Medieval Latin Culture: Heritage and Renewal

Course goals

After having completed the course, participants will

1. Have an overview of medieval Latin culture from late Antiquity until the thirteenth century
2. Be able to understand, analyse and interpret aspects of medieval Latin culture in their context
3. Be able to reproduce and apply theory of memory and forgetting as well as mimesis and performance with the help of medieval Latin culture
4. Be able to apply acquired knowledge in written assignments

Content

The abundance and variety of medieval Latin literature surpasses all other European literatures in this period. Throughout the Middle Ages, Latin functioned as the intermediary of the classical heritage to the medieval world and from there developed as the universal language of communication and learning. Although the Latin culture of this period is mostly associated with the institutions (Church, school, courtroom), medieval Latin culture encompasses all literary streams and types of texts, while linguistic and stylistic features differ from context to context. The course gives an overview of Latin literary culture from late Antiquity up to and including the thirteenth century; studies the variety of medieval Latin; analyses sources through theoretical aspects of memory & forgetting as well as mimesis & performance.

Additional information

This course is part of the minor Medieval Literature.