The Course “Germanic Philology 1 LM” falls within the domain of the Complementary learning activities of the Degree Course in Modern Languages for International Communication, specifically the activities aiming at providing adequate tools for the analysis of texts in the light of their transmission and cultural context.
The course envisages either an introduction (Group B) or, building on the results achieved during the philology courses of the First Cycle (Group A), further study of the content, methodological and analytical domains of the subject, reinforcing the competence previously acquired, and obtaining a solid preparation in the field of the history of medieval languages and literatures also with regard to their transition towards the early modern period.
Expected Learning Outcomes: The student will acquire advanced understanding of the principles and methods of the subject and will acquire solid competence in the history of medieval languages and literatures.
The course envisages either an introduction (Group B) or, building on the results achieved during the philology courses of the First Cycle (Group A), further study of the content, methodological and analytical domains of the subject, reinforcing the competence previously acquired, and obtaining a solid preparation in the field of the history of medieval languages and literatures also with regard to their transition towards the early modern period.
Expected Learning Outcomes: The student will acquire advanced understanding of the principles and methods of the subject and will acquire solid competence in the history of medieval languages and literatures.
teacher profile teaching materials
The course will analyze the different ways in which the Old English Poetry dealt with the descriptions of the ‘wild nature’, producing different representations that each time adapt the recurrent elements of a rich and articulate shared heritage of formulas to the specific narrative context. The “elsewhere” coincides with a realistic wintry Nord-European landscape, it is characterized by unpleasant sensory perceptions as darkness and cold, that in turn evoke unpleasant emotions as sorrow, anxiety, grief; the “elsewhere” is a place of absence, of loss, without light and heat, without joy and harmony of the social life”–. The theme will be identified through the reading of passages from very different poems – such as Maxims, Beowulf, Wife’s Lament , Seafarer, Wanderer, Riming Poem, Ruin, Genesis, Christ III, Christ and Satan, Andreas, Phoenix). References will also be made to other works from the Germanic world, both from the Continental and Norse traditions.
The philological-literary analysis of the texts will be accompanied by the study of the main lexical, morphological and syntactical changes that have occurred in the English language over the centuries.
Students (who will be guided in their choice of topics and bibliographic material) will be required to submit a paper, individually or in groups, on literary-historical, linguistic and textual topics related to works of the Germanic Middle Ages.
History of Old English literature
One of the following texts:
M. Godden-M. Lapidge, The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2013.
H. Magennis, The Cambridge Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Literature, Cambridge Unversity Press, Cambridge 2011.
R.D. Fulk – C. Cain, A History of Old English Literature, Wynley Blackwell, Oxford 2013.
History of the English language
One of the following texts
A.C. Baugh – T. Cable, A History of the English Language, Routledge, London 1994.
C. Barber, The English Language: a Historical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009.
Textual criticism
A. M.Luiselli Fadda, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel Medioevo germanico, Roma-Bari: Laterza 2004 (Parte II e III).
Additional bibliographical material (critical editions, glossaries, critical essays etc.) will be provided during the course
Programme
The representation of the ‘wild natur’ in Medieval English literature.The course will analyze the different ways in which the Old English Poetry dealt with the descriptions of the ‘wild nature’, producing different representations that each time adapt the recurrent elements of a rich and articulate shared heritage of formulas to the specific narrative context. The “elsewhere” coincides with a realistic wintry Nord-European landscape, it is characterized by unpleasant sensory perceptions as darkness and cold, that in turn evoke unpleasant emotions as sorrow, anxiety, grief; the “elsewhere” is a place of absence, of loss, without light and heat, without joy and harmony of the social life”–. The theme will be identified through the reading of passages from very different poems – such as Maxims, Beowulf, Wife’s Lament , Seafarer, Wanderer, Riming Poem, Ruin, Genesis, Christ III, Christ and Satan, Andreas, Phoenix). References will also be made to other works from the Germanic world, both from the Continental and Norse traditions.
The philological-literary analysis of the texts will be accompanied by the study of the main lexical, morphological and syntactical changes that have occurred in the English language over the centuries.
Students (who will be guided in their choice of topics and bibliographic material) will be required to submit a paper, individually or in groups, on literary-historical, linguistic and textual topics related to works of the Germanic Middle Ages.
Core Documentation
History of Old English literature
One of the following texts:
M. Godden-M. Lapidge, The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2013.
H. Magennis, The Cambridge Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Literature, Cambridge Unversity Press, Cambridge 2011.
R.D. Fulk – C. Cain, A History of Old English Literature, Wynley Blackwell, Oxford 2013.
History of the English language
One of the following texts
A.C. Baugh – T. Cable, A History of the English Language, Routledge, London 1994.
C. Barber, The English Language: a Historical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009.
Textual criticism
A. M.Luiselli Fadda, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel Medioevo germanico, Roma-Bari: Laterza 2004 (Parte II e III).
Additional bibliographical material (critical editions, glossaries, critical essays etc.) will be provided during the course
Reference Bibliography
History of Old English literature One of the following texts: M. Godden-M. Lapidge, The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2013. H. Magennis, The Cambridge Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Literature, Cambridge Unversity Press, Cambridge 2011. R.D. Fulk – C. Cain, A History of Old English Literature, Wynley Blackwell, Oxford 2013. History of the English language One of the following texts A.C. Baugh – T. Cable, A History of the English Language, Routledge, London 1994. C. Barber, The English Language: a Historical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009. Textual criticism A. M.Luiselli Fadda, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel Medioevo germanico, Roma-Bari: Laterza 2004 (Parte II e III). Additional bibliographical material (critical editions, glossaries, critical essays etc.) will be provided during the courseAttendance
Students are invited to attend classes. Those who cannot attend them are requested to contact the teacher at the beginning of the courseType 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 and the acquisition of the use of a specialized vocabulary; (d) the acquisition of the discipline's own methods of inquiry; (e) the results of individual investigations. Marks: from 18 to 30 cum laude.