Polydore Vergil

Who was Polydore Vergil?

Polidoro Virgili, commonly Latinised as Polydorus Vergilius, or anglicised as Polydore Vergil, and often known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat who spent most of his life in England. He is particularly remembered for his works the Proverbiorum libellus, a collection of Latin proverbs; De inventoribus rerum, a history of discoveries and origins; and the Anglica Historia, an influential history of England. He has been dubbed the "Father of English History".

Vergil is sometimes referred to in contemporary documents as Polydore Vergil Castellensis or Castellen, and it has sometimes been assumed that he was a kinsman of his patron, Cardinal Adriano Castellesi. However, it is more likely that the alias simply indicates that he was in Castellesi's service.