Assessment

Assessment Route 1 = Continuous Assessment 100% / Assessment Route 2 = Exam 100%

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to equip learners with a core vocabulary and knowledge of the basic grammatical structures needed to access and translate excerpts from Ecclesiastical Latin texts, such as the Latin Vulgate or the Roman Missal, as well as patristic and scholastic sources. The module will address the differences between Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin and investigate the influence which the latter has had on the language of academic philosophy and theology, as well as familiarising learners with common Latin phrases, hymns, and prayers. Each of the 24 lectures focuses on a specific area of Latin morphology, syntax or accidence and accompanying vocabulary and primary source material to model this. To that end, the module also serves as an introduction to further study in Ecclesiastical Latin or to the study of biblical or modern languages by equipping learners with the skills and competencies needed for language acquisition, analysis, and translation.

Indicative Syllabus

Learning Outcomes

• — Recognise and give the meanings of a core list of Ecclesiastical Latin vocabulary (including verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, etc.)
• — Demonstrate awareness of the influence Latin has had on the language of philosophy, theology, and devotional literature by analysing English derivatives of Latin terms and phrases found in various patristic and scholastic sources
• — Identify and explain the morphology, syntax and grammatical structures needed to parse and translate simple passages of Ecclesiastical Latin
• — Demonstrate a mastery of the basic grammar and vocabulary of Ecclesiastical Latin by independently translating Latin sentences and short passages into English or short English sentences into Latin
• — Confidently read and pronounce Latin words, short phrases, prayers and key passages from the Missal and the Latin Vulgate 
• — Determine the general sense and content of short passages of unadapted Latin
• — Show an awareness of skills needed for learning, analysing, and translating ancient and modern languages, such as strategies for learning vocabulary, deriving word roots, and memorising paradigms and inflections
• — Accurately use Latin dictionaries, grammar primers and online reference tools to interpret unfamiliar words, and grammatical and syntactical structures

Bibliography

• — Collins, John F, A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1988)
• — Baumeister, Edmund, The New Missal Latin: A Two-Year Course Based on the Sunday Missal (Ohio: Mount St. John Press, 1941)
• — Nunn, Henry P, An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin (2nd ed, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013)
• — Scanlon, Cora, Latin Grammar for the Reading of the Missal and Breviary (North Carolina: Tan Books, 1976)
• — Scarre, Annie M., An Introduction to Liturgical Latin (Boston: St. Dominic’s Press, 1933)
• — Townsend, Cora I., The Mantrina: A Latin Primer Especially Adapted to the Missal and Breviary (New York: Ariston Book Company, 1892)
• — Foster, Reginald, Ossa Latinitatis Sola ad Mentem Reginaldi Rationemque – The Mere Bones of Latin According to the Thought and System of Reginald (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 2015)
• — La Fleur, Richard, Scribblers, Sculptors, and Scribes: A Companion to Wheelock’s Latin and Other Introductory Textbooks (New York: Collins Reference, 2010)
• — Smith, Richard U., Ecclesiastical, Medieval and Neo-Latin Sentences (Mundelein: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2013).
• — Wheelock, Frederick & LaFleur, Richard, Wheelock’s Latin (7th ed., New York: Collins Reference, 2011).
• — Mantello, Frank, Medieval Latin: An Introduction & Bibliographic Guide (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1999)
• — Sidwell, Keith, Reading Medieval Latin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
• — Glare, P. G. W., Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2 vols., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2012).
• — Kidd, D. A. et al., Collins Latin Dictionary and Grammar (2nd ed., Glasgow: Collins, 2016).
• — Latham, R. E., Revised Medieval Latin Word-List from British and Irish Sources (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980).
• — Lewis, Charleton T. & Short, Charles, Latin Dictionary (new ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963).
• — Morwood, James, Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (rev. ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).
• — Simpson, D. P. Cassell’s Latin Dictionary: Latin-English, English-Latin (5th ed., London: Macmillan 1968).
• — Stelton, Leo F. Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995)
• — Gildersleeve, Basil L. & Lodge, Gonzalez, Gildersleeve’s Latin Grammar (London: Bristol Classical Press, 1997)
• — Morwood, James, Latin Grammar (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).
• — Schools Classics Project, Cambridge Latin Grammar (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992)