27563 - Medieval and Classical Latin Literature (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will know the history of Middle Latin literature in broad outline, and have the ability to analyse both original texts and Italian translations from a literary point of view. They will grasp how different cultures interacted in history. They will be able to describe and illustrate the multi-level relations between history and literature. They will have learnt to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different cultures and viewpoints.

Course contents

The Navigatio sancti Brendani. The journey to paradise: poetry or no poetry?

The Navigatio sancti Brendani is an anonymous text (difficult to date but already widespread in the 10th century) that tells the story of the fantastic journey of Brendan and his monks to a perfect island, the island of promise, the island of paradise. We now have a high-quality edition of the Navigatio, exemplary for the study of the transmission and language of this text. However, when Gustavus Vinay composed his High Latin Middle Ages, proposing a canon of medieval Latin literature, the Navigatio did not have access to it. Why? Is it a text whose poetic value can be recognized? But what is poetry in the time from the 6th century to the 11th century?

Today, when Artificial Intelligence forces us to go back and check our critical tools and their theoretical assumptions, reading Navigatio can be a good training ground, a good introduction to navigating the still largely unknown world of early medieval poetics. The world of the other poetry.

 

Readings/Bibliography

1. General part

Only one book from the following

C. Leonardi, Medioevo latino. La cultura dell'europa cristiana, Firenze, SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo 2004 (Il millennio medievale)

C. Leonardi (cur.) Letteratura latina medievale (secoli VI-XV). Un manuale, Firenze, SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo 2002 (Il millennio medievale)

F. Santi, L'età metaforica. Figure di Dio e letteratura latina medievale da Gregorio Magno a Dante, Spoleto, Fondazione Cisam 2011 (Uomini e mondi medievali)

G. Vinay, Alto medioevo latino. Conversazioni e no Napoli, Guida 1978 pp. 557 (Esperienze [Guida] 42) (nuova edizione cur. I. Pagani - M. Oldoni, adiuv. I. Ventura - C. Bottiglieri, Napoli, Liguori 20032 pp. 507 (Nuovo medioevo 14)

2. Reading and commentary on a text

Navigatio sancti Brendani edd. G. Orlandi - R. Guglielmetti (ed.) Firenze, SISMEL. Edizioni del Galluzzo 2014 (Per Verba 30).

 

Students who do not attend classes must prepare a second text between those indicated:

Gregorius Magnus, Dialogi (ed. A. de Vogüé-B. Calati, Roma 2000)

Hildegard of Bingen Ordo uirtutm cur. Peter Dronke, in Hildegardis Bingensis Opera minora, Turnhout, Brepols 2007 pp. 505-21 (Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis 226) (English translation: Peter Dronke (ed. trad. comm.) Nine Medieval Latin Plays Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1994 pp. XXXV-237 tavv. 4 (Cambridge Medieval Classics 1) .

Petrus Abaelardus-Heloissa Epistolario (ed. I. Pagani-G.Orlandi, Torino 2015)

 

 

Teaching methods

After a first introductory part (a. Periodization and restricted canon of the literary tradition of the Latin Middle Ages; b. How manuscript culture works; c. Working tools, erudition and new technologies), the course will involve

1. reading and commentary on the Navigatio

2. analysis of some types of medieval manuscripts that convey it, on which - working in groups - some experiments may be conducted;

3. analysis of the forms in which the text has been reused.

Assessment methods

The examination is oral and usually lasts about 30 minutes, during which the lecturer first gives the student space to present one of his or her topics in an articulate manner. The examination is not only aimed at evaluating what has been learned, but is considered a moment of the teaching activity, that is, a useful moment to complete and fine-tune the course completed.

For the rest, it should be kept in mind that - in the ordinary way - the interview will then have the following articulation. The student (1) will be confronted with the general problems posed by the course and will be solicited about the general features of medieval latin literature also considering the modes of its communication, in relation therefore to the conditions the authors' work and listening to their audience. It will be possible to reason in this part of the examination about the hypotheses of periodization that articulate the Middle Ages, trying to focus on what are its revolutions. (2) There will then be a focus on the authors who can be considered representative in the different textual types experienced by medieval latin literature and the methodological problems involved in reading these texts. (3) Finally, parts from the works read in class may be read in relation to the problems and hypotheses posed by the course.

Exam sessions. During the 2025/2026 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: May, June, July, September, October, November. December

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

 

Teaching tools

Texts

medieval manuscripts

Electronic platforms dedicated to authors, texts, manuscripts, linguistic corpora

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Santi