Medieval and Renaissance Latin Hexameter Poetry

This subject may not be combined with III.3 Historiography, 4 Lyric Poetry, 7 Comedy, or 15 (e) Reception of Classical Literature – nor of course with any other subject under III.15. It is examined by pre-submitted essay and 1.5 hr translation paper.

This subject considers a diverse group of Latin hexameter poems dating from several centuries; all are significant literary works in their own right as well as important receptions of familiar classical authors. The twelfth-century Alexandreis of Walter of Châtillon narrates the story of Alexander the Great, while Petrarch’s fourteenth-century Africa deals with the Second Punic War and with Hannibal as its central character; both make much use of Virgilian and other classical epic. Petrarch’s Bucolicum Carmen appropriates Latin pastoral. Vida’s sixteenth-century Ars Poetica takes off from Horace’s homonymous didactic poem and itself has important influence in Renaissance and early modern poetics. Milton’s In Quintum Novembris (looking forward to Paradise Lost) treats the Gunpowder Plot with the apparatus of classical mythological epic, while Mansus and Epitaphium Damonis represent Milton’s version of Virgilian pastoral (the Latin parallel to Lycidas).

a
(in Latin)

 Walter of Chatillon, Alexandreis Book 10; Petrarch, Africa Book 9; Bucolicum Carmen 1 and 3; Vida, Ars Poetica Book 3; Milton, In Quintum Novembris, Mansus, Epitaphium Damonis

ß
(in translation)

Walter of Chatillon, Alexandreis Books 1-9 ;Petrarch, Africa Books 1-8 ;Vida, Ars Poetica Books 1-2