The Course “Philology 2 A” falls within the domain of the Complementary learning activities of the Degree Course in Languages and Cultural-Linguistic Mediation, specifically the activities aiming at providing adequate tools for the analysis of texts in the light of their transmission and cultural context.
Building on the results achieved in the course “Philology 1”, the course aims to provide a wider and deeper perspective on the principal methodological domains of the subject, applied to the analysis of texts drawn from one or more branches of the Romance / Germanic literary tradition.
Expected Learning Outcomes: The student will acquire an in-depth understanding of the principles and methods of the subject and will learn how to apply them in the analysis of texts originating from one or more branches of the Romance / Germanic literary tradition.
Building on the results achieved in the course “Philology 1”, the course aims to provide a wider and deeper perspective on the principal methodological domains of the subject, applied to the analysis of texts drawn from one or more branches of the Romance / Germanic literary tradition.
Expected Learning Outcomes: The student will acquire an in-depth understanding of the principles and methods of the subject and will learn how to apply them in the analysis of texts originating from one or more branches of the Romance / Germanic literary tradition.
teacher profile teaching materials
One of the most representative texts of Anglo-Saxon literature, Beowulf, will be read and examined in the light of a comparison with other literary works of the English Middle Ages.
The following topics will be dealt with: the history of the codex that transmits the work; poetic and stylistic techniques; the literary genres that can be identified in the poem and the most significant themes (such as, for example, hospitality, codes of behaviour, the transience of life, the "beasts of battle"); the function of monologues and dialogues for the characterisation of individual speakers; the role of landscape descriptions; lexical variety; modern translations and reception.
Problems of a philological, linguistic and literary nature will be analysed, taking into account the peculiarities of Anglo-Saxon production, its relations to other texts of the Latin and Germanic tradition and the ways in which motifs derived from these traditions have been employed.
- Giuseppe Brunetti, ed., Beowulf, Roma: Carocci 2001(passi scelti).
Per la lettura delle altre opere anglosassoni che saranno analizzate durante il corso si consiglia l'uso di B. Mitchell – F. C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2008, 7th ed. o la consultazione del sito The Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ascp/)
History of Old English Literature.
One of the following texts:
- F. C. Robinson, Old English, in B. Murdoch - M. Read (edd.), Early Germanic Literature and Culture, Camden House, Rochester-New York 2004, pp. 205-233.
- M. Francini, La letteratura anglosassone, in M. Battaglia (ed.), Le civiltà letterarie del Medioevo germanico, Carocci, Roma 2017, pp. 137-276.
- S. B. Greenfield and D.G. Calder, A New Critical History of Old English Literature, New York and Londob: New York University Press 1986.
- M. Godden-M. Lapidge, The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991.
A choice of critical essays from the following list:
-Leo Carruthers, (2011). Rewriting Genres: Beowulf as Epic Romance. In: Carruthers, L., Chai-Elsholz, R., Silec, T. (eds), Palimpsests and the Literary Imagination of Medieval England, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011, pp. 139-155.
-Michelet, Fabienne L. 2015. Hospitality, hostility, and peacemaking in beowulf. Philological Quarterly 94, (1) (Winter): 23-50
-Christine Fell, Perception of Transience, in Malcolm Godden, Michael Lapidge (edd.), in: The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 172-189.
-Michelet, Fabienne L. Michelet, Hospitality, Hostility, and Peacemaking in Beowulf. Philological Quarterly 94, 2015, pp. 23-50.
- Robert E. Bjork, Speech as Gift in Beowulf, in Speculum, 69, No. 4 (1994), pp. 993-1022.
- Andy Orchard, Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript, Cambridge, D.S. Brewer 1995 (selected chapters).
- Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, Cambridge, D.S.Brewer 2007 (chap. 7: Words and Deeds, pp. 203-237).
- Elaine T. Hansen, Hrothgar's ‘sermon’ in Beowulf as parental wisdom, in Anglo-Saxon England 10 (1981), pp. 53-67.
- Joseph Harris, Beowulf’s Last Words, in Speculum 67 (1992), pp. 1-32.
- Marie Nelson, Beowulf's Boast Words, in Neophilologus 89:2 (2005): 299-310.
- Margaret Gelling, The Landscape of ‘Beowulf’” , in Anglo-Saxon England, 31 (2002), pp. 7–11.
- Roderick W. McConchie, “THE USE OF THE VERB ‘MAÞELIAN’ IN ‘BEOWULF.’”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 101, no. 1 (2000): 59–68.
- Hugh Magennis. “THE ‘BEOWULF’ POET AND HIS ‘DRUNCNE DRYHTGUMAN.”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, vol. 86, no. 2, 1985, pp. 159–64.
- Carol Clover, “The Germanic Context of the Unferþ Episode”, in Speculum LV, 3 (1980), pp. 444-468.
Old English Grammars
One of the following texts:
- B. Mitchell - F. C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, Blackwell, Oxford 2008.
- R. Lass, Old English: a Historical Linguistic Companion, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993.
- G. Mazzuoli Porru, Manuale di inglese antico, Giardini, Pisa 1992.
- J. Wright, Old English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press, 1984 (3rd ed.), https://archive.org/details/oldenglishgramm02wriggoog/mode/2up
- Michael D.C. Drout, King Alfred's Grammar:
https://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/KingAlfredGrammar.html
Textual criticism
- A.M. Luiselli Fadda, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel Medioevo germanico, Laterza, Bari-Roma 2010 (Parte I).
Additional material (critical editions, glossaries, critical essays etc.) will be provided during the course.
Students are advised to attend classes. Those who cannot attend them are requested to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course.
Programme
Beowulf and the others.One of the most representative texts of Anglo-Saxon literature, Beowulf, will be read and examined in the light of a comparison with other literary works of the English Middle Ages.
The following topics will be dealt with: the history of the codex that transmits the work; poetic and stylistic techniques; the literary genres that can be identified in the poem and the most significant themes (such as, for example, hospitality, codes of behaviour, the transience of life, the "beasts of battle"); the function of monologues and dialogues for the characterisation of individual speakers; the role of landscape descriptions; lexical variety; modern translations and reception.
Problems of a philological, linguistic and literary nature will be analysed, taking into account the peculiarities of Anglo-Saxon production, its relations to other texts of the Latin and Germanic tradition and the ways in which motifs derived from these traditions have been employed.
Core Documentation
Texts:- Giuseppe Brunetti, ed., Beowulf, Roma: Carocci 2001(passi scelti).
Per la lettura delle altre opere anglosassoni che saranno analizzate durante il corso si consiglia l'uso di B. Mitchell – F. C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2008, 7th ed. o la consultazione del sito The Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ascp/)
History of Old English Literature.
One of the following texts:
- F. C. Robinson, Old English, in B. Murdoch - M. Read (edd.), Early Germanic Literature and Culture, Camden House, Rochester-New York 2004, pp. 205-233.
- M. Francini, La letteratura anglosassone, in M. Battaglia (ed.), Le civiltà letterarie del Medioevo germanico, Carocci, Roma 2017, pp. 137-276.
- S. B. Greenfield and D.G. Calder, A New Critical History of Old English Literature, New York and Londob: New York University Press 1986.
- M. Godden-M. Lapidge, The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991.
A choice of critical essays from the following list:
-Leo Carruthers, (2011). Rewriting Genres: Beowulf as Epic Romance. In: Carruthers, L., Chai-Elsholz, R., Silec, T. (eds), Palimpsests and the Literary Imagination of Medieval England, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011, pp. 139-155.
-Michelet, Fabienne L. 2015. Hospitality, hostility, and peacemaking in beowulf. Philological Quarterly 94, (1) (Winter): 23-50
-Christine Fell, Perception of Transience, in Malcolm Godden, Michael Lapidge (edd.), in: The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 172-189.
-Michelet, Fabienne L. Michelet, Hospitality, Hostility, and Peacemaking in Beowulf. Philological Quarterly 94, 2015, pp. 23-50.
- Robert E. Bjork, Speech as Gift in Beowulf, in Speculum, 69, No. 4 (1994), pp. 993-1022.
- Andy Orchard, Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript, Cambridge, D.S. Brewer 1995 (selected chapters).
- Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, Cambridge, D.S.Brewer 2007 (chap. 7: Words and Deeds, pp. 203-237).
- Elaine T. Hansen, Hrothgar's ‘sermon’ in Beowulf as parental wisdom, in Anglo-Saxon England 10 (1981), pp. 53-67.
- Joseph Harris, Beowulf’s Last Words, in Speculum 67 (1992), pp. 1-32.
- Marie Nelson, Beowulf's Boast Words, in Neophilologus 89:2 (2005): 299-310.
- Margaret Gelling, The Landscape of ‘Beowulf’” , in Anglo-Saxon England, 31 (2002), pp. 7–11.
- Roderick W. McConchie, “THE USE OF THE VERB ‘MAÞELIAN’ IN ‘BEOWULF.’”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 101, no. 1 (2000): 59–68.
- Hugh Magennis. “THE ‘BEOWULF’ POET AND HIS ‘DRUNCNE DRYHTGUMAN.”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, vol. 86, no. 2, 1985, pp. 159–64.
- Carol Clover, “The Germanic Context of the Unferþ Episode”, in Speculum LV, 3 (1980), pp. 444-468.
Old English Grammars
One of the following texts:
- B. Mitchell - F. C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, Blackwell, Oxford 2008.
- R. Lass, Old English: a Historical Linguistic Companion, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993.
- G. Mazzuoli Porru, Manuale di inglese antico, Giardini, Pisa 1992.
- J. Wright, Old English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press, 1984 (3rd ed.), https://archive.org/details/oldenglishgramm02wriggoog/mode/2up
- Michael D.C. Drout, King Alfred's Grammar:
https://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/KingAlfredGrammar.html
Textual criticism
- A.M. Luiselli Fadda, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel Medioevo germanico, Laterza, Bari-Roma 2010 (Parte I).
Additional material (critical editions, glossaries, critical essays etc.) will be provided during the course.
Students are advised to attend classes. Those who cannot attend them are requested to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course.
Type of delivery of the course
Lectures, seminars, tutorials and guidance in the use of dictionaries, major bibliographical tools and corpora.Type of evaluation
The oral examination aims to test: (a) the knowledge of the content of the texts given in the syllabus and of the problems discussed during the semester; (b) the ability to critically rework the acquired knowledge and place the texts in their historical, cultural and linguistic context; (c) the expressive skills; (d) the acquisition of the discipline's own methods of inquiry; (e) the ability to conduct lexical and bibliographical researches independently. Marks: from 18 to 30 cum laude.