Classics

The course aims to introduce students to the fundamentals of Romance Philology and to provide theoretical and practical tools for reading, analyzing, and interpreting medieval Romance texts, with a particular focus on textual transmission and Dante’s works. Detailed syllabus 1. Introduction to the discipline o Definition and scope of Romance Philology. o From Vulgar Latin to the Romance languages: main stages of evolution. o Methods of textual criticism: transmission, error, variants, stemma codicum. o Ernst Robert Curtius and Erich Auerbach. 2. Manuscript tradition and critical editions o Typology of medieval manuscripts. o The critical apparatus: functions and interpretation. o Examples of editions of medieval Romance texts. 3. Romance languages and literatures in the Middle Ages o Troubadour poetry. o Old French romance. o Early vernacular texts in Italian literature. 4. Dante and Romance Philology o Dante and the tradition of the Romance vernaculars. o The manuscript transmission of the Commedia: textual and interpretative issues. o Reading and commentary on selected passages from the Commedia. o Dante’s reception. 5. Tools and methodologies o Introduction to major bibliographical and digital resources in Romance Philology. o Comparative linguistic and stylistic methods across Romance texts. o Case studies on Dante’s textual tradition.

None.

Texts:

 Auerbach, E. “Sermo humilis”, in Literary Language and its Public, transl. by R. Manheim, Princeton University Press, 1965, pp. 25–66. Curtius, E. R. European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, 2013: “The Latin Middle Ages” (pp. 17–35); “Rhetoric” (pp. 62–78); “Topics” (pp. 79–105); “Metaphorics” (pp. 128–144). Inglese, G. Come si legge un’edizione critica. Elementi di filologia italiana, Carocci editore, Roma, 2004. Steinberg, J. “The Author”, in The Oxford Handbook of Dante, ed. by M. Gragnolati, E. Lombardi and F. Southerden, Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 3–16. Trovato, P. Everything you always wanted to know about Lachman’s method, Revised Edition, libreriauniversitaria.it edizioni, 2014; Introduction (pp. 39–45); Part 1 (pp. 49–75). Van Vleck, Amelia E. “The Lyric Texts”, in A Handbook of the Troubadours, ed. by F. R. P. Akehurst and J. M. Davis, University of California Press, 1995, pp. 21–60. Zinelli, F. “The Manuscript Tradition, or on editing Dante”, in The Oxford Handbook of Dante, ed. by M. Gragnolati, E. Lombardi and F. Southerden, Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 63–78. Students should also have a good knowledge of the following cantos of Dante’s Commedia:
 Inferno V; Inferno X;
 Inferno XXVIII;
 Purgatorio XI. Further didactic materials will be available in the Classroom of the Course.

Lessons normally take place in person. Occasionally, distance learning may be proposed due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. transport strikes, temporary unavailability of classrooms, etc.). Attendance is not compulsory but is strongly encouraged.

Written exam on the fundamentals of the discipline and discussion of a Dantean text or on an episode of Dante’s reception.

• Lectures and practical text analysis. • Guided reading of original texts. • Seminar-style discussion.