Humanistic Philology
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course provides students with historical and methodological tools in the field of the transmission of texts, as an essential phenomenon for the cultural development of a society and an era. The specific field of action of the course are Latin texts, in their passage from antiquity to humanism, with their connected transformations.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge of the forms, patterns and channels of transmission of Latin texts from Late Antiquity to Humanism. Knowledge of the writing techniques in the Middle Ages. Knowledge of the role of institutions (libraries, schools, scriptoria, monasteries, bishoprics, courts, book trade) in the transmission of texts in the Middle Ages and Humanism.Knowledge of the transmission of Latin texts in the various European regions in the Middle Ages and Humanism. Knowledge of the methods of humanists in their approach to ancient texts, with consequences on the cultural activity of the time.
Ability to employ the basic technical lexicon of textual criticism. Ability to distinguish between the different types of manuscript evidence (e.g. direct and indirect tradition). Awareness of the different value of the available editions of a text, according to their different methodological lines. Critical awareness of the close connection between the knowledge we have of a text and the way in which this text has come down to us. Awareness of the historicity of methods of textual criticism, highlighted through the history of their applications.
Ability to employ the basic technical lexicon of textual criticism. Ability to distinguish between the different types of manuscript evidence (e.g. direct and indirect tradition). Awareness of the different value of the available editions of a text, according to their different methodological lines. Critical awareness of the close connection between the knowledge we have of a text and the way in which this text has come down to us. Awareness of the historicity of methods of textual criticism, highlighted through the history of their applications.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The first forty hours of the course (Parts A and B) develop a history of the circulation of texts in the Latin Middle Ages and in the humanistic world and present the techniques of the critical-philological method through case studies drawn from the transmission of Latin texts. The following topics will therefore be covered:
1) the production and circulation of books in late antiquity and the Middle Ages;
2) characteristics of the codex as a book medium;
3) a brief history of the transmission of Latin texts from the early Middle Ages to the humanistic age;
4) libraries, schools, and scriptoria;
5) the stemmatic method and other critical methods.
For the academic year 2025-26, the last 20 hours of the course (Part C) will cover a monographic topic ("Suetonius' De vita Caesarum: manuscript transmission and medieval and humanistic reception"). Some passages from the text will be read in class together with the critical apparatus of the reference edition. Significant errors will be commented on, and recent proposals for stemmata codicum will be discussed. The main episodes of medieval reception of the text will also be illustrated (Eginard, Lupus of Ferrières, Heiric of Auxerre, Goffredo da Viterbo, John of Salisbury, Florilegium Gallicum). The humanistic reception (Petrarca, Boccaccio, Niccolò Niccoli, Giovanni Tortelli, Giannozzo Manetti, Lorenzo Valla, Domizio Calderini, Filippo Beroaldo) will be illustrated in part by the lecturer and in part by the students themselves, who will be asked to present to the class a manuscript of their choice, belonging to, written by, or annotated by a famous humanist. Those taking the exam for 6 ECTS will attend the first 40 hours of the course; those taking the exam for 9 ECTS will also attend the last 20 hours of lectures.
1) the production and circulation of books in late antiquity and the Middle Ages;
2) characteristics of the codex as a book medium;
3) a brief history of the transmission of Latin texts from the early Middle Ages to the humanistic age;
4) libraries, schools, and scriptoria;
5) the stemmatic method and other critical methods.
For the academic year 2025-26, the last 20 hours of the course (Part C) will cover a monographic topic ("Suetonius' De vita Caesarum: manuscript transmission and medieval and humanistic reception"). Some passages from the text will be read in class together with the critical apparatus of the reference edition. Significant errors will be commented on, and recent proposals for stemmata codicum will be discussed. The main episodes of medieval reception of the text will also be illustrated (Eginard, Lupus of Ferrières, Heiric of Auxerre, Goffredo da Viterbo, John of Salisbury, Florilegium Gallicum). The humanistic reception (Petrarca, Boccaccio, Niccolò Niccoli, Giovanni Tortelli, Giannozzo Manetti, Lorenzo Valla, Domizio Calderini, Filippo Beroaldo) will be illustrated in part by the lecturer and in part by the students themselves, who will be asked to present to the class a manuscript of their choice, belonging to, written by, or annotated by a famous humanist. Those taking the exam for 6 ECTS will attend the first 40 hours of the course; those taking the exam for 9 ECTS will also attend the last 20 hours of lectures.
Prerequisites for admission
Proficient knowledge of the Latin language and classical literature of the ancient era. Basic understanding of the history of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Teaching methods
Part A of the course consists of lectures accompanied by the projection of images related to the topics covered. In Part B of the course, lectures will alternate with moments of interaction and co-construction of knowledge. Flipped classroom, workshop-based teaching and cooperative learning methods will be used. Students will be asked to read parts of the textbook independently and watch short videos, which will be discussed in class. In order to acquire specific technical language and consolidate knowledge, case studies will be proposed, which will first be worked on in groups and then shared with the rest of the class. Quizzes on Moodle and shared Word documents will be used to be completed cooperatively. Part C of the course, which is elective, will be conducted in seminar form. The text of Suetonius' De vita Caesarum will be read in class and, starting from an analysis of the apparatus of the reference edition, in-depth studies will be conducted on the manuscript transmission and reception of the work, stimulating discussion of variants and the development of critical methods. Students will be asked to present in class a manuscript of a work of their choice that is of some relevance to textual reconstruction or the history of the text.
Although a specific programme is provided for non-attending students, attendance at the course is recommended.
Although a specific programme is provided for non-attending students, attendance at the course is recommended.
Teaching Resources
a) Attending students, 6 CFU
- P. Chiesa, La trasmissione dei testi latini. Storia e metodo critico, Rome, Carocci, 2019.
This volume forms the basis of the course; the lectures expand and clarify its contents. Attendance therefore allows access to significant materials and insights that are not available in the textbook. During the exam, attending students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to discuss the textual examples in the volume, including the insights provided in the course.
- P. Chiesa, Elementi di critica testuale, second edition, Bologna, Pàtron, 2012.
N.B.: those who have already taken the Medieval Latin Literature exam will replace this volume as indicated below (point e);
-- G. Cappelli, L'umanesimo italiano da Petrarca a Valla, Roma, Carocci, 2007
limitatamente alle pp.: 17-124 (Introduzione; 1. Petrarca, l'Umanesimo e la modernità; 2. Firenze: Umanesimo e politica; 3. L'introduzione dello studio del greco); 337-380 (11. Lorenzo Valla: un innovatore controverso e polemico).
The materials presented in class and the recording of the first lecture of the course will be made available to students on the MyAriel website and will be useful for exam preparation.
b) Attending students, 9 CFU - All the bibliography required for 6 CFU indicated in point a) above, which remains an integral part of the exam programme.
In addition, for part C, the following reference texts will be used:
- C. Suetonius Tranquillus, De vita Caesarum libri VIII et De grammaticis et rhetoribus librum, recognovit brevique adnotatione critica instruxit R. A. Kaster, 2016, Oxonii, E Typographeo Clarendoniano;
- Svetonio, Vite dei Cesari, saggio introduttivo a cura di G. Brizzi, nuova traduzione e note a cura di F. Orpianesi, Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna, RL, 2023.
c) Non-attending students, 6 CFU
- P. Chiesa, La trasmissione dei testi latini. Storia e metodo critico, Rome, Carocci, 2019. In-depth knowledge and the ability to discuss all the textual examples included therein will be required. The materials made available to those attending the lectures, available on MyAriel, are an aid for individual study, even for those who do not attend.
- P. Chiesa, Elementi di critica testuale, second edition, Bologna, Pàtron, 2012; N.B.: students who have already taken the Medieval Latin Literature exam will replace this volume as indicated below (point e);
-- G. Cappelli, L'umanesimo italiano da Petrarca a Valla, Rome, Carocci, 2007 (whole book).
- V. Fera, Problemi e percorsi della ricezione umanistica, in Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica. III. La ricezione del testo, edited by G. Cavallo - A. Giardina - P. Fedeli, pp. 513-543;
- M. Ferrari, Il rilancio dei classici e dei padri, in Lo spazio letterario del Medioevo. I. Il medioevo latino, edited by G. Cavallo - C. Leonardi - E. Menestò, Rome (Salerno) 1995, vol. 3. La ricezione del testo, pp. 429-455;
The first lecture of the course (and only the first lecture) will be recorded and made available to students on the MyAriel website.
d) Non-attending students, 9 CFU
- All the bibliography required for the 6 CFU exam indicated in point c), which remains an integral part of the exam programme.
- In addition, for section C, students are requested to contact the lecturer to agree on an alternative programme.
Students who have already taken the Medieval Latin Literature exam:
- From the textbook Elementi di critica testuale (chapters 1, 2, and 4 are required for the Literature exam), students must demonstrate knowledge of all the contents, including the chapters not required for Literature;
- A. Stussi, Fondamenti di critica testuale, Bologna, Il Mulino (various editions) (limited to the essays by Bédier, Timpanaro, Contini);
- G. Pasquali, Storia della tradizione e critica del testo, (various editions), chapters I, II and IV ("Il metodo del Lachmann", "Ci fu sempre un archetipo?", "Recentiores non deteriores").
- P. Chiesa, La trasmissione dei testi latini. Storia e metodo critico, Rome, Carocci, 2019.
This volume forms the basis of the course; the lectures expand and clarify its contents. Attendance therefore allows access to significant materials and insights that are not available in the textbook. During the exam, attending students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to discuss the textual examples in the volume, including the insights provided in the course.
- P. Chiesa, Elementi di critica testuale, second edition, Bologna, Pàtron, 2012.
N.B.: those who have already taken the Medieval Latin Literature exam will replace this volume as indicated below (point e);
-- G. Cappelli, L'umanesimo italiano da Petrarca a Valla, Roma, Carocci, 2007
limitatamente alle pp.: 17-124 (Introduzione; 1. Petrarca, l'Umanesimo e la modernità; 2. Firenze: Umanesimo e politica; 3. L'introduzione dello studio del greco); 337-380 (11. Lorenzo Valla: un innovatore controverso e polemico).
The materials presented in class and the recording of the first lecture of the course will be made available to students on the MyAriel website and will be useful for exam preparation.
b) Attending students, 9 CFU - All the bibliography required for 6 CFU indicated in point a) above, which remains an integral part of the exam programme.
In addition, for part C, the following reference texts will be used:
- C. Suetonius Tranquillus, De vita Caesarum libri VIII et De grammaticis et rhetoribus librum, recognovit brevique adnotatione critica instruxit R. A. Kaster, 2016, Oxonii, E Typographeo Clarendoniano;
- Svetonio, Vite dei Cesari, saggio introduttivo a cura di G. Brizzi, nuova traduzione e note a cura di F. Orpianesi, Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna, RL, 2023.
c) Non-attending students, 6 CFU
- P. Chiesa, La trasmissione dei testi latini. Storia e metodo critico, Rome, Carocci, 2019. In-depth knowledge and the ability to discuss all the textual examples included therein will be required. The materials made available to those attending the lectures, available on MyAriel, are an aid for individual study, even for those who do not attend.
- P. Chiesa, Elementi di critica testuale, second edition, Bologna, Pàtron, 2012; N.B.: students who have already taken the Medieval Latin Literature exam will replace this volume as indicated below (point e);
-- G. Cappelli, L'umanesimo italiano da Petrarca a Valla, Rome, Carocci, 2007 (whole book).
- V. Fera, Problemi e percorsi della ricezione umanistica, in Lo spazio letterario di Roma antica. III. La ricezione del testo, edited by G. Cavallo - A. Giardina - P. Fedeli, pp. 513-543;
- M. Ferrari, Il rilancio dei classici e dei padri, in Lo spazio letterario del Medioevo. I. Il medioevo latino, edited by G. Cavallo - C. Leonardi - E. Menestò, Rome (Salerno) 1995, vol. 3. La ricezione del testo, pp. 429-455;
The first lecture of the course (and only the first lecture) will be recorded and made available to students on the MyAriel website.
d) Non-attending students, 9 CFU
- All the bibliography required for the 6 CFU exam indicated in point c), which remains an integral part of the exam programme.
- In addition, for section C, students are requested to contact the lecturer to agree on an alternative programme.
Students who have already taken the Medieval Latin Literature exam:
- From the textbook Elementi di critica testuale (chapters 1, 2, and 4 are required for the Literature exam), students must demonstrate knowledge of all the contents, including the chapters not required for Literature;
- A. Stussi, Fondamenti di critica testuale, Bologna, Il Mulino (various editions) (limited to the essays by Bédier, Timpanaro, Contini);
- G. Pasquali, Storia della tradizione e critica del testo, (various editions), chapters I, II and IV ("Il metodo del Lachmann", "Ci fu sempre un archetipo?", "Recentiores non deteriores").
Assessment methods and Criteria
Single oral examination, in a single test, with a mark out of thirty; the mark is communicated at the end of the exam (minimum passing grade: 18/30).
Evaluated knowledge and awareness: 1) Knowledge of the history of Latin literary works in their transmission. 2) Ability in discussing and exposing cases of textual transmission; 3) Knowledge of the basic ecdotic techniques, also in the discussion of practical examples; 4) Awareness of the connection through editorial practice and transmissional history.
Assessment criteria: 1) level of knowledge; 2) language proficiency in the specific matter; 3) effectiveness of presentation; 4) ability to connect topics; 5) width of critical perspective.
Bibliography is partially different for attending and non-attending students (see above). International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher in advance. Students with disabilities and/or with SLD must discuss the examination method with the lecturer, in agreement with the competent Office.
Evaluated knowledge and awareness: 1) Knowledge of the history of Latin literary works in their transmission. 2) Ability in discussing and exposing cases of textual transmission; 3) Knowledge of the basic ecdotic techniques, also in the discussion of practical examples; 4) Awareness of the connection through editorial practice and transmissional history.
Assessment criteria: 1) level of knowledge; 2) language proficiency in the specific matter; 3) effectiveness of presentation; 4) ability to connect topics; 5) width of critical perspective.
Bibliography is partially different for attending and non-attending students (see above). International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher in advance. Students with disabilities and/or with SLD must discuss the examination method with the lecturer, in agreement with the competent Office.
Modules or teaching units
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/08 - MEDIEVAL AND HUMANISTIC LATIN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/08 - MEDIEVAL AND HUMANISTIC LATIN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/08 - MEDIEVAL AND HUMANISTIC LATIN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)