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This article juxtaposes two very different texts, Charles de Bovelles's Ars oppositorum (1511) and Maurice Scève's Délie (1544), examples of Latin prose philosophy and vernacular love lyric respectively. It is not a study of sources: it considers the literary text, like the Latin prose, as an instrument for thinking with. Furthermore, I suggest that contrasting conceptual possibilities arise from generic differences, so that the study of two divergent genres illuminates a variety of related conceptions of difference. I trace a shared interest in the respective roles of cognition and causality in establishing differences, but also a divergence concerning the value of difference, in particular for the human subject. Thus, in the Délie, I focus upon images of illuminating, looking, perceiving, and disintegrating. Both texts suggest that cognition is crucial to the establishment of differences, so that it even seems to usurp the function of natural causality. However, in the Délie the je suffers from difference — both difference within the self and difference from the divine — whereas in the Ars difference can be thought of as a violation but more often is perceived in Trinitarian terms, so that the human subject achieves a privileged sort of self-difference resembling that of the divine. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses Latin topographies--literary works describing a place and its history--of Rome, Italy produced during the Renaissance by Italian scholars such as Flavio Biondo and Andrea Fulvio. Excerpts are presented from Biondo's "De Roma instaurata," Fulvio's "Antiquitates urbis," and works by other 16th-century topographers such as Giovanni Bartolomeo Marliano. Topics discussed include the city's perimeter, the Temple of Vesta, and other features. Classical sources used by the Renaissance writers are also discussed.

This article examines Kierkegaard's encounter with medieval Rhineland- Flemish mysticism, with continual reference to Kierkegaard's overall reception of mysticism. This case study attempts to elucidate - in the form of pars pro toto - that a deeper understanding of Kierkegaard's reception of mysticism inevitably requires thorough analysis of his relation to concrete historical figures known as mystics. After an outline of Kierkegaard's early criticism of mysticism and its background, the article goes on to explore the picture of Rhineland-Flemish mysticism in Kierkegaard's secondary sources. Subsequently, it examines Kierkegaard's own references to the German and Dutch mystics and his usage of their texts, seeing these in close connection with the motifs found in the secondary literature read by Kierkegaard. In conclusion, the findings pertaining to Kierkegaard's reception of the Rhineland-Flemish mystics are compared to Marie Mikulov' Thulstrup's theses concerning Kierkegaard's relationship with mysticism in general. It is also suggested that what attracted Kierkegaard's attention the most in Rhineland-Flemish mysticism was, in fact, its least mystical part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the translation of several texts relation to Asia from the original Latin into French by Jean Le Long d'Ypres in 1351. It analyzes the texts and the manuscripts so as to gain a better understanding of the circumstances which surrounded the decision to undertake such a work as well as its meaning for the intended recipients. The rather remote subject matter of the translations as well as the choice of French at that time period suggests that the intended audience was members of the nobility.

Historical narratives of the crusades and Latin settlement in the Levant, like other medieval literature, provide slim details about women. In medieval society Latin literary education was dominated by a predominantly male and ecclesiastical hierarchy, which reflected the views of a patriarchal social system and marginalised the public role of women. Crusade narratives in particular have been criticised for their negative attitude towards women, mirroring a lack of ecclesiastical enthusiasm at their involvement in the crusade movement. Histories about crusading and events in the Latin East were often written for, and in some cases by, the lay nobility who took part in crusades and settled in the holy land. These texts were sometimes used as propaganda to encourage nobles to take the cross, and much of the imagery within them had didactic elements. In the case of women, they provided models for behaviour according to social and marital status. A consistently negative portrayal of women was doubtless impossible due to the number of important noblewomen who took the cross, and their value in cementing political alliances between western Europe and the Latin East through marriage. This article contends that it is the complex links between crusade narratives and the nobility, in terms of participation and patronage, audience, subject matter and values - crusade as a "noble" pursuit - which helps to explain the discrepancy between established ecclesiastical views and the portrayal of women in historical narratives about crusading and settlement in the East. In order to establish this idea effectively, several main themes must be addressed, including the role of crusade texts within the context of contemporary noble culture, and crusade narratives as source material for noble values concerning women. To begin, however, it is necessary to provide some background on attitudes towards women and crusade, as well as the concept of nobility and the noblewoman's place in medieval society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on recent work on Nordic Neo-Latin Literature. It further details the importance of this kind of information. It can be safely assumed that a growing number of similar projects will be launched in the years to come. In terms of flexibility the advantages of online publishing are considerable not least when the material consists of many diverse texts such as poems or letters. One obvious advantage of such editions is the fact that they can be continuously revised, or even published in stages. Normally, however, they will only appear in various surveys once. Online publishing is rapidly expanding, and one is under no illusion that the list is exhaustive on this point.

Discusses the image of the jongleur, a medieval poet & entertainer. How the jongleur is identified; Reference to the literary work called the Roman de la rose; Origin and history of the jongleur; Portrayal of Latin characters.

Explores the interrelated problems of Latin and vernacular canonicity. Passage of information from Virgil to Statius to Dante as the organizing principle for a wide analysis of linguistic and poetic authority as manifested in the `Commedia.'

Takes stock of the state of Neo-Latin studies. Contributions of scholar Josef IJsewijn and colleagues to the field; World of learning; Editions; Neo-Latin as a cultural phenomenon.

Compares the Latin works about love, the `De Amore' of Andreas Capellanus and the `Letters' of Abelard and Heloise. Why these two documents can be called `arts of love'; Information as to why the authors refer to these works as Ovidian; Detailed information on both documents.

The emergence of a pattern of English Protestant Humanism should be recognized as characteristic of mid-Tudor intellectual culture. The pattern is strikingly illustrated in two volumes of memorial prose and verse in Latin and Greek, printed in 1551 on the deaths of Martin Bucer and of Henry and Charles Brandon. The volumes reflect classical and Neo-Latin influences. They commemorate the dead both as Protestant protagonists endowed with saving faith and as exemplars of Humanistic learning. They deprecate excessive grief as showing want of faith, but as even the saved may experience a degree of human sorrow at death, consolatory texts in the Humanistic tradition are included. The volumes thus embody the Protestant Humanists' sense of the continuing value of classical learning in the conduct of life under divine grace. An appendix to the article contains eight representative poems from the volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on the Latin poem "Römische Elegien" by Johann Gottfried Herder. Geothe commended the works of Johannes Secundus and Jacob Balde to assess the achievements of German poets who composed in Latin and advance the liberal view distorted by them. It is noted that Secundus commissioned a poem dedicated to Charlotte von Stein which reflects Goethe's relationship with her. Furthermore, Geothe composed verses based on his learning from Herder to preserve the Neo-Latin legacy of Germany and integrate it into a contemporary culture.

The article discusses the identification of sections of the Folger Manuscript, a group of five fragments from the Folger Shakespeare Library and Huntington Library transcribed by G. R. Proudfoot. The author suggests that the section X.d.390 (1-2) of the manuscript is a translation of part of the 1522 book "Convivium religiosum (The Godly Feast)," by Desiderius Erasmus, part of his series "Colloquies." The author suggests that section X.d.391 of the manuscript is a translation of the satirical 15th-century Latin dialogue "De Miseria Curiae Romanae," by an author similar to Petrarch.

A foreword to "Nottingham Medieval Studies" is presented.

A foreword to the "Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis (AAAV)" journal which discusses the cult image introduced by German medievalists.

The article offers information on the presentation of square diagrams in Latin translations and manuscripts during mid 12th century.

A review of the article “Virgile en bas-de-chausse : Montaigne et la tradition de l'obscénité latine,” by Dominique Brancher, which appeared in the periodical “Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance” (T. 70, no. 1.) is presented.

Editorial. Comments on the format of publication in the 2000 issue of the journal 'Symbolae Osloenses' (SO). Absence of topic in the SO debate section; Significance of the Neo-Latin studies in the contemporary period; Invitations of contributory articles for the journal.