Medieval Latin Reading Group

An image of a Mitre

An informal group that meets fortnightly to read medieval texts in Latin in a friendly and supportive environment. All levels of Latin expertise welcomed.

Contact: John Weretka

Time: 12:30-2:00 every second Thursday.

Location: Currently meeting via Zoom.

The pieces chosen are either directly related to members’ research or have language and vocabulary that members want to explore for their research. There is usually an English translation available for the texts chosen.

Texts have included the Vitae of St Mochuda, Alexander the Great and Charlemagne, Leonardo Bruni’s Historiarum Florentini populi libri XII, Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, the Carmina Burana, the Aberdeen Bestiary, Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Brittaniae,selections from Jacobus de Voragine’s Legenda Aurea, the Liber secundus of Donizo’s Vita Matildis, Sedulius Scottus’ De quodam verbece, the Liber primus of Ysengrimus, the eleventh book of Venantius Fortunatus’ Carmina, the Gesta Francorum, the Votum theologorum Avenionensium (the proceedings of the heresy trial against Meister Eckhard), Liutprand of Cremona’s Antapodosis, the Devastatio Constantinopolitana and Boncompagno da Signa’s Liber de obsidione Anconae, Walter Map’s De nugis curialium, Johannes de Alta Silva’s Dolopatos, selections from Juvencus’ Liber quattuor evangeliarum, Ekkehard of Saint Gall’s Waltharius, Guibert of Nogent’s Monodiae, and the Anonymous Passio sanctorum Petri et Pauli.

Texts for 2023:

From August 2023, the group will be translating the anonymous Gesta Federici Imperatoris de Rebus Gestis in Lombardia by an anonymous Milanese author. Copies of the text will be made available to group members.