90242 - Medieval Latin Literature (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students know the history of Medieval Latin literature, and, more specifically, the history of the Latin literature produced in Italy during the Middle Ages. They are able to analyze both content and language of some selected texts, as well. Finally, they have a good command of tools and strategies allowing them to perform a philological analysis of the same selected texts.

Course contents

The course will focus on the works conveying theological, philosophical, scientific and literary knowledge, and putting it at disposal of "learned scholars". With this aim, I will firstly offer a general overview of the Latin literature of the 13th century, pointing especially to the main institution that "produced" culture (e.g., courts, Preaching Orders, Universities). Afterward, I will introduce some representative texts, such as Biblical commentaries anf glosses, philosophical and theological commentaries, florilegia, encyclopedias, and preaching tools. More specifically, I will focus on texts that were particularly successful, played a key role in transmitting and disseminating knowledge among clerical and lay authors, and emphasized the function of specific institution as conveyors of culture. Among these texts, we may recall the florilegia written by John of Wales (Commoniloquium, Breviloquium),  Thomas of Ireland's Manipulus florum, the encyclopedias De proprietatibus rerum and Speculum maius written, respectively, by Bartholomew the Englishman and Vincent of Beauvais, Jacopo da Varazze's Legenda aurea, and the Artes predicandi.

Readings/Bibliography

Sources (selection): Vincent ofi Beauvais, Speculum maius, Douai 1624 (repr. Graz 1964); Bartholomaeus Anglicus, De proprietatibus rerum, ed. B. Van den Abeele et al., Turnhout 2017; Jacobus de Varagine, Legenda aurea, ed. G.P. Maggioni, Firenze 1998 (2 voll.).

General Studies: C. Leonardi et al. (eds), Letteratura latina medievale (secoli VI-XV), un manuale, Firenze 2002, p. 303-371; E. D’Angelo, La letteratura latina medievale: una storia per generi, Roma 2009; P. Chiesa, La letteratura latina del Medioevo, Roma 2017, p. 199-258.

Further Studies (selection): Encyclopédire : formes de l’ambition encyclopédique dans l’Antiquité et au Moyen Âge, ed. A. Zucker, Turnhout 2013; R.H. Rouse - M. A. Rouse, Authentic witnesses : approaches to Medieval texts and manuscripts, Notre Dame 1991; G. Dahan, L'exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, Paris 1999; New Perspectives on Thomas of Ireland's Manipulus florum, ed. J. Hamesse et al., Toronto 2019; M. Michèle Mulcahey, First the bow is bent to study...; Dominican Education before 1350, Toronto 1998. 

Students who cannot attend the course will read, together with the texts mentioned above, following essays: C. Linde, "Frati Predicatori e predicazione dalle origini alla fine del XVI secolo", e L. Cinelli, "L'Ordine dei Predicatori e lo studio: legislazione, centri, biblioteche (secoli XIII-XIV), entrambi in L'Ordine dei Predicatori. I Domenicani: storia, figure, e istituzioni (1216-2016), ed. G. Festa e M. Rainini, Bari-Roma 2016, p. 257-277 e 278-303.

Nevertheless, they are requested to contact Prof. Ventura in order to receive further instructions concerning the preparation of the exam.

 

Teaching methods

Classes (30 hours). Classes will consist of introductory lessons given by Prof. Ventura and concerning each author we will focus upon, and of close discussions on the translation and interpretation of the selected texts.

Assessment methods

The exam will consist of an interview. Students have two options; they may:

- prepare a short lecture on a text they will select, and present it by using the further readings they will put together with the assistance of Prof. Ventura at least one month before the exam;

- undergo an interview and answer the questions put by Prof. Ventura.

Whatever decision they will make, students should demonstrate that

- they grasp the nature, the meaning, the purpose, and the extent of the diffusion and the reception of the text;

- they are able to access and use data and information included in the texts;

- they can connect it with the development and the history of Medieval culture, and assess its value and impact and conveyor of knowledge.

Teaching tools

All readings will be uploaded on the UniBo-platform IOL. Further bibliography will be provided during the Course.

Office hours

See the website of Iolanda Ventura