for over two hundred years, arguably becoming as prominent as his writings themselves.<ref name=Ziolkowskixxxiv/> Virgil's legacy in medieval [[Wales]] was such that the Welsh version of his name, ''Fferyllt'' or ''Pheryllt'', became a generic term for magic-worker, and survives in the modern Welsh word for pharmacist, ''fferyllydd''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ziolkowski|first1=Jan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpsPueOp8cUC|title=The Virgilian Tradition: The First Fifteen Hundred Years|last2=Putnam|first2=Michael C. J.|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300108224|pages=101–102|access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>