Latin Literature: A History

by Gian Biagio Conte, Don P. Fowler (Primary Contributor), Glen W. Most (Primary Contributor)

The authoriatative history of Latin literature. This authoritative history of Latin literature offers a comprehensive survey of the thousand-year period from the origins of Latin as a written language to the early Middle Ages. At once a reference work, a bibliographic guide, a literary study, and a reader's handbook, Latin A History is the first work of its kind to appear in English in nearly four decades. From the first examples of written Latin through Gregory of Tours in the sixth century and the Venerable Bede in the seventh, Latin Literature offers a wide-ranging panorama of all major Latin authors. Including names, dates, edition citations, and detailed summaries, the work combines the virtues of an encyclopedia with the critical intelligence readers have come to expect from Italy's leading Latinist, Gian Biagio Conte.

Genres: History, Classics, Latino, Italian Literature, Criticism, Reference, Classical Studies

827 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Gian Biagio Conte is an Italian classicist and professor of Latin Literature at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa.

Reviews

[Sara (Sbarbine_che_leggono) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succede che poi studi la letteratura latina dall'inizio alla fine, che comunque è IL MALE, e ti viene voglia di iniziare a leggerla. Tutta colpa di questi manuali fatti bene, mannaggia!

[Pitichi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riassumere secoli di letteratura latina in poesia e prosa in poco più di 600 pagine è un'operazione mastodontica, ma il lavoro di Conte, oltre ad essere meticoloso, è anche preziosissimo. Non tralascia gli auti minori o le opere spurie, da conto perfino dei testi o scrittori di cui praticamente non sappiamo nulla, e lo fa con un racconto appassionante, coinvolgente, capace di segnalare le sfumature di stile e le inclinazioni di ogni autore.
Secondo me è un libro che andrebbe letto a prescindere dalla formazione che ognuno di noi ha, perché la cultura latina fa parte della nostra storia ed è vivace, visionaria, in alcuni spunti davvero rivoluzionaria. Leggetelo con passione, non potrete che amarlo.

[max · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fully comprehensive and beautifully written (and translated). For the serious student of Latin literature in all of its glory, this magisterial treatise is indispensable. It offers the usual dry facts you expect to find in a smaller reference work (authors' dates, works, biographical details) but adds much more: in-depth discussions of the essential concerns and issues that are connected with all of the major authors in classical Latin. Issues of genre, style, compositional form, narrative techniques, major themes, and much more are treated in lavish detail.

[James of the Redwoods · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got my copy yesterday. I am loving this book already. The section on Virgil has already made this purchase worthwhile.

02/21/09 update: I am really enjoying this. What is nice is that each section is self-contained. I have been skipping around different chapters and following my curiosity. Love that.

03/13/09 update: This book has moved to my within reach reference shelf. Very valuable for getting the essential overview of an author before diving into their work. Love this book!

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ci ho messo tanto, ma ne valeva proprio la pena, anche perché mi ha permesso di "riscoprire" molti autori ed opere.

[Claudio Siciliano]

Hy guys!!! can someone tell me how many chapters is in the book?,Is it by numbers like
Chapter 1...Chapter 2...etc...or is it diferent notated??
Thank you.

[Valee Free]

474/719.

[Recensioni in tre parole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Semplice. Esaustivo. Fondamentale.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo odio pero nadie le quita que está bien organizado. Es un coñazo por culpa del tema pero al menos no dificulta la lectura. Solo por eso 3/5 estrellas en vez de 0.

[Fabiola Romano · Rating 1 out of 5]

utile ma molto palloso

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding reference work which covers literary history and historiography. The book begins by examining early Latin laws, treaties, Fasti and Annales, and ends by examining Gregory of Tours and Bede. The book is grouped into five broad chronological periods and examines some of the major authors individually and groups others by genre, such as the chapter on Neoteric poetry and Catullus, which is placed under the period of the Late Republic. In writing about an individual author or a genre, Conte uses the same format which covers the Life, Works and Sources, and he summarizes the manuscript tradition. Each author and his works are placed in historical and literary context. Conte also summarizes the major works of the authors, as well as the current state of textual and literary criticism relating to those works. Each section also has a short, detailed, annotated bibliography of translations, commentaries and other secondary sources in English, Italian, French and German. This book was translated from Italian to English, with Conte making some key additions for English readers, and is a joy to read.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reference-style book on latin literature through to the Middle Ages. It is thorough and well-written; an easy book to browse or read, while still having information to offer the serious student. I consider this a must for a quality library.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely comprehensive survey of Latin literature. I was forced to read it in grad school, and found it quite a chore at the time, but I have come to grudgingly respect this weighty tome.

[adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the absolute best book on the subject... but probably the best one that is actually accessible to a lay person or high school student.

[Alessandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spettacolare.