Medieval Latin Language and Literature

Medieval Latin Language and Literature, i.e. the philology of the Latin Middle Ages, is a pivotal branch of European Medieval Studies. As a discipline that makes primary sources of information written in Latin accessible to medievalists, it provides the necessary foundations for all branches of science that deal with the European Middle Ages. Such branches include history, philosophy, theology, archaeology, art history, music history, history of science as well as the historical parts of social sciences (psychology, sociology). Most importantly, Medieval Latin Language and Literature is a standalone discipline in its own right. Apart from making accessible a wide spectrum of sources written in Latin, it provides their critical interpretation and contextualizes them in terms of the wider literary and historical tradition of European culture. The intrinsic nature of Medieval Latin Language and Literature makes this field of research truly interdisciplinary. This discipline is irreplaceable in the process of understanding the history of Europe in the Middle Ages as well as the origins of the phenomenon of modern Europe.

Doctoral programme in Medieval Latin Language and Literature can be studied:

1. as a single subject Medieval Latin Language and Literature: this study plan focuses primarily on material written in medieval Latin. It familiarises students in a detailed manner with medieval Latin language and literature in its widest cultural context. The aim of this programme is to prepare professional and competent researchers in the field of medieval Latin language and literature;

2. with specialization in the Historical languages of the Czech lands: this study plan is organized on the basis of Latin-German-Czech character of medieval literature and deals with other languages that were used in written sources of Bohemian provenance. Therefore, the aim of this study plan is to provide students with a complex insight into medieval language and literature written in Latin, German, and Czech.

Both study plans are offered as full-time or distance programmes.

Applicants to the Medieval Latin Language and Literature programme can be graduates of Latin Language and Literature or of related fields, such as Czech studies, Romance languages, History, Auxiliary historical sciences, Philosophy, Religion or Theology. Applicants from fields other than Latin philology have to demonstrate their knowledge of Latin language and of ancient culture during the entrance examination (at least to the extent of the State Examination in Bachelor's degree in Latin language and literature).

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• understand Medieval Latin reliably, including its formal and structural connection with Classical Latin;
• understand more difficult medieval Latin texts of various genres and interpret them with the help of relevant methods of linguistics and literary theory;
• work with medieval Latin manuscripts with the help of knowledge and skills acquired in palaeography and codicology;
• present an overview of medieval Latin literary production and of the development of medieval Latin literature in the Czech lands;
• do research and publish good-quality scholarly studies about medieval Latin literature;
• provide specialized consultations to experts in other branches of medieval studies;
• graduates of the “Historical Languages of the Czech Lands“ specialization will have a fundamental knowledge of medieval Czech and German languages and will have mastered the basics of medieval literary production in these languages.

Graduates of the doctoral degree in Medieval Latin Language and Literature will have a wide knowledge of European cultural and literary developments based on their roots in the Latin Middle Ages. They will have mastered the Latin language of the classical and medieval periods. Graduates can find jobs as editors of medieval texts preserved only in manuscripts. They are prepared to teach Classical and Medieval Latin language at schools of all levels. They can interpret and perfectly translate relevant literary and diplomatic texts. They can find employment especially at various institutions of the Academy of Sciences, in archives, libraries and museums that house and work with medieval literary and diplomatic texts. Moreover, graduates can find employment also in various cultural areas and the media. A noticeable advantage of the graduate is his/her interdisciplinary background and a good knowledge of the roots of the literary culture of Europe.

The doctoral thesis and doctoral exam are the main outcomes of the Doctoral degree in Medieval Latin Language and Literature. Their goal is to present new findings obtained through the study of edited and unedited (preserved only in manuscripts) medieval Latin texts. In order to describe and interpret these texts, students apply their linguistic expertise and their ability to use modern methods of interpretation and hermeneutics, as well as their skills in editing techniques, textual criticism and auxiliary historical sciences. The doctoral thesis will show the student’s ability to work with a wide range of primary sources (edited sources and sources preserved only in manuscripts) and with thematically selected medieval texts, or possibly to make a critical edition of a given source. The doctoral thesis will also demonstrate that the student has a full overview of the history of research into the relevant topic and of modern and older scholarly literature. It is required that the doctoral thesis is of such quality that its parts or the whole of the thesis is ready for publication in scholarly press. Formal requirements for the doctoral theses are established by the Masaryk University Study and Examination Regulations, which can be further specified by the Doctoral Committee.