Seminar of Latine Literature [ LGLOR2531 ]

A selection of reading material (primary sources, articles, summaries, bibliography) will be available on Moodle.

None, but a knowledge of the historical outline of the literature would be useful (as obtained from courses LGLOR1431 or LGLOR1432).

A scientific approach to Latin texts related to a specific historical question.

The course deals with the following themes:

1. Major currents of Latin literature and the major authors;
2. Those authors only known to us through fragments;
3. Historical reconstruction of an event through literary fragments and archaeological information;
4. The notion of royalty under the Republic and the Empire.

At the end of this course, the student will be able to identify and place in their context, the major currents of Latin literature and the authors that represent them; to identify the large inventory of authors whose works only exist in fragments; and to retrace the steps necessary to reconstruct an historical event from fragmentary information and archaeological documents.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Written exam (text commentary)

Lectures by the teacher, common reading of Latin texts, practical exercises and debates on secondary literature articles read at home.

In 2017, the course will focus on Ancient rhetorical theory, as developed by Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian. We will question the relevance of rhetoric for a better understanding of Latin literature as a whole. The first part of the course will be organized following the five traditional divisions of Ancient rhetoric : inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria and actio. In a second part, the theoretical notions will be applied to three fields: the Virgilian poetry, a Ciceronian oration and contemporary political and publicity discourse.

- D. Briquel, Le regard des autres. Les origines de Rome vues par ses ennemis (début du IVe siècle/début du Ier siècle av. J.-C.), Paris, 1997.
- Th. Camous, Le roi et le fleuve. Ancus Marcius Rex aux origines de la puissance romaine, Paris, 2004.
- G. Capdeville, Volcanus. Recherches comparatistes sur les origines du culte de Vulcain, École française de Rome, 1995.
- A. Carandini, La nascita di Roma. Dèi, Lari, eroi e uomini all'alba di une civiltà, Turin, 1997.

- Idem, Remo e Romolo. Dai rioni dei Quiriti alla città dei Romani (775/750 - 700/675 a.C. circa), Turin, 2006.
- A. Carandini et R. Cappelli, Roma. Romolo, Remo e la fondazione del­la città. Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano. Terme di Diocleziano. 28 giu­gno-29 ottobre 2000, Rome-Milan, 2000.
- T.J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome : Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), Londres-New York, 1995.
- Die frühen römischen Historiker. Band I. Von Fabius Pictor bis Cn. Gellius, herausgegeben, übersetzt und kommentiert von H. Beck-U. Walter, Darmstadt, 2001.
- Die frühen römischen Historiker. Band II. Von Coelius Antipater bis Pomponius Atticus, herausgegeben, übersetzt und kommentiert von H. Beck und U. Walter, Darmstadt, 2004.
- A. Grandazzi, La fondation de Rome. Réflexion sur l'histoire, Paris, 1991.
- B. Liou-Gille, Cultes «héroïques» romains. Les fondateurs, Paris, 1980.
- P.-M. Martin, L'idée de royauté à Rome. I. De la Rome royale au consensus républicain, Clermont-Ferrand, 1982.
- A. Meurant, L'idée de gémellité dans la légende des origines de Rome, Bruxelles, 2000.
- J. Poucet, Les origines de Rome. Tradition et histoire, Bruxelles, 1985.
- Idem, Les rois de Rome. Tradition et histoire, Bruxelles, 2000.

The set readings are programmed according to a timetable given out to the students.