One of the greatest gifts God has given the church is His wonderful Word, preserved through the centuries, revealing who God is and what He plans for His children. Why is it then that we have such a limited understanding of it? Could it be we have preferred Christianisms, short quips or sayings that seem to represent biblical truth but actually don’t? What would happen to the body of Christ today if Christians forsook these flawed sayings and returned to God’s glorious, powerful Word? We might see God’s Spirit move among us in a fresh and powerful way.
Organized with the assistance of an international advisory committee of medievalists from several disciplines, Medieval Latin: An Introduction and Bibliographical Guide is a new standard guide to the Latin language and literature of the period from c. A.D. 200 to 1500. It promises to be indispensable as a handbook in university courses in Medieval Latin and as a point of departure for the study of Latin texts and documents in any of the fields of medieval studies. Comprehensive in scope, the guide provides introductions to, and bibliographic orientations in, all the main areas of Medieval Latin language, literature, and scholarship. Part One consists of an introduction and sizable listing of general print and electronic reference and research tools. Part Two focuses on issues of language, with introductions to such topics as Biblical and Christian Latin, and Medieval Latin pronunciation, orthography, morphology and syntax, word formation and lexicography, metrics, prose styles, and so on. There are chapters on the Latin used in administration, law, music, commerce, the liturgy, theology and philosophy, science and technology, and daily life. Part Three offers a systematic overview of Medieval Latin literature, with introductions to a wide range of genres and to translations from and into Latin. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography of fundamental works--texts, lexica, studies, and research aids. This guide satisfies a long-standing need for a reference tool in English that focuses on medieval latinity in all its specialized aspects. It will be welcomed by students, teachers, professional latinists, medievalists, humanists, and general readers interested in the role of Latin as the learned lingua franca of western Europe. It may also prove valuable to reference librarians assembling collections concerned with Latin authors and texts of the postclassical period. ABOUT THE EDITORS F. A. C. Mantello is professor of Medieval Latin at The Catholic University of America. A. G. Rigg is professor of English and medieval studies and chairman of the Medieval Latin Committee at the University of Toronto's Centre for Medieval Studies. PRASIE FOR THE BOOK "This extraordinary volume, joint effort of dozens of scholars in eight countries, will be in constant use for research, for advising students and designing courses, and for answering the queries of nonmedievalist colleagues. . . . Medieval Latin provides a foundation for advances in research and teaching on a wide front. . . . Though Mantello and Rigg's Medieval Latin is a superb reference volume, I recommend that it also be read from beginning to end--in small increments, of course. The rewards will be sheaves of notes and an immensely enriched appreciation of Medieval Latin and its literature."--Janet M. Martin, Princeton University, Speculum "A remarkable achievement, and no one interested in medieval Latin can afford to be without it."--Journal of Ecclesiastical History "Everywhere there is clarity, conclusion, judicious illustration, and careful selection of what is central. This guide is a major achievement and will serve Medieval Latin studies extremely well for the foreseeable future."--The Classical Review
Latin Linguistics is intended as an overview of the main areas of linguistics geared specifically to the scholar of Latin. The book consists of eight chapters: an introduction followed by discussions of phonology, morphology, syntax, variation linguistics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics, with a final chapter discussing texts from three different periods to demonstrate how linguistic analysis can deepen our understanding of Latin. Most introductions to phonology cover a range of theories, such as Autosegmental Phonology or Optimality Theory; these contribute relatively little to our understanding of Latin as such. On the other hand, a Latinist needs to know how we can reconstruct pronunciation, what the limits of reconstruction are, and how closely orthography mirrors pronunciation. My chapter on phonology deals with these aspects. The same can be said, mutatis mutandis, for the other chapters. What makes this book unique, then, is the fact that it covers a wide range of topics in a deliberately selective way, tailored to the needs of Latinists.
One of the greatest gifts God has given the church is His wonderful Word, preserved through the centuries, revealing who God is and what He plans for His children. Why is it then that we have such a limited understanding of it? Could it be we have preferred Christianisms, short quips or sayings that seem to represent biblical truth but actually don't? What would happen to the body of Christ today if Christians forsook these flawed sayings and returned to God's glorious, powerful Word? We might see God's Spirit move among us in a fresh and powerful way.
Whilst research and innovation may allow for increasing efficiency in the pursuit of human ends, they also pose dangers, linked to the unpredictability of their development, which call for unprecedented responsibility. This book contends that the structure of a "process", in the sense of an efficient propensity in the possible that can be actualized by research and innovation, can be intrinsically ethical, that is, it can take into account and preserve the freedom of the actors concerned. This point is explored through a consideration of four processual ethical structures, each of which can constitute a point of reference for the exercise of a responsibility. Ethically Structured Processes questions dualities that are very firmly established in the West, such as "theoretical/practical" and "descriptive/prescriptive", through a detour into historical Chinese traditions of thought. The generality of the thesis concerning ethical processes is tested, in a privileged way, on the case of the "Invisible Hand". Is this notion based on a philosophically and ethically consistent concept of "freedom"?
