„Durchschnittliche“ Gelehrtenpraxis im Humanismus nördlich der Alpen? Der Umgang mit Homers und Vergils Epen in den Prager Universitätsvorlesungen des Matthaeus Collinus im Jahr 1557
| Pages | 41-54 |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Literary Field – Czech Humanist Scholarship – Homer – Vergil – Latin Epos – Matthaeus Collinus – Prague University |
| Citation | STORCHOVÁ, Lucie . „Durchschnittliche“ Gelehrtenpraxis im Humanismus nördlich der Alpen? Der Umgang mit Homers und Vergils Epen in den Prager Universitätsvorlesungen des Matthaeus Collinus im Jahr 1557. Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae – Historia litterarum. Prague: National Museum, 2012, 57(3), 41-54. ISSN 0036-5351. Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/amnphl/57-3/durchschnittliche-gelehrtenpraxis-im-humanismus-nordlich-der-alpen-der-umgang-mit-homers-und-vergils-epen-in-den-prager-universitatsvorlesungen-des-matthaeus-collinus-im-jahr-1557 |
The literary field of the University of Prague was established later than in imperial regions (during the late 1540s); from the point of view of literary techniques and communicational media (such as occasional poetry) it apparently took shape under the direct influence of the Saxon universities. For a period of approximately seven decades, it worked as a closed communication structure with elaborate literary practices. The period focus on “writing in excerpts” influenced also a somewhat “average” level of Czech humanist editorial work, above all its marked dependence on Saxon originals and an orientation toward humanist education with its drill, excerpting, memorizing and imitation. The author concentrates on a telling example of a Bohemian humanist reading of Vergil and Homer for educational purposes. Specimen studii ac laborum, a manuscript of university lectures by Matthaeus Collinus from 1557, may be interpreted not only as a source of intertexts for further re-citation (illustrating also required literary techniques) but also as a moral reflection clearly influenced by Melanchthonian anthropology. The commentary consists of two chapters of equal weight – loci memorabiles (a group of excerpts which are usable in further literary production, sometimes also comprising brief recommendations by later rhetorical theoreticians) and loci communes (ethical interpretations of particular narratives, plots, etc.). Which interpretative patterns Collinus “applied” on the Iliad and the Aeneid? The first represents an interpretation through the lenses of divine providence and divine punishment, the second through that of individual passions and their overcoming through ethical work on one-self. In the commentary a third level of interpretation is added, an examination through the lens of the social order, its bearers and institutions and the ways in which it works.
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