German

In this image, Dido has put on a grand banquet for Aeneas and his men. The feast takes place in the royal banquet hall (631-642). Vergil describes a palace filled with gold and silver wares and purple fabrics (639-42), and though Vergil does not describe the architecture, one might picture spacious marble halls. Instead, Brant sets the scene in the kind of palace that would be most common in 16th-century Germany. Dido's banquet hall has thick brick walls and a small decorative column. Inside the banquet hall, Aeneas and Dido are seated at the head of the table; Bitias, one of Dido's courtiers, is seated to the right of her. To the left of Aeneas is a set of shelves with ancestral trophies, perhaps a representation of the deeds of Dido's ancestors (640-3). The feast is finished and Dido is asking Aeneas to tell his story (752-6). At the foot of the table, Iopas the bard holds a lyre (740-1). Outside the hall, several scenes are shown at once. Ascanius waits in the ship for news (643-6). Achates stands on the shore and calls to Ascanius. Between the boat and Achates, winged Venus flies off with Ascanius. Her son, Eros, stands in the banquet hall disguised as Ascanius, bearing gifts (695-6) and holding two arrows under his arm. Venus has sent Eros in place of Ascanius to awake in Dido's heart a passionate desire for Aeneas (673-88). (Katy Purington)

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 151r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

This engraving shows fighting at the altar on which a fire is still burning; next to it a shocked priest stands. A rider misses a king, who has just fallen to the ground, with his lance. (This is probably not a Trojan attacking Latinus, but Messapus killing the Etruscan king Auletes.) Whether the warrior with the ax in his left hand at the altar is Aeneas is not clear.

Kampfgetümmel am Altar, auf dem noch ein Feuer brennt und neben dem ein entsetzter Priester steht. Ein Reiter verfehlt mit seiner Lanze einen zu Boden gestürzten König nur knapp. (Wahrscheinlich ist das kein Trojaner, der Latinus angreift, sondern Messapus, der den Etrusker Auletes tötet.) Ob der Krieger am Altar mit dem Beil in der Linken Aeneas sein soll, ist nicht klar. (Suerbaum)

Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 48.

On the right, Aeneas and Achates approach Dido (588-94), who has just received the lost men of Aeneas. These men, who include Cloanthus and Ilioneus, unlabeled, stand in the center of the image with a few of Dido's attendants; they stand in front of the Temple of Juno. Behind the temple of Juno, a man drives livestock, possibly a representation of those mentioned in line 633-5 (Nec minus intereā sociīs ad lītora mittit/vīgintī taurōs, magnōrum horrentia centum/terga suum, pinguīs centum cum mātribus agnōs). There appear to be a few oxen and possibly a pig. On the left, men arrive at Aeneas's ships to tell Ascanius the good news (645-6), which is that Dido has welcomed them generously. In the lower left corner is a ship that represents Aeneas's lost ships, the ones led by Cloanthus, Ilioneus and the others. Below Dido and Aeneas is a representation of a city wall. (Katy Purington)

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 149r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Winged Opis floating on a cloud has shot Arruns with an arrow; he has fallen from his horse and is lying on the ground. In the left background a grave monument can be seen, which is mentioned at the beginning of the text passage.

Die auf einer Wolke schwebende geflügelte Opis hat Arruns mit einem Pfeil erschossen; er ist vom Pferd gestürzt und liegt auf dem Boden. Links im Hintergrund ist ein Grabdenkmal zu sehen, das zu Beginn der Textpassage erwähnt wird. (Suerbaum)

Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 47.

In this image, Dido sits on a high throne under the arches of the temple of Juno, with attendants behind her (505-8). According to T.E. Page (1967, 188 ad 505), Dido should be sitting inside the temple but Brant depicts her outside the building. She receives a group of Trojans, led by Cloanthus, Ilioneus, and others (510-11), who got separated from Aeneas in the storm earlier in book I (see I 50-156); the boat full of armed soldiers belongs to them (cunctis...navibus 518). On land near the ships, armed Carthaginians bar the ships from landing in the harbor (540-1). In the background, Aeneas, who is stationed behind the Carthaginian soldiers, but not associated with them, sees his comrades approach Dido (509) and decides to watch and listen to the interaction between them before he makes his presence known (509; 513-19). In Vergil's description, Achates stands with Aeneas, but Brant does not include him in his illustration. The cloud of fog in which Vergil hides Aeneas (516; 587) is also not present. (Katy Purington)

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 145v, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Mercury flies toward Carthage to alert Queen Dido of the presence of Aeneas near her city (297-304). The city is walled, at least partially, as described in lines 365-6. Below Mercury and the city, Aeneas has hidden his ship in a harbor surrounded by groves (310-2) and is now setting out to explore the place where he has landed, accompanied by Achates (306-9, 312). He carries two spears (313). Aeneas and Achates encounter Venus disguised as a Spartan virgin huntress (314-20): she carries a hunting bow on her shoulder, ties back flowing long hair, and bares her knees like a follower of Diana (318-20). In lines 321-440, Venus and Aeneas have a long conversation in which Venus informs her son that he has landed in Tyrian territory, ruled by Queen Dido, whose story she gives in some detail (335-370). Then, after hearing her son's story, in which he worries that he is doomed to wander forever (372-385), she assures him that he will settle down someday (387-401). In the image, she gestures to twelve swans, pursued by an eagle of Jupiter, which represent the ships of Aeneas scattered but all destined to survive (393-401). (Katy Purington)

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 137v, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Cavalry Battle: Camilla falls from her horse, hit by a spear in the chest, and is caught by her companions; the mounted figure in the middle is obviously another Amazon.

Reiterschlacht: Camilla sinkt, von einem Speer in die Brust getroffen, vom Pferd und wird von ihren Gefährtinnen aufgefangen; die berittene Figur in der Mitte ist offenbar eine weitere Amazone. (Suerbaum)

Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 46.

In the lower right corner, Venus complains to Jupiter about the hardships suffered by Aeneas and the Trojans and begs him to reaffirm his plan for their destiny (223-53). He does so in lines 254-96. In the upper left, Aeneas sits at a table with two men with something laid out in front of them - possibly venison, since there is a pair of antlers by Aeneas. There is a city in the top right corner, probably Carthage. The rest of the image is filled with rolling hills, healthy trees, and a spring flowing into a stream, which give off a sense of abundance. (Katy Purington)

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 133r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Camilla lunges at the vanguard of the enemy riders and thrusts her lance in the chest of an unarmored mounted opponent.

Camilla stürzt sich an der Spitze ihrer Reiterinnen auf die Feinde und stößt einem ungepanzerten berittenen Gegner die Lanze in die Brust. (Suerbaum)

Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 45.