Medieval Latin Language and Literature

The master's degree programme in Medieval Latin language and literature provides an opportunity to learn about Latin works which have formed the European culture and its values in the course of thousand years. It evolves cultural knowledge and analytical abilities required nowadays in various disciplines.

Instrue, quid possis, animum, ne discere cesses. Catonis Disticha moralia III, 1.

The study of Medieval Latin language and literature is realised as a part of the main degree programme (maior) or as a single subject programme (completus). It aims to further extend and deepen language competencies and focuses on obtaining active knowledge of theoretical and methodological techniques employed in philology. With regard to the connection of the Middle Ages to Antiquity, this master's degree programme profits from the students’ knowledge of the classical Latin language and ancient Latin literature gained in the course of their bachelor studies. In contrast to the bachelor's degree, which specialises in the classical Latin language, the objective of this follow-up master's degree is to acquaint the students with all later phases of theLatin language and its development up to the late Middle Ages. Students will gain an overview of ortographic, phonological, morphological and syntactic phenomenona of the medieval Latin language, they will understand late ancient and medieval Latin differences from the normative Latin grammar and the so-called classical style. They will gain orientation in the changes of the Latin vocabulary untill the late Middle Ages. Students will also obtain detailed knowledge of the Bohemian and European medieval literature written in Latin, the plurality of the given genre, formal and content related pecularities as well as good knowledge of the history of literature, medieval libraries and writings, and a general knowledge of political history of the Middle Ages.

The study of Medieval latin language and literature as a minor study degree (minor) is suitable to students whose study degrees are based on the work with Latin primary sources. This minor degree provides students with a detailed knowledge of the development of the Latin language and literature and the related medieval sociocultural context, which are pertinent to or supplement their major fields of study. A very important part of the study is represented by reading the original texts, which leads up to the competence of multilateral interpretation of the Latin texts (i.e. from the gramatical, literary and cultural-historical point of view). These skills are also exercised by reading the medieval works in English translation.

Practical training

This programme does not require practical training.

Further information

http://classics.phil.muni.cz/studium

The graduates of this study programme are well-suited for any profession in cultural institutions, e.g. museums, archives or libraries, where medieval texts and other medieval material is preserved. They will be able to independently and critically work with primary sources, use informative textual sources and deal with medieval literary material. These skills will provide an ideal basis for working at research institutes specialized in the humanities, such as the Academy of Sciences or universities. Our alumni/ae will be also ready to work as lecturers at universities or teachers of history and modern languages at high schools. Many of our graduates also work as advisors in publishing houses or various media, including the TV or radio channels.

After completion of the Master’s studies, it is possible to continue in a doctoral programme in medieval Latin studies: Latinská medievistika. This interdisciplinary programme can be studied as a 1. single-subject programme in Medieval Latin Language and Literature; or with a 2. specialization in the so-called Historical Languages of the Czech Lands, which offer insight into not only Latin, but also Czech and German written cultures, which together formed the historical context of the medieval Czech lands.