The Hermits’ Love in the Antoniad by Maffeo Vegio

Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse the depiction of love in the Renaissance epic Antoniad by Maffeo Vegio. In the work, the epic tale of love between the hero and his beloved is transformed into a platonic bond between two hermits - Saint Paul and Saint Antony. The spiritual love of the hermits reflects Divine love and attests to their sanctity. This portrayal of the hermits’ love partly arises from the Christian reinterpretation of the epic genre, which viewed the Aeneid as a path to virtue. However, the description of the relationship between the monks includes substantial imagery borrowed from love elegy. The Antoniad also draws on medieval readings of Vergil’s work as a story of Aeneas’ romantic love for Dido. Vegio thus reinterprets the epic genre in the spirit of Christian humanism, creating a hagiographic epic tailored to the sensibilities of his time.