10547 - Germanic Philology (1)

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):

Revenge is sweetest when it is served up cold: the Nibelungenlied

The Nibelungenlied, one of the cornerstones of German medieval literature, deals with love and betrayals, intrigues and revenges. This poem was composed at the beginning of the 13th century and is the oldest written witness of that legend’s cycle which was orally transmitted for a long time, from the Alps, to Anglo-Saxon England, up to the Scandinavian area and which is focused on the hero Siegfried and the annihilation of the Burgunds.

During the module the text will be analysed within the feudal context in which it was composed. Particular attention will be paid to the manuscript tradition, the historical roots of the legend, the main critical issues and, last but not least, the ideological meaning given to the poem during the 19th and 20th centuries, when it became the German national epos.

Students of the 6 CFU (30 hrs) course:

Module A or B (at choice)

Readings/Bibliography

Module A:

Teaching materials on IOL;

- 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, 2002, pp. 11-34; 134-140.

- 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.

Modulo B:

Davide Bertagnolli, I Nibelunghi. La leggenda il mito, Milano, Meltemi, in print (2020).

Laura Mancinelli (ed. by), I Nibelunghi, Torino, Einaudi (any edition).

not attending students:

Module A:

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

Module B:

- Davide Bertagnolli, I Nibelunghi. La leggenda, il mito, Milano, Meltemi, 2020.

- Laura Mancinelli, Da Carlomagno a Lutero. La letteratura tedesca medievale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1996.

Teaching methods

A first part of the lessons will take place remotely on the Microsoft Teams platform, a second part in classroom (up to classroom capacity) but with the possibility of remote attendance.

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 on internet.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Zironi