The Sortes Virgilianae

Record summary

Sortes Virgilianae refers to opening Virgil’s poetry at random to obtain an apparently relevant passage, a practice associated in later accounts with rulers such as Hadrian and Charles I of England. It matters for comparison with bibliomancy, literary authority, political decision-making, and the Christian reclassification of pagan texts as divinatory instruments. The practice’s existence is documented as a tradition, but individual famous consultations may be legendary or shaped by retrospective biography. Researchers should distinguish ancient references from medieval and early modern elaborations.