“The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse” explores the transmission of late antique Latin biblical poetry to England and the subsequent development of the genre in the vernacular. This study offers close readings of the most important contributions to a genre that produced more than twenty major compositions between AD 400 and 1500. For over a millennium, this literature effectively represented the Bible in popular form, yet this is the first study to explore the stylistic and thematic affinities between the Latin and English traditions. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to ‘biblical verse,’ defines the term and offers a broad outline of the genre, including a summary of general stylistic features and critical trends. The first chapter also provides an overview of the subject matter in each of the following chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the Latin beginnings of the genre in the fourth century, beginning with the poetry of Juvencus, whose stylistic choices regarding the appropriation of classical literature establish many of the generic norms for later poets. Among them is Cyprianus, who reflects the Juvencan model in his Heptateuch, while Prudentius, though not a biblical poet per se, anticipates a movement toward stylistic freedom in later versifications of the Bible. Chapter 3 examines the growing stylistic freedom among biblical versifications at the end of late antiquity. Sedulius, Avitus and Arator break the silence imposed by epic conventions of detachment and begin to comment on the underlying significance of biblical episodes such as the crossing of the Red Sea at length. Biblical exegesis and figural allusions to Christ abound in the poetry of this period. Chapter 4 shifts the focus to Anglo-Saxon England and the study of Juvencus, Sedulius and Arator in the monastic schools of the time. Many Anglo-Latin writers, especially Aldhelm, Bede and Alcuin, borrow heavily from the style of late antique biblical verse. My purpose here is to deepen our understanding of the specific ways in which this is the case. Chapter 5 makes another transition, to Old English biblical poetry. My goal here is to explore the ways in which the Latin and vernacular traditions overlap. My approach is mainly stylistic, and I focus in particular on the biblical verse of the Junius manuscript, containaing Genesis A/B, Exodus, Daniel and Christ and Satan. Chapter 6 offers some conclusions about the variety of functions and audiences of this literature. I also suggest what work remains to be done and how knowledge of the Latin tradition informs our understanding of the literature of the Anglo-Saxon period. My goal, therefore, is to examine various ways in which poets of different eras versify the Bible by considering what is omitted from, elaborated upon and unique to a given period or author. Ultimately, I aim to show that Latin and Old English biblical verse have more in common that not and that knowledge of the former enriches understanding of the latter.

“The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse” explores the transmission of late antique Latin biblical poetry to England and the subsequent development of the genre in the vernacular. This study offers close readings of the most important contributions to a genre that produced more than twenty major compositions between AD 400 and 1500. For over a millennium, this literature effectively represented the Bible in popular form, yet this is the first study to explore the stylistic and thematic affinities between the Latin and English traditions. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to ‘biblical verse,’ defines the term and offers a broad outline of the genre, including a summary of general stylistic features and critical trends. The first chapter also provides an overview of the subject matter in each of the following chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the Latin beginnings of the genre in the fourth century, beginning with the poetry of Juvencus, whose stylistic choices regarding the appropriation of classical literature establish many of the generic norms for later poets. Among them is Cyprianus, who reflects the Juvencan model in his Heptateuch, while Prudentius, though not a biblical poet per se, anticipates a movement toward stylistic freedom in later versifications of the Bible. Chapter 3 examines the growing stylistic freedom among biblical versifications at the end of late antiquity. Sedulius, Avitus and Arator break the silence imposed by epic conventions of detachment and begin to comment on the underlying significance of biblical episodes such as the crossing of the Red Sea at length. Biblical exegesis and figural allusions to Christ abound in the poetry of this period. Chapter 4 shifts the focus to Anglo-Saxon England and the study of Juvencus, Sedulius and Arator in the monastic schools of the time. Many Anglo-Latin writers, especially Aldhelm, Bede and Alcuin, borrow heavily from the style of late antique biblical verse. My purpose here is to deepen our understanding of the specific ways in which this is the case. Chapter 5 makes another transition, to Old English biblical poetry. My goal here is to explore the ways in which the Latin and vernacular traditions overlap. My approach is mainly stylistic, and I focus in particular on the biblical verse of the Junius manuscript, containaing Genesis A/B, Exodus, Daniel and Christ and Satan. Chapter 6 offers some conclusions about the variety of functions and audiences of this literature. I also suggest what work remains to be done and how knowledge of the Latin tradition informs our understanding of the literature of the Anglo-Saxon period. My goal, therefore, is to examine various ways in which poets of different eras versify the Bible by considering what is omitted from, elaborated upon and unique to a given period or author. Ultimately, I aim to show that Latin and Old English biblical verse have more in common that not and that knowledge of the former enriches understanding of the latter.

No description available.

This disertation thesis investigates a latin guide for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela The Guide was written in the first half of 12th century and is a part of the fifth book Liber Sancti Iacobi, also noun as Codex Calixtinus. The Guide is considered as the first middle-age itinerary containig information about pilgrimage to Santigo de Compostela. The autorship of the guide is credited to French pilgrim Aymericus Picaud. The text is divided into eleven chapters and brings information about a four main piglrim roads from France to Santiago. It informs how long and how difficult they are and where are the main hospices for pilgrims located. It includes not only these practictical information but also informs about important places for pilgrims and most known churches, which visitor schould visit. The large part of the Guide describes in detail Santiago de Compostela and St. James cathedrale. The aim of this study is to make a translation of the guide with interpretative commentary, where will be explained in particul special parts of the text, especially topography, pilgrimage churches and historical context. In this thesis the lexicology will be discused and described. The introductury study consists of the three parts and it is a vital part of the translation. In the first part of the...

A obra do poeta romano Públio Ovídio Nasão constou entre as mais lidas, copiadas, estudadas e reelaboradas durante o período denominado Idade Média. Para que se possa ter uma compreensão de quanto a poesia ovidiana determinou a poesia medieval, e de que maneira, e o que isso significa em termos práticos, teóricos e literários, é preciso investigar: primeiro, a presença de Ovídio na Idade Média, através dos manuscritos e catálogos, dos comentários e críticas sobre sua poesia, das vitae e das alusões presentes nos autores críticos medievais; em seguida, a relação entre Ovídio e os poetas medievais e seus desdobramentos; e, por fim, a discussão sobre os gêneros poéticos medievais que emerge do confronto entre a poética ovidiana, a prática da poesia na Idade Média e a preceituação poética elaborada nesse período. Como resultado de tais investigações, é possível supor uma hipótese de que as definições técnicas de gênero poético, tão difundidas no mundo clássico, já não são tão relevantes para a composição literária medieval, que elege como princípio basilar e fundador a imitação dos auctores em detrimento da imitação dos gêneros. / The poems of the Roman poet Ovid have stood between those most read, copied, studied and reworked during the so-called Middle Ages. In order to obtain an understanding of how much the Ovidian poetry has influenced the medieval poetry, and in which manner, and what does it mean in practical, theoretical and literary terms, it is necessary to investigate three steps. First, the presence of Ovid in the Middle Ages, through the manuscripts and catalogues of his texts, the commentaries and criticism over his poetry, the vitae and mentions by medieval critics. Second, the relation between Ovid and medieval poets and its consequences. And finally, the discussion on poetic genres which emerges from the comparison between Ovidian poetics, the practice of poetry in Middle Ages and the medieval precepts on poetry. As result, it is possible to propose a hypothesis that the technical definitions of poetic genre, so widespread in the Classical world, are no longer important to medieval literary composition, which on its turn elects as underlying principle the imitation of auctores in detriment of the imitation by genres.

Inaug.-Diss.--Leipzig. / "Erscheint zugleich als Heft 40 der ... 'Beiträge zur Kultur und Universalgeschichte.'" Vita. Bibliographical references included in "Anmerkungen" (p. [121]-130).

A obra do poeta romano Públio Ovídio Nasão constou entre as mais lidas, copiadas, estudadas e reelaboradas durante o período denominado Idade Média. Para que se possa ter uma compreensão de quanto a poesia ovidiana determinou a poesia medieval, e de que maneira, e o que isso significa em termos práticos, teóricos e literários, é preciso investigar: primeiro, a presença de Ovídio na Idade Média, através dos manuscritos e catálogos, dos comentários e críticas sobre sua poesia, das vitae e das alusões presentes nos autores críticos medievais; em seguida, a relação entre Ovídio e os poetas medievais e seus desdobramentos; e, por fim, a discussão sobre os gêneros poéticos medievais que emerge do confronto entre a poética ovidiana, a prática da poesia na Idade Média e a preceituação poética elaborada nesse período. Como resultado de tais investigações, é possível supor uma hipótese de que as definições técnicas de gênero poético, tão difundidas no mundo clássico, já não são tão relevantes para a composição literária medieval, que elege como princípio basilar e fundador a imitação dos auctores em detrimento da imitação dos gêneros. / The poems of the Roman poet Ovid have stood between those most read, copied, studied and reworked during the so-called Middle Ages. In order to obtain an understanding of how much the Ovidian poetry has influenced the medieval poetry, and in which manner, and what does it mean in practical, theoretical and literary terms, it is necessary to investigate three steps. First, the presence of Ovid in the Middle Ages, through the manuscripts and catalogues of his texts, the commentaries and criticism over his poetry, the vitae and mentions by medieval critics. Second, the relation between Ovid and medieval poets and its consequences. And finally, the discussion on poetic genres which emerges from the comparison between Ovidian poetics, the practice of poetry in Middle Ages and the medieval precepts on poetry. As result, it is possible to propose a hypothesis that the technical definitions of poetic genre, so widespread in the Classical world, are no longer important to medieval literary composition, which on its turn elects as underlying principle the imitation of auctores in detriment of the imitation by genres.

No description available.

The topic of this dissertation is a Medieval collection of 116 love letters (and fragments thereof), composed in all likelihood in the 12th century and commonly known today as "Epistulae duorum amantium". The only extant copy, penned by the Librarian of Clairvaux Abbey, comes from the latter half of the 15th century. The manuscript was discovered no sooner than in the 1970s and has been a subject of many questions ever since: It is not clear who the author of the original is or if the scribe copied a collection of genuine intimate correspondence or a work of rhetorical fiction (of the "ars dictaminis" genre). Nevertheless, certain aspects of the narrative and the relationship between the two lovers as depicted in the texts make some contemporary Medieval scholars believe that the collection might be an authentic record of the correspondence between the influential French theologian Abélard and his student Heloïse, written during the period of their mutual intensive romantic attachment. The aim of this dissertation is to present a complete Czech translation of the collection, accompanied by commentary and, using relevant works of secondary literature, to assess the current stage of research regarding the authenticity of the correspondence and its authorship.

À la croisée des études historiques et linguistiques, cette recherche vise à saisir le fonctionnement du langage et des langues dans les inscriptions médiévales, en tant qu'institution et pratique sociale, angle sous lequel elles n'avaient jamais été abordées. Les méthodes sociolinguistiques et d'analyse de discours y sont privilégiées pour traiter un corpus de 678 textes épigraphiques des XIIe-XIVe siècles de l'Ouest de la France. Les inscriptions sont un moyen de communication écrite avec un but de conservation de la mémoire et de transmission de l'information au public large, prenant place dans un matériau le plus souvent durable. À cette fin, elles utilisent des moyens langagiers et graphiques (des codes) qui leur sont propres et qui permettent de parler d'un « discours épigraphique ». Ces codes sont la brièveté, l'emploi des formules, des déictiques et l'usage des majuscules. En parallèle, le discours épigraphique a recours aux éléments de la rhétorique, montre une recherche esthétique et élabore une pragmatique. Au cours des XIIe- XIVe siècles, ce discours, jusque là en latin, accueille la langue romane, comme les autres sources écrites. Cette période est un « tuilage », car les deux langues cohabitent. Le français apparaît d'abord dans des mots isolés, puis à l'échelle de textes entiers, selon des chronologies variables suivant les régions. Ce changement linguistique est dû à de nouveaux acteurs de la communication, plus nombreux et plus diversifiés : les laïcs. Par l'entremise des inscriptions, le français pénètre publiquement et durablement dans des espaces où il n'était qu'oral, ceux de la sphère religieuse, et modifie ainsi son statut sociolinguistique. / This dissertation examines twelfth-to-fourteenth-century inscriptions in the west of France in order to understand how language was used, both as an institution and as social practice. The theoretic background is drawn from linguistic trends such as discourse analysis and sociolinguistics, and as a result, it is situated at the intersection of history and linguistics. Inscriptions, as a form of written communication, present durable messages preserved in stone, glass, metal, wood... These epigraphic messages use specific linguistic and graphic means (codes) that may be understood as a type of "epigraphic discourse." The codes consist of brevity, formulae, deictic words, and the use of capital letters. At the same time, the authors of inscriptions demonstrate an aesthetic and pragmatic use of rhetorical figures. Latin is the predominant language. However, a few noteworthy examples of inscriptions in French begin to appear in the twelfth century. The use of French for inscriptions becomes a widespread phenomenon from the second half of the thirteenth century onwards, but Latin does not disappear. At first, only a few words of an inscription are in French. Then, the vernacular is used for the entire text. This linguistic shift from Latin to French suggests the introduction of new actors in written communication: lay people. As the use of French for inscriptions increased, vernacular epigraphic texts begin to appear in ecclesiastical spaces, where the vernacular had only been used orally. Epigraphy allowed for sustainable exhibition of the vernacular language and, thus, provided French with a prestige that increased the language's perceived sociolinguistic status.