In the first part of the course the student will be acquainted with the fundamentals of Germanic philology: in particular, we will deal with both the linguistic features (phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical) of the Germanic family, following the principles of comparative linguistics, and the main aspects concerning the history, culture and literature of the Ancient Germanic peoples. A particular emphasis will be given to Anglo-Saxons and their literature.
Molinari, Maria Vittoria. 1981 (or any later edition). La Filologia Germanica. Bologna. Zanichelli.
Amodio, Mark C. 2014. The Anglo-Saxon literature handbook
Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
Orchard, Andy. 2003. A critical companion to Beowulf / Andy Orchard
Rochester: Brewer.
Learning Objectives
To familiarize the student with the principles of the Germanic Philology and the Old Germanic literatures.
Prerequisites
Competence in one of the Modern Germanic languages
Teaching Methods
Lectures
Type of Assessment
Compulsory Written test and optional oral test, only if the written test has a positive result.
Course program
The students, who attend the course, will accompany the lectures with a bibliography of reference to which they should add the complete reading of Beowulf. Extra material will be provided during the lessons.
In the first part of the course the student will be acquainted with the fundamentals of Germanic philology: in particular, we will deal with both the linguistic features (phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical) of the Germanic family, following the principles of comparative linguistics, and the main aspects concerning the history, culture and literature of the Ancient Germanic peoples. Emphasis will be given to the Old English literature and in particular Beowulf.