European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages (Bollingen Series Book 180)

Published just after the Second World War, __European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages__ is a sweeping exploration of the remarkable continuity of European literature across time and place, from the classical era up to the early nineteenth century, and from the Italian peninsula to the British Isles. In what T. S. Eliot called a "magnificent" book, Ernst Robert Curtius establishes medieval Latin literature as the vital transition between the literature of antiquity and the vernacular literatures of later centuries. The result is nothing less than a masterful synthesis of European literature from Homer to Goethe. __European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages__ is a monumental work of literary scholarship. In a new introduction, Colin Burrow provides critical insights into Curtius's life and ideas and highlights the distinctive importance of this wonderful book. CONTENTS Introduction to the 2013 edition TRANSLATOR’S NOTE NOTE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT AUTHOR’S FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION GUIDING PRINCIPLES 1. European Literature 2. The Latin Middle Ages 3. Literature and Education 4. Rhetoric 5. Topics 6. The Goddess Natura 7. Metaphorics 8. Poetry and Rhetoric 9. Heroes and Rulers 10. The Ideal Landscape 11. Poetry and Philosophy 12. Poetry and Theology 13. The Muses 14. Classicism 15. Mannerism 16. The Book as Symbol 17. Dante 18. Epilogue EXCURSUSES APPENDIX. The Medieval Bases of Western Thought BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ABBREVIATIONS INDEX