The Roman Vergil (or 'Codex Romanus', so named by Valeriano in 1521) is one of the most precious manuscripts in the Vatican Library. Produced in Rome before the end of the 5th century AD, it is a finely designed and beautifully illuminated copy of the works of Vergil. Its influence on the development of medieval manuscript art is important in many ways; for example, the first page of the text of the Aeneid is the earliest known decorated 'incipit' page.

All twenty illuminated pages will be reproduced in sequence, with explanatory text. In the accompanying commentary, Professor Wright...