BOOK III - THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE - CHAPTER VII - MARBODIUS

We possess a precious monument of the Penguin literature of the fifteenth
century. It is a narrative of a journey to hell undertaken by the monk
Marbodius, of the order of St. Benedict, who professed a fervent admiration
for the poet Virgil. This narrative, written in fairly good Latin, has been
published by M. du Clos des Limes. It is here translated for the first time. I
believe that I am doing a service to my fellow-countrymen in making them
acquainted with these pages, though doubtless they are far from forming a
unique example of this class of mediaeval Latin literature. Among the fictions
that may be compared with them we may mention "The Voyage of St. Brendan,"
"The Vision of Albericus," and "St. Patrick's Purgatory," imaginary
descriptions, like Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," of the supposed abode of
the dead. The narrative of Marbodius is one of the latest works dealing with
this theme, but it is not the least singular.

Read next: BOOK III - THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE#CHAPTER VIII - THE DESCENT OF MARBODIUS INTO HELL

Read previous: BOOK III - THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE#CHAPTER VI - MARGARITONE'S VISION

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