Latin Literatures of Medieval and Early Modern Times in Europe and Beyond: A millennium heritage

The textual heritage of Medieval Latin is vast and diverse, encompassing over 13,600 authors from 20 modern countries. A new perspective is offered by 40 contributors, providing new materials and insights into Medieval Latin Literatures as a global phenomenon. The project presents an overview of Medieval (and post-medieval) Latin Literatures, including both Europe and extra-European regions, and serves as an introduction to the medieval Latin complex and multi-layered culture. It highlights shared patterns of circulation, adaptation, and exchange, and underlines 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," which exemplify the double-sided or long-term transformations of medieval Latin mythologemes in vernacular culture, both early modern and modern.

Format: Hardback
Length: 706 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2024
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Co

The textual heritage of Medieval Latin is a vast and diverse reservoir of human culture, encompassing over 13,600 authors from approximately 20 modern countries. Despite its extensive reach, there has been a lack of comprehensive introductions to this world in its full geographical extent. To address this gap, forty contributors have come together to present a new perspective, offering valuable materials and insights to specialists and the interested public alike. The project aims to provide an overview of Medieval (and post-medieval) Latin Literatures as a global phenomenon, encompassing both Europe and extra-European regions. It serves as an introduction to the complex and multi-layered culture of medieval Latin, which has often been underestimated in its appeal. Traditional overviews tend to flatten specificities, but in many countries, medieval Latin literature is still studied with reference to local history. The first section of the project 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, as well as 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," which exemplify the double-sided or 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.

Dimension: 245 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789027214478