LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at providing the instruments for the understanding of the linguistic and cultural evolution of the Germanic languages from their old phase onwards, thus allowing students to acquire the methods for a correct interpretation of Old German texts.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge and skills: students will be able to understand and describe the evolution of the ancient Germanic languages and culture, paying particular attention to the Old German language, literature and culture, which will allow them to read, analyse and comment on Old German texts of average difficulty.  On the basis of the study of the problems and methods of textual criticism, they will be able to use critical editions and other instruments, such as historical grammars and dictionaries.

PREREQUISITES

Germanic Philology I A (Prof. Benati, first semester)

TEACHING METHODS

Frontal lectures with the support of the online education platform Aulaweb

Please note: The program for non-attending students is the same as for attending students.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Introduction to the Old German history and culture and to the Old German literary production
• Phonetic evolution from West Germanic to the Old High German dialects
• Old German dialectal areas
• Elements of Old High German morphology and syntax
• Elements of Old High German lexicon (Indoeuropean and Germanic heritage, loan words, calques, word formation)
• Introduction to one or more Old High German original texts, analysis of the manuscript tradition; linguistic analysis of selected passages, philological and etymological commentary to a series of terms included in the passages taken into consideration during the course.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

- “Materiali inerenti al Corso II B dell’a.a. 2022-2023” , ed. C. Händl (see aula web);

- A. SCAFFIDI ABBATE: Introduzione allo studio dell'antico tedesco e dei suoi documenti letterari, Istituto Italiano di Studi Germanici: Roma 1989, pp. 1-32, pp. 54-131;

- C. HÄNDL: La letteratura tedesca degli inizi, Edizioni dell'Orso, Alessandria 2021.

In addition, for further reading, one of the following texts:

- C. FALLUOMINI: I Longobardi in Italia. Lingua e cultura, Edizioni dell'Orso, Alessandria 2015

- M. GODDEN - M. LAPIDGE (eds.): The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, 2nd edition Cambridge 2013, pp. 1-18 (The social and political background), pp. 142-159 (Beowulf), pp. 264-281 (The world of Anglo-Saxon learning)

- A.M. LUISELLI FADDA, Tradizioni manoscritte e critica del testo nel medioevo germanico, Edizioni Laterza, Roma-Bari, 9th edition 2013

- P. SCARDIGLI, Lingua e storia dei Goti, Sansoni, Firenze 1964

- P. SCARDIGLI, Goti e Longobardi. Studi di Filologia germanica, Istituto Italiano di Studi Germanici, Roma 1987

- A.A. SOMERVILLE - R.A. McDonald: The Vikings and their Age, University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2nd ed. 2013