Scholae de litteris latinis

Scholae de litteris latinis: courses on ancient, medieval and humanistic Latin literature

Non […] tam praeclarum est scire Latine quam turpe nescire.
Cicero, Brutus, 140.

In April we’ll continue our series of courses of Latin and Greek. They’ll be followed by other courses courses in October.
For now, you can register for the following courses (which have a limited number of participants):
Latin language: elementary (A1, A2), intermediate (B1, B2) and advanced level (C1);
Latin composition: for students at advanced level (C1 or C2);
Ancient Latin literature: for students at advanced level (C1 or C2);
Medieval Latin literature: for students at advanced level (C1 or C2);
Latin literature of the Renaissance: for students at advanced level (C1 or C2);
Greek language: elementary (A2) and intermediate level (B2.1).

How to apply
The applications will close no later than April the 2nd, but they might close even earlier if the maximum number of applicants is reached. So apply sooner rather than later!
To apply you must fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Upon receiving the application, you’ll be provided all the details needed to make the bank transfer.
The application will be valid the moment the deposit is received, provided this happens within ten days after the form is sent.
All those who register for two or more of the courses above (for the period April-June 2023), all those who have taken part in at least one course held from January to March 2023, and all those who are under 21 years of age at the time of registration, will receive a discount of 10%. The discounts are not combinable.

MEDIEVAL LATIN LITERATURE

In this course, we’re going to read, comment on, and discuss selected passages from the major epic poems of the period. We’ll start with the epic written in the 8th century about Charles the Great, who is considered one of the founders of medieval and modern Europe. We’ll continue with samples of masterpieces of various genres of epic that flourished in the middle ages, when heroic, mock-heroic, animal, hagiographic, and allegorical epic were popular.

A course tailored for you
The course will be entirely in Latin: participants will listen, speak, read and write.
An advanced knowledge of the Latin language is required.
We want everybody to take an active part in our lessons; that’s why, each group will be composed of no more than ten participants.

Dates of the course
The course will be held from the 10th of April to the 12th of June (ten 75-minute lessons: one per week).
All lessons will be held on Zoom, every Monday: they will begin at 7:15 p. m., Rome time (UTC + 2).
Should you be unable to attend a lesson, the Schola Latina will be glad to provide you with a video recording.
To help participants to meet and make friends, we’ll form some groups on Whatsapp or similar programmes.

Teaching material and course programme
There aren’t many histories of medieval Latin literature, in Latin or in another language, to be found and consulted for free on the Internet.
By way of example we’ll list just a few books, then, that handle the chief medieval authors: some of these have been translated into other languages.
– Curtius, Ernst Robert: Europäische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter, Tübingen und Basel, Francke Verlag, 1948¹.
– D’Angelo, Edoardo: Storia della letteratura mediolatina, Montella, Accademia Vivarium novum, 2004¹.
– Harrington, K. P.: Medieval Latin, Chicago-London, The University of Chicago Press, 1962².
– Leonardi, Claudio et al.: Letteratura latina medievale (secoli VI-XV), Firenze, Sismel-Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2002¹.
In any case, whatever book is found in print can work.
With the help of the teacher, the students will read, comment on, and discuss selected passages from the major epic works of the period, e. g. the “Karolus Magnus et Leo papa”, written in the 8th century about Charles the Great, the “Waltharius manu fortis” (11th century), the “Anticlaudianus” of Alan of Lille (12th century), and the “Alexandreis” of Walter of Châtillon (12th century).

Teacher
The teacher will be Mr Jiří A. Čepelák.

Cost of the course
The course costs 175 euros. 
All those who register for two or more of our courses (for the period April-June 2023), all those who have taken part in at least one course held from January to March 2023, and all those who are under 21 years of age at the time of registration, will receive a discount of 10%. The discounts are not combinable.

How to apply
The applications will close no later than April the 2nd, but they might even close before that deadline, if the maximum number of applicants is reached. So apply sooner rather than later!
To apply, it is required to fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Upon receiving the application, you will be provided all details needed to make the bank transfer.
The application will be kept valid the moment the deposit is received, provided this happens within ten days after the sending of the form.

LATIN LITERATURE OF THE RENAISSANCE

This is the third in a series of courses on Latin literature in the age of Humanism and Renaissance.
This course is dedicated to animals in Renaissance literature. Latin authors wrote about animals from different points of view: out of love for their pets, for instance, or merely jocularly. In their books we can find different approaches to this theme: sometimes reflections on ancient sources, sometimes a scientific enquiry, sometimes both things together. Petrarch wrote about hunting dogs and talking birds, peacocks and pigeons, but denies that they are worthy of the attention and the interest of a philosopher. Leo Baptist Alberti had a pet dog, and wrote a touching, exquisite, facetious panegyric of it. Conrad Gessner, a naturalist and the father of modern zoology, bases his Historia animalium on classical sources, and describes fantastic creatures (such as a unicorn) and newly discovered animals. 

A course tailored for you
The course will be entirely in Latin: participants will listen, speak, read and write.
An advanced knowledge of the Latin language is required.
We want everybody to take an active part in our lessons; that’s why, each group will be composed of no more than ten participants.

Dates of the course
The course will be held from the 13th of April to the 15th of June (ten 75-minute lessons: one per week).
All lessons will be held on Zoom, every Thursday: they will begin at 7 p. m., Rome time (UTC + 2).
Should you be unable to attend a lesson, the Schola Latina will be glad to provide you with a video recording.
To help participants to meet and make friends, we’ll form some groups on Whatsapp or similar programmes.

Teaching material and course programme
To this day, not many histories of Latin literature – written either in Latin or other languages – are available, which deal specifically and solely with humanistic and Renaissance literature, actually separating it from the periods that precede and follow. At any rate, some information on literary historiography for this period – very useful even if not organized in the format of a manual, but rather of an essay or book chapter – can be found, for example, in the following publications:
‒ Brian W. Ogilvie, The science of describing. Natural history in Renaissance Europe, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
‒ Conrad H. Rawski, Petrarch’s “Remedies for fortune fair and foul”, Indiana University Press, 1991.
‒ C. B. Schmitt, The Cambridge history of Renaissance philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
‒ Josias Simler, Vita clarissimi philosophi et medici excellentissimi Conradi Gesneri Tigurini. Item epistola Gesneri de libris a se editis, 1566.
‒ Aemilius Springhetti, Litterae latinae humanisticae, Libreria editrice vaticana, 2007.
Further bibliography will be provided by the teacher.
During the lessons we will read and comment on passages, which will be provided by the teacher.

Teacher
The teacher will be Natalija Čepeláková.

Cost of the course
The course costs 175 euros. 
All those who register for two or more of our courses (for the period April-June 2023), all those who have taken part in at least one course held from January to March 2023, and all those who are under 21 years of age at the time of registration, will receive a discount of 10%. The discounts are not combinable.

How to apply
The applications will close no later than April the 2nd, but they might even close before that deadline, if the maximum number of applicants is reached. So apply sooner rather than later!
To apply, it is required to fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Upon receiving the application, you will be provided all details needed to make the bank transfer.
The application will be kept valid the moment the deposit is received, provided this happens within ten days after the sending of the form.