Medieval Latin Language and Literature

The course aims to provide students with: 1) a basic knowledge of the specificities of the Latin language in use in the Middle Ages and of bibliographic tools useful for its analysis; 2) an introduction to the use of basic bibliographic tools for the study of Mediolatin literature, with experiences of practical application; 3) an in-depth level of knowledge in the field of Mediolatin literature, as compared to the level already acquired in the three-year course, with particular attention to the methodological aspects of the analysis and historical-literary setting of texts, through the examination of a specific literary genre or of a single author or text.

At the end of the course the student is expected to be aware of the characteristics of the Latin texts of the Middle Ages, in their linguistic and formal specificity, and to master the fundamental bibliographic tools to autonomously face both the identification and the critical study of them. He will know the main characteristics assumed by the Latin language in the Middle Ages; the criteria for bibliographic identification of texts, in the specific problematic nature of the history of studies on Mediolatin sources; the main methods of philological-literary investigation applicable to texts of medieval Latinity. It will thus be able to critically analyze and interpret literary Mediolatin texts both from the linguistic point of view, with awareness of the variables determined by the chronological and geographical context, and in the various aspects related to their genesis and transmission, to their purposes, to their relationship with the previous tradition. Thanks to practical exercises, he will also be able to write a short encyclopedic entry about an author or text of medieval Latinity and to elaborate a public presentation of his or her individual work.