10547 - Germanic Philology (1)

Academic Year 2019/2020

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will possess the theoretical and material fundamentals in order to understand the Germanix languages, literatures and cultures (which must be intended like corpora indipendently from their literary value) from their proto-historical past to the end of the Middle Ages, in other words the cultures that Germanic peoples starting from the prehistorical period. The Middle Ages will be at the centre of investigation because in that period the common Germanic cultural milieu is more evident through the large number of sources and documentation in Old Germanic languages and literatures. The student will be able to read, translate and give a philological and linguistic comment to a short passage in an Old Germanic language

Course contents

Students of the 9 CFU (60hrs) course:

Module A (30hrs):

Fondamentals of Germanic Philology

The cultural peculiarities of the Germanic peoples will be taken into account: the oral transmission of knowledge, law, religion, social structure and the role of women. Part of the module will analyze the literary genres of the Germanic literature of the Middle Ages (heroic poetry, sagas, skaldic poetry, religious poetry). The themes of the module will be analyzed by reading and commenting some primary sources in Italian translation. A particular care will be devoted to the literary and documental production of the medieval period. The main philological methodologies of texs reconstruction will be presented during the course.

Module B (30hrs):

Two men between two armies: the Lay of Hildebrand

After a thirty-year exile, the old Hildebrand comes back to his homeland together with an army. At the border, he meets another army, lead by the young Hadubrand. In the course of a short dialogue, Hildebrand understands that the man in front of him is his only son. The following verbal confrontation ends up in a duel. The Lay of Hildebrand is the earliest Germanic heroic text which has been handed down to us. During the module, the text will be analysed within the context of the early medieval culture. Particular attention will be paid to the main issues of the Lay: its palaeographical features, its strange language, its ethical values, its open ending.

Students of the 6 CFU (30 hrs) course:

Module A or B (at choice)

Readings/Bibliography

Module A:

Teaching materials on disposal on the web page of the course;

Anna Maria Luiselli Fadda, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel Medioevo germanico, Roma, Laterza, 1994, pp. 113-135.

Vittoria Dolcetti Corazza, Introduzione alla filologia germanica, Alessandria, Edizioni dell'Orso, 3° ediz., 2009, capitolo V (pp. 83-110)

Nicoletta Francovich Onesti, Filologia Germanica: lingue e culture dei Germani antichi, Roma, Carocci, 2011, pp. 11-35; 136-142.

Edward R. Haymes, Susann T. Samples, Heroic legends of the North : an introduction to the Nibelung and Dietrich cycles, New York - London, Garland, 1996, pp. 7-14; 35-47.

Edgar C. Polomé, Germanic Religion, in The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. by M. Eliade, vol. 5, New York - london, Macmillan - Corrier, 2005, pp. 520-536.

Module B:

Alessandro Zironi, Il Carme di Ildebrando. Un padre, un figlio, un duello, Milano, Meltemi, in corso di stampa (2019).

Non attending students

Module A:

Marco Battaglia, I Germani. Genesi di una cultura europea, Roma, Carocci, 2013.

Module B:

Alessandro Zironi, Il Carme di Ildebrando. Un padre, un figlio, un duello, Milano, Meltemi, in corso di stampa (2019).

- Simona Leonardi, Letteratura in antico altotedesco, in Le civiltà letterarie del Medioevo germanico, a cura di Marco Battaglia, Roma, Carocci, 2017, pp. 55-136.

- 2 essays chosen from the book: Ildebrando. Quattro saggi e i testi, a cura di Maria Vittoria Molinari e Ute Schwab, Alessandria, Edizioni dell'Orso, 2001

Teaching methods

Front lessons with multimedia instruments

Assessment methods

The exam consists in an oral interview on both modules, which can not be shared into separated moments. During the interview the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student will be evaluated . The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course and to move within the sources and bibliographical material in order to be able to identify in them the useful information that will enable to illustrate the similarities and cultural areas of the discipline. The achievement of an organic vision of the issues addressed during the classes and their critical use, which demonstrate ownership of a mastery of expression and specific language, will be assessed with marks of excellence. Mechanical and / or mnemonic knowledge of matter, synthesis and analysis of non-articulating and / or correct language but not always appropriate will lead to discrete assessments; training gaps and / or inappropriate language - although in a context of minimal knowledge of the material - will lead to votes that will not exceed the sufficiency. Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of guidance within the reference materials offered during the course will lead to failed assessments.

Teaching tools

Video and audio materials in internet, lectures notes provided by the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Zironi

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.