31219 - Germanic Philology 1 (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will possess the theoretical and material fundamentals in order to understand the Germanix languages, literatures and cultures (which must be intended like corpora indipendently from their literary value) from their proto-historical past to the end of the Middle Ages, in other words the cultures that Germanic peoples starting from the prehistorical period. The Middle Ages will be at the centre of investigation because in that period the common Germanic cultural milieu is more evident through the large number of sources and documentation in Old Germanic languages and literatures. The student will be able to read, translate and give a philological and linguistic comment to a short passage in an Old Germanic language.

Course contents

Students of the 9 CFU (60hrs) course:

Module A (30hrs): Fondamentals of Germanic Philology

The cultural peculiarities of the Germanic peoples will be taken into account: the oral transmission of knowledge, law, religion, social structure and the role of women. Part of the module will analyze the literary genres of the Germanic literature of the Middle Ages (heroic poetry, sagas, skaldic poetry, religious poetry). The themes of the module will be analyzed by reading and commenting some primary sources in Italian translation. A particular care will be devoted to the literary and documental production of the medieval period. The main philological methodologies of texs reconstruction will be presented during the course.

Module B (30hrs): Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg! Deor's lament

Deor is the name chosen by a poet who is the author of a short text in Old English. He is a scop, i.e. a court poet, thrown out by his lord because he preferred another minstrel. To console himself, Deor recounts the vicissitudes of heroes and mythological events in which an unhappy episode is at the centre of the narrative.
After an introduction on the role of the Anglo-Saxon poet and his way of making poetry, the text will be read and translated, with a philological, literary and cultural commentary.
The aim of the module is to bring the student into direct contact with a text in the original language, not too far from modern English, and to place Deor in the cultural milieu that produced it: a court environment dominated by the values of an aristocratic-warrior society.

Readings/Bibliography

Module A:

Teaching materials on disposal on the Virtuale platform; 

Alessandro Zironi, Filologia Germanica. Lingua, storia, cultura, testi, Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2022 (selection indicated in class).

Module B:

Teaching materials on disposal on the Virtuale platform;

Kemp Malone, Deor, Exeter, Exeter UP, 1977.

Maria Grazia Cammarota, Gabriele Cocco, Le elegie anglosassoni. Voci e volti della sofferenza, Milano, Meltemi, 2020.

Non-attending students:

Students who do not attend the course have contact the teacher and add following texts to the bibliography of Module A:

Module A:

Alessandro Zironi, Filologia Germanica. Lingua, storia, cultura, testi, Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2022 (entire book).

Module B:

- Anne L. Klinck, The Old English Elegies, Montreal & Klingston, Mc Gill - Queen's UP, 1992, pp. 11-30; 43-46; 63-69; 90-91;158-168; 223-251.

- Christine Fell, Perceptions of Transience, in The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, ed. by M. Godden and M. Lapidge, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2nd ed., 2013, pp. 180-197.

Teaching methods

The lectures will be held in presence, without recordings.

Assessment methods

The exam consists in an oral interview on both modules, which can not be shared into separated moments. During the interview the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student will be evaluated . The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course and to move within the sources and bibliographical material in order to be able to identify in them the useful information that will enable to illustrate the similarities and cultural areas of the discipline. The achievement of an organic vision of the issues addressed during the classes and their critical use, which demonstrate ownership of a mastery of expression and specific language, will be assessed with marks of excellence. Mechanical and / or mnemonic knowledge of matter, synthesis and analysis of non-articulating and / or correct language but not always appropriate will lead to discrete assessments; training gaps and / or inappropriate language - although in a context of minimal knowledge of the material - will lead to votes that will not exceed the sufficiency. Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of guidance within the reference materials offered during the course will lead to failed assessments.

Teaching tools

Video and audio materials in internet, lectures notes provided by the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Davide Bertagnolli