An old post at Classico & Moderno (in Italian) puts me in mind of Medieval "demonization" (literally, as Nico Narsi points out) of Classical culture and literature, in the tradition of Jerome's dream, where he was accused of being a Ciceronian, not a Christian. The story--about how a certain Vilgard was treated to a vision of demons in the form of Vergil, Horace and Juvenal, and was subsequently condemned to death for heresy (circa 970)--comes to us from one Ralph the Bald (Rodulfus Glaber):
A certain man named Vilgard occupied himself with more eagerness than constancy in literary studies, for it was always the Italian habit to pursue these to the neglect of the other arts. Then one night when, puffed up with pride in the knowledge of his art, he had begun to reveal himself to be more stupid than wise, demons in the likeness of the poets Vergil, Horace, and Juvenal appeared to him, pretending thanks for the loving study which he devoted to the contents of their books and for serving as their happy herald to posterity. They promised him, moreover, that he would soon share their renown. Corrupted by these devilish deceptions, he began pompously to teach many things contrary to holy faith and made the assertion that the words of the poets deserved belief in all instances. But he was at last discovered to be a heretic and was condemned by Peter, archbishop of that city [Ravenna].
Many others holding this noxious doctrine were discovered throughout Italy, and they too died by sword and pyre. Indeed, at this same period, some went forth from the island of Sardinia--which usually teems with this sort of folk--to infect the people of Spain, but they were exterminated by the Catholics...
[In Wakefield and Evans, Heresies of the High Middle Ages, p. 73]
So, once again, if you're feeling distressed about the marginalization of Classics in the modern era...repeat again with me, "At least it's not the dark ages!" Actually, I'm more intrigued by the fact that this "heresy" was found to be so pervasive in the "dark ages," and especially that Sardinia was a hotbed of Virgiliolatry.
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