To support students as they seek to meet the high standard of Latinity the Centre has established, the Centre’s Medieval Latin Program comprises the following:
During the Summer term, three different levels of Medieval Latin instruction (Summer Beginning Latin; Summer Latin Level I; Summer Latin Level II) are offered daily. These courses serve to refresh students’ knowledge of grammar and/or gain additional experience of reading texts in preparation for Level I and II exams. Summer courses are open to graduate students registered at U of T, students admitted to CMS MA or PhD programs, and external students. See Summer Latin Program.
During the academic year, in the Fall and Spring term, the Centre offers a variety of courses dedicated to Medieval Latin:
- Medieval Latin I (MST1000Y) is a year-long course offered daily. As a core requirement for the MA in Medieval Studies, this course also prepares students to sit the Latin Level I exam. Its learning outcomes are:
- Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of the full range of Latin grammar through sight translation and reading comprehension;
- Students will be able to identify and explain examples of specific Latin grammatical features in assigned readings;
- Students will be able to recall essential medieval Latin vocabulary (~ 2,000 words);
- Students will be able to identify orthographical variations of words found in the word lists;
- Students will have experience in using a range of medieval Latin dictionaries and lexica;
- Students will be able to translate medieval Latin texts of simple to lower intermediate difficulty with minimal use of a dictionary.
- Medieval Latin II (MST1001Y) is a year-long course offered daily. As a core requirement for the PhD in Medieval Studies, this course also prepares students to sit the Latin Level II exam. Its learning outcomes are:
- Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of the full range of Latin grammar through exercises that may include sight translation, reading comprehension, and prose composition;
- Students will be able to identify and explain examples of specific Latin grammatical features, and the particular idiosyncrasies of the main varieties of medieval Latin, in assigned readings;
- Students will be able to employ medieval Latin vocabulary well beyond the core vocabulary of MST1000Y;
- Students will be able to use a range of medieval Latin dictionaries and lexica;
- Students will be able to independently translate medieval Latin texts of advanced intermediate to advanced difficulty;
- Students will be able to identify the varieties of medieval Latin texts and articulate a general sense of the history of Latin language and literature from late antiquity down to the early modern era.
- Advanced Latin (MST1002H) dealing with different topics every year, is available on a regular basis.
As a complement to linguistic training, courses in Medieval Latin Paleography (MST1104H. Paleography I and MST1105H. Paleography II), Textual Criticism (MST1107H), Codicology (MST1101H) and Diplomatics (MST 1110H) are offered in rotation.
Courses given during the academic year are available to all graduate students registered at U of T who fulfill their requirements and, for students registered in programs other than CMS, pending approval of the instructor.
See Current Graduate Courses.