Tra retorica e diritto: le Interpretationes Vergilianae di Tiberio Claudio Donato*

The paper analyses the occurrences of legal technical terms and information concerning legal institutions in the Interpretationes Vergilianae, in order to shed light on Tiberius Claudius Donatus’ knowledge of law. Although the words pertaining Roman law in Donatus’ commentary are many, his knowledge of the matter seems superficial, and due to the generic use of legal discourses in the schools of rhetoric. The author was not a lawyer; his use of legal references has to be interpreted as a display of erudition, necessary for explaining therichness of Vergil’s world