The Unpublished Legends of Virgil

Virgil wasn't just Rome's greatest poet, he was a sorcerer, a miracle-worker, a figure of folk magic who haunted the imagination of medieval Europe. This forgotten collection gathers the unpublished legends that grew around the man who wrote the Aeneid, tracing the extraordinary afterlife of a poet who became a wizard. Here Virgil transforms into a benevolent enchanter, a humorous helper of common folk armed with powers that blur the line between saint and sorcerer. Leland assembled these tales from sources that had never seen print, preserving a rich vein of mythology where classical antiquity collides with the raw energy of oral tradition. The result is a portrait of Virgil as medieval people actually imagined him: not the dignified classical author we study today, but a magical figure whose very name could ward off evil and whose legend could bend reality. For anyone fascinated by how cultures remake their heroes, these legends offer a window into the strange, persistent power of storytelling.