LATIN LITERATURE

the body of writings in Latin, primarily produced during the Roman republic and empire, when Latin was a spoken language, and also during the medieval and Renaissance periods, when it was used as a language of ritual, scholarship, and officialdom. It has been said that the development of ancient, or classic, Latin literature was determined by its dependence on Greek originals, but this is only partly true. From an early stage a quality of Latinity asserted itself, and part of the beauty and vigour of Latin literature arises from the fusion of Greek elements with that robust native element. When the 1st-century BC poet Virgil forged out of the Latin language an instrument as subtle and polished as the poetry used in the Aeneid, he did not discard its pristine qualities such as the percussive alliteration that is met, in cruder form, in 3rd-century BC poets. It was the Greeks, however, who bequeathed most of the genres of literature produced by the Romans: epic, drama, lyric and other personal types of poetry, history, oratory, and philosophy. To these the Romans added satire (literally a medley) and a forerunner of the novel. the body of writings in Latin, primarily produced during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, when Latin was a spoken language. When Rome fell, Latin remained the literary language of the Western medieval world until it was superseded by the Romance languages it had generated and by other modern languages. After the Renaissance the writing of Latin was increasingly confined to the narrow limits of certain ecclesiastical and academic publications. This article focuses primarily on ancient Latin literature. It does, however, provide a broad overview of the literary works produced in Latin by European writers during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Additional reading Ancient Detailed and documented accounts include W.S. Teuffel, Teuffel's History of Roman Literature, new ed., 2 vol. (189192, reprinted 1967; originally published in German, 5th rev. ed. 1890); Martin Schanz, Geschichte der rmischen Literatur bis zum Gesetzgebungswerk des Kaisers Justinian, rev. by Carl Hosius and G. Kruger, 4 vol. in 5 (191435, reissued 196671); Augusto Rostagni, Storia della letterature latina, 3rd ed., 3 vol. (1964), sumptuously illustrated; Eduard Norden, Die rmische Literature, 6th ed. (1961); H.J. Rose, A Handbook of Latin Literature from the Earliest Times to the Death of St. Augustine, 3rd ed. (1954, reprinted with supp. bibliog., 1966); and E.J. Kenney and W.V. Clausen (eds.), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, vol. 2, Latin Literature (1982). J. Wight Duff, A Literary History of Rome: From the Origins to the Close of the Golden Age, 3rd ed., ed. by A.M. Duff (1953, reprinted 1967), and A Literary History of Rome in the Silver Age: From Tiberius to Hadrian, 3rd ed., ed. by A.M. Duff (1964), is a standard introduction containing comprehensive and scholarly surveys, with supplementary bibliographies. Shorter accounts are J.W. Mackail, Latin Literature, 2nd rev. ed. (1896, reissued 1966); Michael Grant, Roman Literature, new ed. (1958); and Karl Buchner, Rmische Literaturgeschichte, 5th ed. (1980). On poets, see W.Y. Sellar, The Roman Poets of the Republic, 3rd ed. (1889, reprinted 1965), The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age: Virgil, 3rd ed. (1897, reprinted 1965), and The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age: Horace and the Elegiac Poets, 2nd ed. (1899, reprinted 1965); H.E. Butler, Post-Augustan Poetry from Seneca to Juvenal (1909, reprinted 1977); and J. Wight Duff, Roman Satire (1936, reissued 1964). General works include H. Bardon, La Littrature latine inconnue (1952); F. Klingner, Rmische Geisteswelt, 5th ed. (1965, reprinted 1979); M.L. Clarke, Rhetoric at Rome (1953, reprinted 1968), and The Roman Mind (1956, reissued 1968); S.F. Bonner, Roman Declamation in the Late Republic and Early Empire (1949, reprinted 1969); W. Beare, The Roman Stage, 3rd rev. ed. (1964, reprinted 1977), and Latin Verse and European Song (1957); and Gordon Williams, Tradition and Originality in Roman Poetry (1968). For an account of Latin studies see M. Platnauer (ed.), Fifty Years (and Twelve) of Classical Scholarship, 2nd rev. ed. (1968); and the annual bibliography in L'Anne philologique, published by the International Society of Classical Bibliography in Paris. Posthumous influence of various authors is traced in G. Highet, The Classical Tradition (1949, reprinted 1957); and R.R. Bolgar, The Classical Heritage and Its Beneficiaries (1954, reprinted 1977). Middle Ages Adolf Ebert, Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur des Mittelalters in Abendland, 2nd ed., 3 vol. (188089, reprinted 1971); Gustavo Vinay, Alto midioevo latino: conversazioni e no (1978); Bernhard Bischoff, Mittelalterliche Studien, 2 vol. (196667); Christine Mohrmann, tudes sur le latin des chrtiens, 3 vol. (195861); K. Strecker, Introduction to Medieval Latin (1957, reissued 1968; originally published in German, 2nd ed., 1929); Giovanni Cremaschi, Guida allo studio del latino medievale (1959); F.A. Wright and T.A. Sinclair, A History of Later Latin Literature from the Middle of the Fourth to the End of the Seventeenth Century (1931, reprinted 1969); M. Hlin, A History of Medieval Latin Literature, rev. ed. (1949, originally published in French, 1943); Pierre De Labriolle, Histoire de la littrature latine chrtienne, 2 vol., 3rd ed. (1947); M.L.W. Laistner, Thought and Letters in Western Europe, A.D. 500 to 900, new ed. (1957); Max Manitius, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters, 3 vol. (192331, reprinted 196574); J. De Ghellinck, Littrature latine au moyen age, 2 vol. (1939), L'Essor de la littrature latine au XIIe, 2 vol. (1946); C.H. Haskins, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century (1927, reissued 1971); and Ernst Robert Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages (1953, reprinted 1983; originally published in German, 1948). On the poetry of the period, see Frederic J.E. Raby, A History of Christian-Latin Poetry from the Beginnings to the Close of the Middle Ages, 2nd ed. (1953, reprinted 1966), and A History of Secular Latin Poetry in the Middle Ages, 2 vol., 2nd ed. (1957, reprinted 1967); Max Manitius, Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Poesie (1891); Dag L. Norberg, La Posie latine rhythmique du Haut Moyen Age (1954); Jacques Fontaine, Naissance de la posie dans l'occident Chrtien (1981); and Peter Godman (ed.), Poetry of the Carolingian Renaissance (1985). Renaissance P. Van Tieghem, La Littrature latine de la Renaissance (1944, reprinted 1966); Wilfred P. Mustard (ed.), Studies in the Renaissance Pastoral, 6 vol. (191131); Georg Ellinger, Geschichte der neulateinischen Literatur Deutschlands im sechzehnten Jahrhundert, 3 vol. (192933, reprinted 1969); Wolfgang Mann, Lateinische Dichtung in England vom Ausgang der Frhhumanismus bis zum Regierungsantritt Elisabeths (1939); John Sparrow, Latin Verse of the High Renaissance, in E.F. Jacob (ed.), Italian Renaissance Studies (1960); Alessandro Perosa and John Sparrow (eds. and comps.), Renaissance Latin Verse: An Anthology (1979); Roberto Weiss, The Dawn of Humanism in Italy (1947, reprinted 1970), The Spread of Italian Humanism (1964), and Humanism in England During the Fifteenth Century, 3rd ed. (1967); and Hans Baron, The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance (1966). The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica Medieval Latin literature From about 500 to 1500 Latin was the principal language of the church, as well as of administration, theology, philosophy, science, history, biography, and belles lettres, and medieval Latin literature is therefore remarkably rich. Two themes dominate the linguistic and literary development of medieval Latin: its close and creative adaptation of the classical heritage from which it emerged and its changing relationship with the medieval vernacular languages. Within these two broad themes a number of subsidiary yet significant strains can be distinguished: the emergence of national characteristics in the Latin literature produced in different parts of Europe; the refinement of the polarity between popular and learned Latin by the clergy's use of a colloquialism intelligible to its audience as a lingua franca; and the effect of certain periods of special vigour and artistic self-awareness, such as the Carolingian revival of the 8th and 9th centuries and the new impulse given to learned and vernacular literature in the 12th. The 3rd to the 5th century: the rise of Christian Latin literature The early history of medieval Latin literature is in part the story of the reception of the classical past by the Christians, to whom it represented secular culture. Old forms and genres were continuously renewed over the millennium following the entrance of Christians to the circle of literary production, dated for convenience to the conversion of Constantine to Christianity (about AD 313). For example, the Latin epic persisted in recognizable form throughout the period, and its authors remained in continuous contact with the great classical exponents Lucan, Statius, and, above all, Virgil. From the 4th century, the degree of scholarly interpretation applied to these epic poets, especially Virgil, was intensified. Virgilian technique was imitated by many poets, among them the 4th-century Spaniard Juvencus, who versified a portion of the Bible, and the author of the epic poem Waltharius (probably 9th century), written in hexameters. Even before the conversion of Constantine, Christians were developing new forms of literature, which persisted throughout the ensuing centuries. The production of hagiographical texts (lives of the saints) was widespread in the Middle Ages. The first Acts of the Martyrs in Latin were written during the 3rd century, and the flowering of the form after the end of the period of persecution of Christians shows the powerful appeal that it exercised at all levels of society. The Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis (The Passion of SS. Perpetua and Felicity), written in a style that owes little to classical precedent, is a distinctive early example of the genre. The 3rd and 4th centuries were above all an age of translation. Among the Greek patristic writings diffused to a wider audience in the West in Latin versions, the lives of the Desert Fathers occupied an important place. The Latin translation by Evagrius, bishop of Antioch, of Athanasius' Life of Saint Antony enjoyed the widest transmission, and its influence is as marked by contrast in the early Latin Lives of the Saints as it is by imitation. Sulpicius Severus' biography of St. Martin, an original Latin work, greatly influenced hagiography over many centuries. (A further, equally influential example of the genre was the Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great, written in about 593.) The most important work of translation appeared at the end of the 4th century: the Vulgate, completed by the monastic leader Jerome, replaced sporadic earlier attempts to render the Bible into Latin. The idiom and style of the Bible's original languages were apparent through the veil of Jerome's Latin, however, and provided a counterweight to the classical styles that continued to be taught and practiced through the schools in the West. Exegesis of the text occupied many of the greatest minds of the Middle Ages for the largest part of their careers, and the literary work of many major authors, from Augustine and Gregory to Bede, reflects their individual understanding of Scripture. The early Christian liturgy also gave birth to new forms of literature. From the ancient practice of psalmody in the churches derives the hymn. Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the second half of the 4th century, wrote the earliest prosaic hymns, which incorporated nonliturgical texts into the mass to be sung by the congregation. These were rapidly imitated, notably by the Spanish poet Prudentius at the end of the century, and remained in continuous use in churches and monasteries for more than a millennium. A major problem of Christian thinkers in these centuries was the integration of the history of the pagan empire with the history of salvation. Synthesis and epitome of biblical and classical history appeared in the Historiarum adversus paganos libri VII (7 Books of Histories Against the Pagans) of Orosius and the briefer Chronica (c. 402404) of Sulpicius Severus. On a larger scale, Augustine's De civitate Dei (The City of God) offered a comprehensive view of past history, the present, and the world to come in the light of scriptural revelation. His spiritual autobiography, the Confessiones (Confessions), was an exploration of the philosophical and emotional development of an individual soul. The distinctive originality of this work owed little to classical autobiography and was unmatched by later imitations. The Gallic schools of the 5th century gave rise to a literary culture unique in this period. Versification of the Bible developed a new degree of exegetical and stylistic refinement, while the letters of Paulinus of Nola and Sidonius Apollinaris, bishop of Auvergne, display a picture of cultivated aristocratic and ecclesiastical society. Both men were also admired as poets, Sidonius in particular as an encomiast. On the secular side, at the beginning of the century in Rome the Egyptian poet Claudian produced the most elaborate examples of imperial verse panegyric to a succession of dignitaries. His Raptus Proserpinae (c. 400; The Rape of Proserpine) is one of the last examples of an extended narrative in verse that dwells wholly in the world of pagan mythology. Renaissance Latin literature The term Renaissance Latin is associated, for 14th-century Italy, mainly with Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, though mention should also be made of the Florentine historian Leonardo Bruni and the humanist scholars Albertino Mussato, Coluccio Salutati, and Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II). In verse there was a general return to classical models and elegance, while in prose Latin was still a necessary medium for the abundant humanistic, scientific, philosophical, and religious literature that was a mark of the new age. In Italy there were three main centres of learning and literature in the 15th and 16th centuries: Florence, Rome, and Naples. Each had its own circle of writers and scholars. The Florentine group was noted for the Platonist philosophers Poggio Bracciolini, Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and a poet and scholar, Angelo Poliziano. Rome was the centre for a grammarian, Pietro Bembo, and for Marco Vida, author of a Latin epic on the redemption, while Naples was the home of poets and scholars, notably Giovanni Pontano, Jacopo Sannazzaro, Lorenzo Valla, and Girolamo Fracastoro. Germany and the Low Countries also made a large contribution in prose and verse to Latin literature in the 15th and 16th centuries. Many humanists owed their early education to the Brethren of the Common Life, a Dutch Christian community that laid great emphasis on the classics. Among these was Desiderius Erasmus, the greatest figure of the northern Renaissance. Bred in the rhetorical tradition of literary humanism, he had little interest in the scientific premonitions of the age. As an editor and expositor of classical texts and the writings of the Church Fathers, as a commentator on the ecclesiastical conflicts of his time, and as a scholar, wit, and satirist, he was unsurpassed by any humanist in northern Europe. A German abbot, Johannes Trithemius, was a historian and scholar with an immense range of interests and knowledge; Conradus Celtis was conspicuous as a humanist and poet; while Petrus Lotichius wrote elegant verse. Spanish humanism was best seen in the scholar and friend of Erasmus, Juan Vives, while in England the statesman and scholar Sir Thomas More was the outstanding figure. Polydore Virgil, an Italian, brought the new methods of historical writing into England, though a poet and historian, Tito Livio Frulovisi, had written a life of Henry V that influenced later English writers. Among many Latin poets should be mentioned George Buchanan and John Barclay, both Scots. The strong English tradition of classical verse composition in the schools was shown in the Latin poems of such 17th-century poets as John Milton, Henry Vaughan, Richard Crashaw, and Abraham Cowley. In France, where, as in England, the Renaissance came late, some members of the group of writers known as La Pliade wrote Latin verse. Despite the eventual triumph of the French vernacular, Latin poems continued to be written, and several hymns composed in classical forms were included in church services in the 17th and 18th centuries. Frederic James Edward Raby Until the early 18th century, Latin was recognized as the best medium for historical and scientific work if it were intended to reach a European audience. For this reason Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, Erasmus and More, and later Francis Bacon, Hugo Grotius, Ren Descartes, Benedict Spinoza, and Sir Isaac Newton used what was still an international language.