An Anthology of Neo-Latin Literature in British Universities

Compiled by a team of experts in the field, this volume brings to view an array of Latin texts produced in British universities from c.1500 to 1700. It includes a comprehensive introduction to the production of Neo-Latin and Neo-Greek in the early modern university, the precise circumstances and broader environments that gave rise to it, plus an associated bibliography. 12 high-quality sections, each prefaced by its own short introduction, set forth the Latin (and occasionally Greek) texts and accompanying English translations and notes. Each section provides focused orientation and is arranged in such a way as to ensure the volume’s accessibility to scholars and students at all levels of familiarity with Neo-Latin. Passages are taken from documents that were composed in seats of learning across the British Isles, in Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh and St Andrews, and adduce a wide range of material from orations and disputational theses to collections of occasional verse, correspondence, notebooks and university drama. This anthology as a whole conveys a sense of the extent of Latin’s role in the academy and the span of remits in which it was deployed. Far from simply offering a snapshot of discrete projects, the contributions collectively offer insights into the broader culture of the early modern university over an extended period. They engage with the administrative operations of institutions, pedagogical processes and academic approaches, but also high-level disputes and the universities’ relationship with the worlds of politics, new science and intellectual developments elsewhere in Europe. This volume, the third in the series of Neo-Latin anthologies in the Bloomsbury Neo-Latin Series, presents a rich medley of texts produced within the British universities across England, Ireland and Scotland during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. While there exist a number of disparate articles about university Neo-Latin collections and stand-alone translations of Latin works composed in the university, this volume is unique in assembling this type of writing in such a targeted and systematic way. It is also one of the first to engage frontally with the application of Greek within the higher education systems of this epoch. Latin and Greek dominated the intellectual life of the early modern period, and this anthology examines the various institutional contexts in which these languages were utilized, and, in turn, the light they can collectively shed on the character of the early modern university. The volume brings together extracts of both verse and prose, pieces written individually, but also collaboratively. It includes the more familiar categories of academic writing, such as orations and occasional poetry, but also makes available other forms that have hitherto been rather more hidden from view, owing to the fact they were almost exclusively composed in Latin and Greek, such as disputational theses and tripos verse. Independently and cumulatively, the various texts in this volume offer a myriad of clues about the priorities, power dynamics and broader culture of the age, and stand as a yet further reminder of the fundamental place of Latin and Greek within it. Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Contributors Preface Introduction The early modern university and this volume: An exordium Neo-Latin and early modern universities Neo-Ancient Greek and early modern universities Forms of Latin and Greek in this volume What was a university for? Reading the selections in this volume 1 Academic Freedom on Trial in Tudor Times Stephen Gardiner (1483–1555), letter to John Cheke, 15 May 1542 Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 2 Why Tudor Cambridge Needs Greek Richard Croke (1489–1558), Orationes duae Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 3 A Professor in Scottish Politics Andrew Melville (1545–1622), Stephaniskion Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 4 A Distinct Mode of Pastoral in Elizabethan Cambridge Giles Fletcher the Elder (c. 1546–1611), Ecloga Daphnis Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 5 Greek and Latin Poetry from Cambridge on Sixteenth-century Questions of Faith Act and Tripos verses from the 1580s and 1590s Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin / Greek text English translation Commentary 6 Happy New Year in Jacobean Oxford: Metamorphosing Ovid into Student Comedy Philip Parsons (1594–1653), Atalanta Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 7 European Networks and the Reformation of the University of Edinburgh Astronomical disputations from the graduating class of 1612–16. Lecturer: William King Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 8 A Prevaricator Speech from Caroline Cambridge James Duport (1606–79), A urum potest produci per artem chymicam Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 9 An Irish Panegyric on Henry Cromwell Caesar Williamson (c. 1611–75), Panegyris in Excellentissimum Dominum, Dominum Henricum Cromwellum, Deputatum Hiberniae, Cancellariumque Academiae Dubliniensis Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 10 Herrings, Linen and Cheese: Celebrating the Treaty of Westminster in 1654 The Musarum Oxoniensium Elaiophoria (Oxford) and the Oliva Pacis (Cambridge) Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary 11 Political Poetry from Late Stuart Cambridge Cambridge Poems on the peace of 1697 Introduction Bibliography Source of the Latin text Latin text English translation Commentary Index of Names and Places Compiled by a team of experts in the field, this volume brings to view an array of Latin texts produced in British universities from c. 1500 to 1700. It includes a comprehensive introduction to the production of Neo-Latin and Neo-Greek in the early modern university, the precise circumstances and broader environments that gave rise to it, plus an associated bibliography. 12 high-quality sections, each prefaced by its own short introduction, set forth the Latin (and occasionally Greek) texts and accompanying English translations and notes. Each section provides focused orientation and is arranged in such a way as to ensure the volume's accessibility to scholars and students at all levels of familiarity with Neo-Latin. Passages are taken from documents that were composed in seats of learning across the British Isles, in Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh and St Andrews, and adduce a wide range of material from orations and disputational theses to collections of occasional verse, correspondence, notebooks and university drama. This anthology as a whole conveys a sense of the extent of Latin's role in the academy and the span of remits in which it was deployed. Far from simply offering a snapshot of discrete projects, the contributions collectively offer insights into the broader culture of the early modern university over an extended period. They engage with the administrative operations of institutions, pedagogical processes and academic approaches, but also high-level disputes and the universities' relationship with the worlds of politics, new science and intellectual developments elsewhere in Europe. "Compiled by a team of experts in the field, this volume showcases an array of Latin texts produced in the context of British universities from c. 1500 to 1800. It includes a general introduction and bibliography to the Neo-Latin literature produced at universities during these centuries, as well as 12 high-quality Latin extracts with accompanying English translations and notes. Passages are taken from documents composed in Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh and St Andrews, and include a wide range of material assembled by early modern individuals or by teams of people that might involve scholars, students or both, from orations and commentaries to collections of occasional verse, correspondence, notebooks and university drama. This anthology as a whole conveys a sense of the extent of Latin's role in the academy and the span of activities in which it was deployed. Far from simply offering a snapshot of discrete projects, the contributions collectively offer insights into the broader culture of the academy over this extended period, engaging with the administrative operations of institutions, pedagogical processes and academic approaches, but also high-level disputes and the universities' relationship with the worlds of politics, new science and intellectual developments elsewhere in Europe. Introductions to each section and accompanying notes provide orientation for each of the texts that ensure the volume's accessibility to scholars and students at all levels of familiarity with Neo-Latin."-- Introduction / Lucy R. Nicholas -- Academic Freedom on trial in Tudor times : Stephen Gardiner (1483-1555), letter to John Cheke, 15 May 1542 -- Why Turod Cambridge needs Greek : Richard Croke (1489-1558), Orationes duae -- A professor in Scottish politics : Andrew Melville (1545-1622), Stephaniskion -- A distinct mode of pastoral in Elizabethan Cambridge : Giles Fletcher the Elder (c.1546-1611, Ecloga Daphnis -- Greek and Latin poetry from Cambridge on sixteenth-century questions of faith : Act and Tripos verses from the 1580s and the 1590s -- Happy New Year in Jacobean Oxford : metamorphosing Ovid into student comedy : Philip Parsons (1594-1653), Atalanta -- European networks and the reformation of the University of Edinburgh : astronomical disputations from the graduating class of 1612-1616 : Lecturer : William King -- A prevaricator speech from Caroline Cambridge : James Duport (1606-1679), Aurum potest produci per artem chymicam -- An Irish panegyric on Henry Cromwell : Caesar Williamson (c.1611-1675), Panegyris in excellentissimum dominum, dominum Henricum Cromwellum -- Herrings, linen and cheese : celebrating the Treaty of Westminster in 1654 : the Musarum Oxoniensium elaiophoria (Oxford) and the Oliva pacis (Cambridge) -- Political poetry from late Stuart Cambridge : Cambridge poems on the Peace of 1697