Vergil or Virgil?

[Scribo]

Salvete omnes.

(I tried it )

I've noticed that Virgil is also at times spelt Vergil and wondered why this is the case? I know there is some discussion as to how uniform ancient languages were but surely a name wouldn't suffer such disparity?

So, which is correct? which do you use?

Vale.

[thesaurus]

From Wikipedia:

Vergil's name in English:
In the Middle Ages Vergilius was frequently spelled Virgilius. There are two explanations commonly given for this alteration. One educes a false etymology associated with the word virgo ("maiden" in Latin) due to Virgil's excessively "maiden"-like (parthenias or παÏ￾θηνιας in Greek) modesty. Alternatively, some argue that Vergilius was altered to Virgilius by analogy with the Latin virga ("wand") due to the magical or prophetic powers attributed to Virgil in the Middle Ages. In an attempt to reconcile his non-Christian background with the high regard in which medieval scholars held him, it was posited that some of his works metaphorically foretold the coming of Christ, hence making him a prophet of sorts. This view is defended by some scholars today, namely Richard F. Thomas of Harvard.

In Norman schools (following the French practice), the habit was to anglicize Latin names by dropping their Latin endings, hence Virgil.

In the 19th century, some German-trained classicists in the United States suggested modification to Vergil, as it is closer to his original name, and is also the traditional German spelling. Modern usage permits both, though the Oxford guide to style recommends Vergilius to avoid confusion with the 8th-century Irish grammarian Virgilius Maro Grammaticus.

Some post-Renaissance writers liked to affect the sobriquet "The Swan of Mantua".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil#Vir ... in_English

So the disparity isn't a feature of Latin so much as a result of the Vergil fan-club.

Edit: Oh, and while I always encourage all forms of Latinate enthusiasm, if you are addressing more than one person, the greeting is "salvete!" So, salvete omnes! Ac salve et salvus semper sis, care Scribone!

[Scribo]

Thanks, I edited it to make more sense. ^^

Hmm the fan club thing makes sense, I thought to use "Latin" in a general term on the assumption that Latin was still spoken for a while after, though in retrospect it seems rather clumbsy.

On aside note, why do Salve and Omnes decline/conjugate like that?

Which declensions do they belong to? :S thanks. ^^

[Bretonus]

Salve is an irregular, but salvus is just a regular adjective which means safe or well, which follows the first and second declensions.

Omnis can be a 3rd declension adjective, omnis (m + f) omne (n). But used here it is just a 3rd declension noun.

[Scribo]

Ah thank you.

[Clemens]

salve and salvete are imperatives pres. act. of the verb salvere, singular and plural respectively; there is nothing irregular about that?

[Bretonus]

The verb itself is irregular because it doesn't take on many other forms.