Latin Literatures of Medieval and Early Modern Times in Europe and Beyond
A millennium heritage
The textual heritage of Medieval Latin is one of the greatest reservoirs of human culture. Repertories list more than 16,000 authors from about 20 modern countries. Until now, there has been no introduction to this world in its full geographical extension. Forty contributors fill this gap by adopting a new perspective, making available to specialists (but also to the interested public) new materials and insights. The project presents an overview of Medieval (and post-medieval) Latin Literatures as a global phenomenon including both Europe and extra-European regions. It serves as an introduction to medieval Latin's complex and multi-layered culture, whose attraction has been underestimated until now. Traditional overviews mostly flatten specificities, yet in many countries medieval Latin literature is still studied with reference to the local history. Thus the first section presents 20 regional surveys, including chapters on authors and works of Latin Literature in Eastern, Central and Northern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. Subsequent chapters highlight shared patterns of circulation, adaptation, and exchange, and underline the appeal of medieval intermediality, as evidenced in manuscripts, maps, scientific treatises and iconotexts, and its performativity in narrations, theatre, sermons and music. The last section deals with literary “interfaces,” that is motifs or characters that exemplify the double-sided or the long-term transformations of medieval Latin mythologemes in vernacular culture, both early modern and modern, such as the legends about King Arthur, Faust, and Hamlet.
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages, XXXIV] 2024. xviii, 706 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 10 June 2024
Published online on 10 June 2024
© John Benjamins B.V. / Association Internationale de Littérature Comparée
Table of Contents
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ForewordFrancesco Stella, Lucie Doležalová and Danuta Shanzer | pp. ix–xviii
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Section I. Instead of an introduction
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Chapter 1. Combien de littératures latines médiévales ?Pascale Bourgain | pp. 3–12
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Section IA. Regional layers: Europe
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Chapter 2. ItalyArmando Bisanti | pp. 15–51
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Chapter 3. France et BelgiqueCédric Giraud | pp. 52–72
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Chapter 4. Germany and AustriaDaniela Mairhofer | pp. 73–120
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Chapter 5. SwitzerlandPeter Stotz | pp. 121–134
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Chapter 6. SpainCarlos Pérez González | pp. 135–157
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Chapter 7. Portugal (950–1400)Paulo Farmhouse Alberto | pp. 158–167
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Chapter 8. Ireland, Scotland, WalesPádraic Moran | pp. 168–176
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Chapter 9. EnglandGreti Dinkova-Bruun | pp. 177–198
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Chapter 10. Czech landsLucie Doležalová | pp. 199–206
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Chapter 11. PolandRafał Wójcik | pp. 207–213
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Chapter 12. HungaryFarkas Gábor Kiss | pp. 214–220
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Chapter 13. Nordic countriesLars Boje Mortensen | pp. 221–234
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Chapter 14. Baltic countriesPiero Bugiani | pp. 235–250
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Section IB. Regional Latinities outside Europe in the medieval and early modern times
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Chapter 15. Africa (fifth-sixth century)Armando Bisanti | pp. 253–263
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Chapter 16. The Middle EastEdoardo D’Angelo | pp. 264–283
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Chapter 17. Latin literature and the Arabic languageDaniel G. König | pp. 284–295
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Chapter 18. Latin orientalism: Travel and pilgrimage literatureSusanna Fischer | pp. 296–307
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Chapter 19. Central and East AsiaNoël Golvers | pp. 308–323
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Chapter 20. Latin literature on the “discovery” of AmericaStefano Pittaluga | pp. 324–334
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Chapter 21. A “postcolonial” approach to medieval Latin literature?Francesco Stella | pp. 335–344
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Section II. Medieval Latin multimedial communication
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Section IIA. Manuscripts and visual communication
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Chapter 22. The circulation of Latin texts during the Middle AgesCarmen Cardelle de Hartmann | pp. 349–362
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Chapter 23. Latin manuscripts as multimedia communication toolsLucie Doležalová | pp. 363–375
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Chapter 24. “Textual images” and “visual texts”Gereon Becht-Jördens | pp. 376–405
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Chapter 25. Medieval science in daily lifeWesley Stevens | pp. 406–435
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Chapter 26. Latin traditions in medieval cartographyPatrick Gautier Dalché | pp. 436–450
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Section IIB. Orality and performance
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Chapter 27. Liturgy, drama, preaching, and narrationSusan Boynton | pp. 453–464
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Chapter 28. Sung medieval Latin verse as performanceSam Barrett | pp. 465–484
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Section III. Renewing paradigms
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Chapter 29. Gendering authorship: The underestimated contribution of women writing in LatinJoan Ferrante | pp. 487–497
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Chapter 30. Ecologies of medieval Latin poeticsIan Cornelius | pp. 498–506
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Chapter 31. The art of letter-writing: A medieval Latin inventionElisabetta Bartoli | pp. 507–522
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Chapter 32. Between history and fictionWillum Westenholz | pp. 523–539
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Chapter 33. Starting anew: The conservative and innovative features of humanistic Latin literatureGaston Javier Basile | pp. 540–554
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Section IV. Interfaces. Latin/vernacular and medieval/modern: Modern and contemporary after-lives of medieval Latin symbols: Sample stories-transmissions and patterns
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Chapter 34. The conquest of literacy: The vernacular disintegration of Latin hegemony in medieval EuropeWim Verbaal | pp. 557–577
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Chapter 35. Troilus and Briseida in the Western literature: From the Middle Ages to the presentLourdes Raya Fages and Pablo Piqueras Yagüe | pp. 578–587
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Chapter 36. Fairies from Walter Map to European folkloreMartha Bayless | pp. 588–595
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Chapter 37. Geoffrey of Monmouth and the evolution of ExcaliburSusan Aronstein and Tison Pugh | pp. 596–605
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Chapter 38. The matter of Troy in medieval Latin poetry (ca. 1060 – ca. 1230)Marek Thue Kretschmer | pp. 606–624
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Chapter 39. Hamlet: From Saxo Grammaticus to ShakespeareChiara della Giovampaola | pp. 625–638
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Chapter 40. Faust’s medieval originsManuel Bauer | pp. 639–646
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Biographies | pp. 647–654
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Index Nominum
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Index Locorum
“
Latin Literatures diverrà un riferimento indispensabile.”
Piero Boitani, Sapienza Università di Roma, in Il Sole 24 Ore no. 34 (October 2024).
Subjects
Main BIC Subject
DSBB: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval
Main BISAC Subject
LIT004190: LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical