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Book & Author Page Issues > Virgil vs Vergil

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message 1: by Violetta (new)

Violetta | 477 comments Looking for The Aeneid, I came across an alternate spelling of Virgil, with an 'e' instead of an 'i', and was wondering if anyone knew more about it.

Is Vergil the spelling in another language, or is it just an alternate to Virgil?

The WorldCat link for Vergil redirects to Virgil, with Vergil being listed as one of the MANY alternative names, so I'm tempted to merge the authors together. Any thoughts on why not?


message 2: by Lacrima_Atra (new)

Lacrima_Atra | 101 comments His full name was Publius Vergilius Maro, in short "Vergil". The spelling of his name as "Virgil" came up in Late Antiquity. Today both versions are being used (and apparently even some more). However, I don't know which version should be preferred.


message 3: by Yinzadi (last edited Aug 15, 2012 08:40AM) (new)

Yinzadi | 103 comments Among classicists, Vergil is pretty much the universal spelling and a lot of people have a pet peeve about Virgil. Among the general populous, my impression is Virgil is pretty much the universal spelling and a lot of people think Vergil looks weird. So, sorry, I don't know which version should be preferred either. Merging definitely sounds like a good idea, one way or another. I believe there was a silver-age fellow also called Virgil, so checking that both entries are Vergilius Maro would be important.


message 4: by Paula (new)

Paula (paulaan) | 7014 comments Normally the LOC would be the final arbitrator when there are multiple ways to reference an author. They appear to use Virgil to catalog his books


message 5: by Violetta (last edited Aug 15, 2012 06:48PM) (new)

Violetta | 477 comments I guess I've always seen it spelled Virgil in the US, but I didn't want to seem biased :/

I think for now I'll just add a note into Vergil's author description, linking to Virgil.

Edit: Note added.


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