Syllabus
Feb. 21 Introduction to medieval literature (LD), presentations of the teachers
Part I: Chronological Overview
Feb. 28 Late Antiquity (313 - 553) (RB)
How the light has been turned off? An experiment on the common prejudice about the Middle Age: stereotyped images of the classic world and the medieval one. Two great cultural changes. Not everything happened in one day, the 15/9/476: we can speak about "the change of an era" only by referring to a slow process of two centuries. About one century before of this date we can find an important cultural event: the definitive affirmation of Christianity (313: Constantine’s edict). About one century after this date a lot of public schools have been closed (535-553: Gothic War). The first event brought important changes in the contents of the literary works, the second brought changes in the forms, style, and language. One great material change. the arrival of the codex. Differences between a code made by scroll and a roll made by papyrus. Causes of this change (with the end of the empire, the imports of papyrus from North Africa ceased) and consequences (the works that remained on papyrus have slowly started to disappear; those that were copied on parchment could survive).
March 7 Early Middle Ages (ca. 553-1100) (RB)
After the fall-down of the Roman Empire the map of Europe changes and new forms of government take its place: the Roman-Barbarian reigns. It’s a period of wars and divisions, of nostalgias and cultural changes. The importance of the monasteries and the monastic rules. The Carolingian Renaissance and its reforms. From Charlemagne to the Oaths of Strasbourg. The process of encastellation.
March 14 High Middle Ages (1100-1300) (FB)
By the twelfth century, invigorated European societies were experiencing dynamic evolution. Advances in agriculture helped to provide an increment in food supply. Towns and cities started to be again centers of commerce and manufacturing. As economic and political conditions improved, education and intellectual training expanded. Furthermore, new writings began to appear in the vernacular or everyday language of ordinary people. The works of the ancient Greeks, especially the rediscovery of Aristotle led Christian thinkers to develop the philosophy of Scholasticism. In addition, in this period we find many of the things that we traditionally identify with the Middle Ages, such as knights, courtly love, Gothic cathedrals and Crusades. We will try to analyze the diverse aspects of the High Middle Ages and understand how the increased population, economic productivity, and literacy reshaped European culture.
March 21 Late Middle Ages (1300-1500) (JO)
The seminar will focus on the various trends in late medieval literature from development of new genres and styles to change of writing materials and humanistic tendencies. Examples will be taken especially from the Central European literature, although the general introduction will be not omitted. We will also compare a situation in the Central Europe with that in other countries.
Part II: Genres and Themes
March 28 Monastic Literature and Travel Writing (RB)
In the "scriptoria." The Rule of Saint Benedict. The Enigmas: brief history of the genre and some examples. The Etymologies (the name is the first way to know the things): the work of Isidore of Seville. The Bestiaries: characteristics of the genre and some examples (the Crocodile and the Beaver). Around the World. Two examples of travelogues Aegeria and Liutprandus.
April 4 Jan Hus (JO)
A man who was a heretic in the eyes of the medieval Church, and a martyr in the eyes of Hussites - a new religious movement that rose after his execution in 1415 - will be the main topic of this seminar. We will focus on his works trying to see what was so provocative and new in them. It will be also shown, how to get over some theological obstacles that occur often in these types of works, and what could be interesting in works of Jan Hus for a today’s reader.
April 11 Medieval Letters and the Art of Letter Writing (FB)
The ars dictandi (art of letter writing) is a truly medieval invention. Between the 11th and 12th centuries the formation of the art takes place and stabilizes the norms of epistolary writing. The period which produced the earliest rhetorical treatises which taught the rules of composing letters, was one in which political and economic developments increased dramatically the quantity and variety of official documents required by churchmen, the nobility, and private citizens. We will try to understand how the art of letter writing was born and to define the nature of the medieval epistolary form by reading some selected epistles and parts of rhetorical treatises.
April 18 University Literature (JO)
Some of the most basic and important questions of every new students are: "What subjects should I learn? Which books are important and which not? How should I study in general? How often? How much?" We will try to answer them in the context of Middle Ages and to find out, what is same till today and what has changed in the university life and study.
April 25 Medieval Love (FB)
The twelfth century is the period in which love becomes one of the most relevant subjects in literature, philosophy, and science. We will analyze the complex subject of love, reading together some parts of De amore (On Love) by Andreas Capellanus, a controversial treatise on the theory of love.
May 2 Historiography: Between myths and heroes (RB)
History of the peoples. Characteristic of the genre and reading of selected examples from the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede the Venerable and from the History of the Lombards by Paulus Diaconus. Biographies. The first biography of a layman: the Life of Charles by Einhard (reading the chapter on the physical description of the king).
May 9 Lyrical poetry and medieval women (FB)
Women’s songs are few but interesting and significant. Some of the most relevant ones belong to two poetic miscellanies compiled in Germany. The eleventh century Cambridge songs and the thirtheen century Carmina Burana, which join together Christian spiritual poetry and verses revealing the pleasure of the world and the flesh. We will read together some texts and try to analyze the particular textual femininity built through the use of the lyrical female voice.
May 16 FINAL TEST
Annotation
The seminar, taught by three PhD students from the Institute of Greek and Latin Studies - Francesca Battista (FB), Riccardo Burgazzi (RB), and Jan Odstrčilík (JO) under the supervision of doc. Lucie Doležalová (LD), aims to introduce anyone interested in the Middle Ages or in literature into Medieval Latin Literature.
After an introductory class, the semester is divided into a chronological overview of medieval written culture, and presentation of selected topics and genres. Knowledge of Latin is NOT required, all texts will be read and discussed in an English translation.