Virgilius the Sorcerer facts for kids

Illustration by Henry Justice Ford from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books

Virgilius the Sorcerer is an exciting fairy tale written by Andrew Lang. It tells the story of the famous Roman poet Virgil, but in this tale, he has amazing magical powers! Andrew Lang included this story in his book, The Violet Fairy Book.

Virgil's Amazing Powers

Many old stories from the Middle Ages said that the poet Virgil had magical abilities. But in this particular fairy tale, Virgilius has incredibly strong powers!

He is a very smart and quick-thinking sorcerer. He uses his magic to fight against bad people, stop armies, and even control spirits. For example, he could make an entire army freeze in place, turn people into stone, or create a river out of nowhere to trap enemies. Even though he wins many challenges, including a magic battle against another sorcerer, he also uses clever plans to help himself. He even creates and brings to life a horse, a rider, and dogs made of copper to get what he wants!

Virgilius also gets revenge on his first love for making fun of him in public. Later, he finds true love and builds the famous city of Naples just for her.

The Story of Virgilius

The story begins a long, long time ago. A boy named Virgilius was born to a Roman knight and his wife, Maja. When Virgilius was very young, his father passed away. His relatives, instead of helping his mother, stole their land and money. Maja worried they might even harm Virgilius, so she sent him away to Spain to study at the big University of Toledo.

Virgilius Meets a Spirit

One day, while on holiday, Virgilius found an evil spirit that was trapped. The spirit offered him magical books if Virgilius would set him free. Virgilius was smart; he demanded the books and learned how to use them first. Only then did he free the spirit. The spirit grew to an enormous size! But quick-witted Virgilius said he didn't believe the spirit could fit back into the small hole it came from. To prove him wrong, the spirit went back into the hole, and Virgilius quickly trapped it again!

Fighting for Justice

Virgilius studied magic for many days and became very famous for his powers. People thought he would become a great scholar. But his mother soon sent for him because she was sick and couldn't manage their affairs anymore. When he returned home, his rich relatives were not happy. His presence meant they couldn't keep stealing from his family. These relatives were connected to the emperor, who kept delaying the matter of giving Virgilius his rightful property.

His enemies attacked him, but Virgilius used his magic to drive them away or cast spells on them. Even the emperor tried to stop him, but it didn't work. Finally, a powerful magician came and was hired to fight Virgilius. Virgilius had a tough time fighting this magician. So, he secretly went to the emperor with an offer: he would stop the fight if the emperor gave him justice. The emperor had to agree.

Febilla's Trick and Virgilius's Revenge

After this, Virgilius fell in love with a woman named Febilla. She told him she would let him visit her by pulling him up in a basket to her tower. But once he was in the basket, she only lifted him halfway! She left him dangling there, and the crowd below made fun of him. The emperor ordered his release.

However, the next day, no fires in Rome would light. Virgilius told everyone to bring Febilla to a platform in the market square and take fire from her. Fire magically started around her, and she had to stand there until everyone had re-lit their fires. The emperor was angry and threw Virgilius into prison, sentencing him to death. But when the guards brought him a bucket of water because he was thirsty, Virgilius jumped into it! He said he was going to Sicily and magically disappeared.

Protecting Rome with Magic

The fairy tale doesn't say how Virgilius and the emperor became friends again. But next, Virgilius made statues of the gods from every country, including Rome. Each statue held bells. If any country planned to betray Rome, their statue's bells would ring! This way, the Romans would know and send their armies to stop them.

One country that hated Rome sent men to the city. They pretended to be fortune-tellers and claimed they had dreamed of gold. With the Senate's permission, they dug up gold they had secretly buried the night before. The third time, they told the Senate the gold was under the Capitol building and offered to dig for them. They secretly dug under the Capitol and stole away. Right after this, the magic statues fell and were ruined.

Much crime followed in the city. So, Virgilius had a copper horse and rider made. He ordered all honest people to stay indoors. Only the honest obeyed. The copper horse trampled anyone it found outside. The next day, the thieves who survived tried to stop the horse with ropes. They also used rope ladders to escape it. So, Virgilius added two copper dogs to the horse. These dogs would jump up and bite the thieves to death!

Building Naples

Virgilius then fell in love with a princess from another country, the daughter of a sultan. He carried her away from her father. She stayed as a guest in his house, amazed by all his magical creations. But eventually, she wanted to return to her father. Virgilius took her back, but the sultan ordered his death. Virgilius cast a spell on the sultan and his court, and carried the princess away again. Then, thinking Rome was not grand enough, he built a wonderful new city just for her. This city was Naples.