Lateinische Philologie des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit Medieval Latin

On 2 May 1957, the Heidelberg Seminar for Medieval Latin Philology (and Neo-Latin Philology since 1973) was founded. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007. While this is not a particularly venerable age for an academic institution, it is something special for the subject of Medieval Latin (as it is commonly referred to). After the Munich Institute, which was established shortly after the turn of the century, the Heidelberg Seminar was the second oldest of its kind in Germany. Medieval Latin had been taught in Heidelberg since 1947 as part of a lecturing assignment (Walther Bulst). At the beginning of the summer semester of 1957, this work was continued on a broader basis in the newly established seminar.

The first seminar rooms were located in the baroque Jesuit grammar school (later ‘Seminarienhaus’) at Augustinergasse 15; from 1963, the Medieval Latinists were temporarily housed in a disused caretaker's flat on Marsiliusplatz; In 1972, the seminar moved into the renovated former district court building at Seminarstr. 3; since 2009, the rooms for medieval and modern Latin philology have been located in the west wing of the New University (Grabengasse 3-5). The central working tool is the library. With approximately 13,000 volumes, the book collection (which was already described in 1961 as a ‘first-rate research tool’) is one of the largest in our field. It is run as a reference library and is organised in such a way that experts in the field can largely use it without a catalogue – although catalogues are of course available. Despite all the limitations, we have successfully managed to maintain the seminar at a level that makes it attractive to visiting scholars who set up their workplace in Heidelberg for 1-6 months in order to advance a specific Medieval Latin project. In some semesters, up to three visiting scholars have worked here.

Medieval Latin is taught in its entirety, with a focus on palaeography and literary history, but also with regular courses on the history of language and transmission, as well as introductions to versification. Neo-Latin literature up to the year 1800 has been collected from the outset; since 1973, the history of Neo-Latin literature has also been part of the curriculum. The programme is supplemented by guest lectures.

At the beginning, the seminar was closely linked to the modern languages department, particularly Romance studies. At times, participation in a Medieval Latin course was compulsory for certain Romance studies programmes. When Heidelberg University adopted the departmental system in 1969 and established subject groups, Romance studies and Medieval Latin were combined into one subject group. This had major external advantages for the subject. Without the protective umbrella of this subject group, the chair would hardly have been able to survive an almost six-year vacancy (1967-1973) during the first economic crisis of the post-war period. Of course, it was precisely at the time of the close organisational link between Romance studies and Medieval Latin that the subject connection loosened; since 1968, Romance studies students have no longer been required to take part in Medieval Latin exercises. Instead, they now have the option of obtaining a certificate in Medieval Latin instead of a second Romance language. Similarly, the history and musicology departments have introduced regulations that enable their students to obtain credits in Medieval Latin. Since 1977, all subject groups in Heidelberg have been dissolved again. Medieval and Neo-Latin philology in Heidelberg is now under the auspices of the Centre for European History and Cultural Studies (ZEGK), specifically the History Department.

The independence of the degree programme and the seminar meant scope for interdisciplinary openness in many areas, but also problems arising from the atypical nature of such a seminar; for example, in statistics: While in almost all humanities subjects the statistical number of students far exceeds the actual number of students observed in the library and in tutorials, in Medieval Latin the subject is taken up by many students who are not enrolled in this subject. Students from other subjects regularly took part in the palaeography and modern Latin exercises. Since 1982, Medieval Latin has been a considerable ‘export’ for historians who come here to improve their knowledge of Latin. If we add up the number of those who have taken one or more Medieval Latin courses in recent years, we arrive at a total of about two and a half thousand students who have gained knowledge of Medieval Latin and its culture at Heidelberg University. Since 2018, it is once again possible to study Medieval Latin to a significant extent in Heidelberg.