96-608: Francis Douce ( / ˈ d aʊ s / DOWS ; 1757 – 30 March 1834) was a British antiquary and museum curator. Douce was born in London . His father was a clerk in Chancery . After completing his education he entered his father's office, but soon quit it to devote himself to the study of antiquities. He became a prominent member of the Society of Antiquaries , and from 1799 to 1811 served as Keeper of Manuscripts in
192-603: A charter from King George II in 1751. In 1780 King George III granted the society apartments in Somerset House , and in 1874 it moved into its present accommodation in Burlington House , Piccadilly. The society was governed by a council of twenty and a president who is ex officio a trustee of the British Museum . In addition, a number of local historical and archaeological societies have adopted
288-540: A collection of poems, songs, and ballads; almanacs and prognostications from the 17th and 18th centuries; sale catalogues; books in fine bindings; and a Chinese collection which although small, contains several rarities. In addition, the Bodleian also holds 420 of Douce's manuscripts (two thirds of which are medieval or 16th century, including Books of Hours, French romances and early English literature, all notable for their illustrations), as well as Douce's correspondence and
384-634: A considerable number of papers to the Archaeologia and The Gentleman's Magazine . In 1833 he published a Dissertation on the various Designs of the Dance of Death , the substance of which had appeared forty years before. In 1807 the British Museum recruited him to the Department of Manuscripts, where in the same year he succeeded Robert Nares as Keeper. His relationship with the museum
480-482: A degree of ridicule (see below ), and since the mid-19th century the term has tended to be used most commonly in negative or derogatory contexts. Nevertheless, many practising antiquaries continue to claim the title with pride. In recent years, in a scholarly environment in which interdisciplinarity is increasingly encouraged, many of the established antiquarian societies (see below ) have found new roles as facilitators for collaboration between specialists. "Antiquary"
576-526: A faster pace. It is characterised by greater use of prepositions, and word order that is closer to modern Romance languages, for example, while grammatically retaining more or less the same formal rules as Classical Latin. Ultimately, Latin diverged into a distinct written form, where the commonly spoken form was perceived as a separate language, for instance early French or Italian dialects, that could be transcribed differently. It took some time for these to be viewed as wholly different from Latin however. After
672-743: A few in German , Dutch , Norwegian , Danish and Swedish . Latin is still spoken in Vatican City, a city-state situated in Rome that is the seat of the Catholic Church . The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part, in substantial works or in fragments to be analyzed in philology . They are in part the subject matter of the field of classics . Their works were published in manuscript form before
768-404: A few. Famous and well regarded writers included Petrarch, Erasmus, Salutati , Celtis , George Buchanan and Thomas More . Non fiction works were long produced in many subjects, including the sciences, law, philosophy, historiography and theology. Famous examples include Isaac Newton 's Principia . Latin was also used as a convenient medium for translations of important works first written in
864-504: A literary form are organised by topic, and any narrative is short and illustrative, in the form of anecdotes . Major antiquarian Latin writers with surviving works include Varro , Pliny the Elder , Aulus Gellius , and Macrobius . The Roman emperor Claudius published antiquarian works, none of which is extant. Some of Cicero 's treatises, particularly his work on divination , show strong antiquarian interests, but their primary purpose
960-560: A native language, Medieval Latin was used across Western and Catholic Europe during the Middle Ages as a working and literary language from the 9th century to the Renaissance , which then developed a classicizing form, called Renaissance Latin . This was the basis for Neo-Latin which evolved during the early modern period . In these periods Latin was used productively and generally taught to be written and spoken, at least until
1056-567: A result, the list has variants, as well as alternative names. In addition to the historical phases, Ecclesiastical Latin refers to the styles used by the writers of the Roman Catholic Church from late antiquity onward, as well as by Protestant scholars. The earliest known form of Latin is Old Latin, also called Archaic or Early Latin, which was spoken from the Roman Kingdom , traditionally founded in 753 BC, through
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#17327717885091152-407: A separate language, existing more or less in parallel with the literary or educated Latin, but this is now widely dismissed. The term 'Vulgar Latin' remains difficult to define, referring both to informal speech at any time within the history of Latin, and the kind of informal Latin that had begun to move away from the written language significantly in the post-Imperial period, that led ultimately to
1248-605: A series of notebooks. The collection also contained 27,000 prints, 1,500 drawings, and a hoard of medals and coins which were relocated to the Ashmolean Museum, also in Oxford; only those prints belonging to, or closely connected with books as distinct from pure art, were retained in the Bodleian. When the Bodleian Library received this collection, a space on the library's first floor at the south-east corner of
1344-656: A small number of Latin services held in the Anglican church. These include an annual service in Oxford, delivered with a Latin sermon; a relic from the period when Latin was the normal spoken language of the university. In the Western world, many organizations, governments and schools use Latin for their mottos due to its association with formality, tradition, and the roots of Western culture . Canada's motto A mari usque ad mare ("from sea to sea") and most provincial mottos are also in Latin. The Canadian Victoria Cross
1440-429: A sort of informal language academy dedicated to maintaining and perpetuating educated speech. Philological analysis of Archaic Latin works, such as those of Plautus , which contain fragments of everyday speech, gives evidence of an informal register of the language, Vulgar Latin (termed sermo vulgi , "the speech of the masses", by Cicero ). Some linguists, particularly in the nineteenth century, believed this to be
1536-572: A spoken and written language by the scholarship by the Renaissance humanists . Petrarch and others began to change their usage of Latin as they explored the texts of the Classical Latin world. Skills of textual criticism evolved to create much more accurate versions of extant texts through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and some important texts were rediscovered. Comprehensive versions of authors' works were published by Isaac Casaubon , Joseph Scaliger and others. Nevertheless, despite
1632-432: A strictly left-to-right script. During the late republic and into the first years of the empire, from about 75 BC to AD 200, a new Classical Latin arose, a conscious creation of the orators, poets, historians and other literate men, who wrote the great works of classical literature , which were taught in grammar and rhetoric schools. Today's instructional grammars trace their roots to such schools , which served as
1728-693: A vernacular, such as those of Descartes . Latin education underwent a process of reform to classicise written and spoken Latin. Schooling remained largely Latin medium until approximately 1700. Until the end of the 17th century, the majority of books and almost all diplomatic documents were written in Latin. Afterwards, most diplomatic documents were written in French (a Romance language ) and later native or other languages. Education methods gradually shifted towards written Latin, and eventually concentrating solely on reading skills. The decline of Latin education took several centuries and proceeded much more slowly than
1824-411: Is Veritas ("truth"). Veritas was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn, and the mother of Virtue. Switzerland has adopted the country's Latin short name Helvetia on coins and stamps, since there is no room to use all of the nation's four official languages . For a similar reason, it adopted the international vehicle and internet code CH , which stands for Confoederatio Helvetica ,
1920-897: Is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages . Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio ), the lower Tiber area around Rome , Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire . By the late Roman Republic , Old Latin had evolved into standardized Classical Latin . Vulgar Latin refers to
2016-412: Is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare , "We speak from facts, not theory." The Oxford English Dictionary first cites " archaeologist " from 1824; this soon took over as the usual term for one major branch of antiquarian activity. "Archaeology", from 1607 onwards, initially meant what
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#17327717885092112-640: Is a reversal of the original phrase Non terrae plus ultra ("No land further beyond", "No further!"). According to legend , this phrase was inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Hercules , the rocks on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar and the western end of the known, Mediterranean world. Charles adopted the motto following the discovery of the New World by Columbus, and it also has metaphorical suggestions of taking risks and striving for excellence. In
2208-552: Is found in any widespread language, the languages of Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy have retained a remarkable unity in phonological forms and developments, bolstered by the stabilising influence of their common Christian (Roman Catholic) culture. It was not until the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711, cutting off communications between the major Romance regions, that the languages began to diverge seriously. The spoken Latin that would later become Romanian diverged somewhat more from
2304-689: Is modelled after the British Victoria Cross which has the inscription "For Valour". Because Canada is officially bilingual, the Canadian medal has replaced the English inscription with the Latin Pro Valore . Spain's motto Plus ultra , meaning "even further", or figuratively "Further!", is also Latin in origin. It is taken from the personal motto of Charles V , Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain (as Charles I), and
2400-472: Is not breathed into it than it enjoyed originally. Facts, dates and names will never please the multitude, unless there is some style and manner to recommend them, and unless some novelty is struck out from their appearance. The best merit of the Society lies in their prints; for their volumes, no mortal will ever touch them but an antiquary. Their Saxon and Danish discoveries are not worth more than monuments of
2496-566: Is now seen as " ancient history " generally, with the narrower modern sense first seen in 1837. Today the term "antiquarian" is often used in a pejorative sense, to refer to an excessively narrow focus on factual historical trivia, to the exclusion of a sense of historical context or process. Few today would describe themselves as "antiquaries", but some institutions such as the Society of Antiquaries of London (founded in 1707) retain their historic names. The term "antiquarian bookseller" remains current for dealers in more expensive old books. During
2592-551: Is one of the oldest known catalogues to systematically describe and classify ancient artefacts which were unearthed. Another catalogue was the Chong xiu Xuanhe bogutu ( 重修宣和博古圖 ) or "Revised Illustrated Catalogue of Xuanhe Profoundly Learned Antiquity" (compiled from 1111 to 1125), commissioned by Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1125), and also featured illustrations of some 840 vessels and rubbings. Interests in antiquarian studies of ancient inscriptions and artefacts waned after
2688-485: Is preserved in the Bodleian Library . His list of complaints runs as follows: Douce collected a vast array of manuscripts and books, and formed an extensive library containing numerous manuscripts and printed books. Through his collection, Douce wished to illustrate the manners, customs, and beliefs of people throughout the ages and it is particularly strong in history, biography, antiquities, manners, customs,
2784-1011: Is taught at many high schools, especially in Europe and the Americas. It is most common in British public schools and grammar schools, the Italian liceo classico and liceo scientifico , the German Humanistisches Gymnasium and the Dutch gymnasium . Occasionally, some media outlets, targeting enthusiasts, broadcast in Latin. Notable examples include Radio Bremen in Germany, YLE radio in Finland (the Nuntii Latini broadcast from 1989 until it
2880-474: Is the exploration of philosophical questions. Roman-era Greek writers also dealt with antiquarian material, such as Plutarch in his Roman Questions and the Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus . The aim of Latin antiquarian works is to collect a great number of possible explanations, with less emphasis on arriving at a truth than in compiling the evidence. The antiquarians are often used as sources by
2976-543: The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL). Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same: volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance and relevant information. The reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy . About 270,000 inscriptions are known. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. In
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3072-745: The " Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns " in England and France, the antiquaries were firmly on the side of the "Moderns". They increasingly argued that empirical primary evidence could be used to refine and challenge the received interpretations of history handed down from literary authorities. By the end of the 19th century, antiquarianism had diverged into a number of more specialised academic disciplines including archaeology , art history , numismatics , sigillography , philology , literary studies and diplomatics . Antiquaries had always attracted
3168-567: The British Museum , but was compelled to resign owing to a quarrel with one of the trustees. Francis attended a school in Richmond, where he became proficient in Latin and made some progress with Greek, before suddenly relocating to a French academy. After his schooling, he entered the Gray's Inn in 1779 and was admitted an attorney of the King's Bench. In the same year, Francis was elected a fellow of
3264-401: The British Museum , with directions that the chest containing them should not be opened until 1 January 1900; and his paintings, carvings and miscellaneous antiquities to Sir Samuel Meyrick , who published an account of them, entitled The Doucean Museum . In 1811 Douce resigned from the British Museum citing a series of reasons that have become legendary in institutional circles. The letter
3360-583: The Holy See , the primary language of its public journal , the Acta Apostolicae Sedis , and the working language of the Roman Rota . Vatican City is also home to the world's only automatic teller machine that gives instructions in Latin. In the pontifical universities postgraduate courses of Canon law are taught in Latin, and papers are written in the same language. There are
3456-545: The Hottentots ; and for Roman remains in Britain, they are upon a foot with what ideas we should get of Inigo Jones , if somebody was to publish views of huts and houses that our officers run up at Senegal and Goree . Bishop Lyttelton used to torment me with barrows and Roman camps, and I would as soon have attended to the turf graves in our churchyards. I have no curiosity to know how awkward and clumsy men have been in
3552-574: The Middle Ages , borrowing from Latin occurred from ecclesiastical usage established by Saint Augustine of Canterbury in the 6th century or indirectly after the Norman Conquest , through the Anglo-Norman language . From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed " inkhorn terms ", as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by
3648-576: The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church at the Vatican City . The church continues to adapt concepts from modern languages to Ecclesiastical Latin of the Latin language. Contemporary Latin is more often studied to be read rather than spoken or actively used. Latin has greatly influenced the English language , along with a large number of others, and historically contributed many words to
3744-569: The Romance languages . During the Classical period, informal language was rarely written, so philologists have been left with only individual words and phrases cited by classical authors, inscriptions such as Curse tablets and those found as graffiti . In the Late Latin period, language changes reflecting spoken (non-classical) norms tend to be found in greater quantities in texts. As it
3840-477: The Song dynasty (960–1279), the scholar Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) analyzed alleged ancient artefacts bearing archaic inscriptions in bronze and stone , which he preserved in a collection of some 400 rubbings . Patricia Ebrey writes that Ouyang pioneered early ideas in epigraphy . The Kaogutu ( 考古圖 ) or "Illustrated Catalogue of Examined Antiquity" (preface dated 1092) compiled by Lü Dalin ( 呂大臨 ) (1046–1092)
3936-636: The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 and Germanic kingdoms took its place, the Germanic people adopted Latin as a language more suitable for legal and other, more formal uses. While the written form of Latin was increasingly standardized into a fixed form, the spoken forms began to diverge more greatly. Currently, the five most widely spoken Romance languages by number of native speakers are Spanish , Portuguese , French , Italian , and Romanian . Despite dialectal variation, which
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4032-418: The 20th century. C. R. Cheney , writing in 1956, observed that "[a]t the present day we have reached such a pass that the word 'antiquary' is not always held in high esteem, while 'antiquarianism' is almost a term of abuse". Arnaldo Momigliano in 1990 defined an antiquarian as "the type of man who is interested in historical facts without being interested in history". Professional historians still often use
4128-465: The 8th to the 20th century. [1] Antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary (from Latin antiquarius 'pertaining to ancient times') is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts , archaeological and historic sites , or historic archives and manuscripts . The essence of antiquarianism
4224-569: The Ashmolean Museum. This led to further exchanges between the Bodleian and the Ashmolean Museum, where Douce's prints and drawings began to be arranged and catalogued. Many of Douce's books have been digitised on the Digital Bodleian website, including over 247 archives and manuscripts, 97 printed books, 23 bindings, 8 maps and 7 music sheets. The digitised collection also spans 15 languages, including Latin, Middle French, English, Dutch, Chinese, Persian, and Malay, and ranges in period from
4320-637: The British Crown. The motto is featured on all presently minted coinage and has been featured in most coinage throughout the nation's history. Several states of the United States have Latin mottos , such as: Many military organizations today have Latin mottos, such as: Some law governing bodies in the Philippines have Latin mottos, such as: Some colleges and universities have adopted Latin mottos, for example Harvard University 's motto
4416-548: The Douce Collection – the largest single component of incunabula in the library. In 1884, Nicholson set out to break up the Douce Collection and other individual cabinets into geographical classes and series, including Douce's collection of coins, tokens and medals, although his coin-room project did not gain momentum until the 1890s. It was completed in 1902. By 1926, there was a severe shelf- and study-space problem so Douce's coins, tokens, and medals were transferred to
4512-613: The English lexicon , particularly after the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest . Latin and Ancient Greek roots are heavily used in English vocabulary in theology , the sciences , medicine , and law . A number of phases of the language have been recognized, each distinguished by subtle differences in vocabulary, usage, spelling, and syntax. There are no hard and fast rules of classification; different scholars emphasize different features. As
4608-599: The Grinch Stole Christmas! , The Cat in the Hat , and a book of fairy tales, " fabulae mirabiles ", are intended to garner popular interest in the language. Additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissner's Latin Phrasebook . Some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series,
4704-466: The Romans as the "systematic collections of all the relics of the past" faded. Antiquarianism's wider flowering is more generally associated with the Renaissance , and with the critical assessment and questioning of classical texts undertaken in that period by humanist scholars. Textual criticism soon broadened into an awareness of the supplementary perspectives on the past which could be offered by
4800-471: The Schools Quadrangle was cleared and renamed 'The Douce Room'. The room's walls were lined with shelves roughly twelve-feet high and the room was divided into northern and southern sections by a ceiling-high row of shelves which created a smaller room at the south end. The room was finished with shelf ladders, six freestanding dwarf-cases, and two large oak tables. Douce's manuscripts were held in
4896-618: The Society of Antiquaries and in 1781 was admitted to use the British Museum Library. In 1807 he published his Illustrations of Shakespeare and Ancient Manners (2 vols. 8vo), which contained some curious information, along with a great deal of trifling criticism and mistaken interpretation. An unfavourable notice of the work in The Edinburgh Review greatly irritated the author, and made him unwilling to venture any further publications. He contributed, however,
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#17327717885094992-534: The Song dynasty, but were revived by early Qing dynasty (1644–1912) scholars such as Gu Yanwu (1613–1682) and Yan Ruoju (1636–1704). In ancient Rome , a strong sense of traditionalism motivated an interest in studying and recording the "monuments" of the past; the Augustan historian Livy uses the Latin monumenta in the sense of "antiquarian matters." Books on antiquarian topics covered such subjects as
5088-482: The Summary Catalogue. Douce bequeathed over 19,000 volumes of printed books to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, including 479 incunabula (15 of which are items printed by Caxton); Bibles; Books of Common Prayer; Psalters; early-printed editions of medieval romances; editions of novels and tales, including 17th and 18th century French fiction; original and early editions of 17th and 18th century English drama;
5184-467: The United States the unofficial national motto until 1956 was E pluribus unum meaning "Out of many, one". The motto continues to be featured on the Great Seal . It also appears on the flags and seals of both houses of congress and the flags of the states of Michigan, North Dakota, New York, and Wisconsin. The motto's 13 letters symbolically represent the original Thirteen Colonies which revolted from
5280-563: The University of Kentucky, the University of Oxford and also Princeton University. There are many websites and forums maintained in Latin by enthusiasts. The Latin Misplaced Pages has more than 130,000 articles. Italian , French , Portuguese , Spanish , Romanian , Catalan , Romansh , Sardinian and other Romance languages are direct descendants of Latin. There are also many Latin borrowings in English and Albanian , as well as
5376-464: The ancient historians, and many antiquarian writers are known only through these citations. Despite the importance of antiquarian writing in the literature of ancient Rome , some scholars view antiquarianism as emerging only in the Middle Ages . Medieval antiquarians sometimes made collections of inscriptions or records of monuments, but the Varro-inspired concept of antiquitates among
5472-549: The antiquaries' interests, was nonetheless emphatic in his insistence that the study of cultural relics should be selective and informed by taste and aesthetics . He deplored the more comprehensive and eclectic approach of the Society of Antiquaries, and their interest in the primitive past. In 1778 he wrote: The antiquaries will be as ridiculous as they used to be; and since it is impossible to infuse taste into them, they will be as dry and dull as their predecessors. One may revive what perished, but it will perish again, if more life
5568-425: The benefit of those who do not understand Latin. There are also songs written with Latin lyrics . The libretto for the opera-oratorio Oedipus rex by Igor Stravinsky is in Latin. Parts of Carl Orff 's Carmina Burana are written in Latin. Enya has recorded several tracks with Latin lyrics. The continued instruction of Latin is seen by some as a highly valuable component of a liberal arts education. Latin
5664-944: The better for being mouldy and worme-eaten"), in Jean-Siméon Chardin 's painting Le Singe Antiquaire ( c. 1726 ), in Sir Walter Scott 's novel The Antiquary (1816), in the caricatures of Thomas Rowlandson , and in many other places. The New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew of c. 1698 defines an antiquary as "A curious critic in old Coins, Stones and Inscriptions, in Worm-eaten Records and ancient Manuscripts, also one that affects and blindly dotes, on Relics, Ruins, old Customs Phrases and Fashions". In his "Epigrams", John Donne wrote of The Antiquary: "If in his study he hath so much care To hang all old strange things Let his wife beware." The word's resonances were close to those of modern terms for individuals with obsessive interests in technical minutiae, such as nerd , trainspotter or anorak . The connoisseur Horace Walpole , who shared many of
5760-409: The careful work of Petrarch, Politian and others, first the demand for manuscripts, and then the rush to bring works into print, led to the circulation of inaccurate copies for several centuries following. Neo-Latin literature was extensive and prolific, but less well known or understood today. Works covered poetry, prose stories and early novels, occasional pieces and collections of letters, to name
5856-415: The classicised Latin that followed through to the present are often grouped together as Neo-Latin , or New Latin, which have in recent decades become a focus of renewed study , given their importance for the development of European culture, religion and science. The vast majority of written Latin belongs to this period, but its full extent is unknown. The Renaissance reinforced the position of Latin as
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#17327717885095952-515: The costumes or material culture of past eras, but who are perceived to lack much understanding of the cultural values and historical contexts of the periods in question. A College (or Society) of Antiquaries was founded in London in c. 1586 , to debate matters of antiquarian interest. Members included William Camden , Sir Robert Cotton , John Stow , William Lambarde , Richard Carew and others. This body existed until 1604, when it fell under suspicion of being political in its aims, and
6048-412: The country's full Latin name. Some film and television in ancient settings, such as Sebastiane , The Passion of the Christ and Barbarians (2020 TV series) , have been made with dialogue in Latin. Occasionally, Latin dialogue is used because of its association with religion or philosophy, in such film/television series as The Exorcist and Lost (" Jughead "). Subtitles are usually shown for
6144-426: The dawn of arts or in their decay. In his essay "On the Uses and Abuses of History for Life" from his Untimely Meditations , philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche examines three forms of history . One of these is "antiquarian history", an objectivising historicism which forges little or no creative connection between past and present. Nietzsche's philosophy of history had a significant impact on critical history in
6240-429: The decline in written Latin output. Despite having no native speakers, Latin is still used for a variety of purposes in the contemporary world. The largest organisation that retains Latin in official and quasi-official contexts is the Catholic Church . The Catholic Church required that Mass be carried out in Latin until the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965 , which permitted the use of the vernacular . Latin remains
6336-405: The educated and official world, Latin continued without its natural spoken base. Moreover, this Latin spread into lands that had never spoken Latin, such as the Germanic and Slavic nations. It became useful for international communication between the member states of the Holy Roman Empire and its allies. Without the institutions of the Roman Empire that had supported its uniformity, Medieval Latin
6432-442: The evidential value for their researches of non-textual sources, including seals and church monuments . Many early modern antiquaries were also chorographers : that is to say, they recorded landscapes and monuments within regional or national descriptions. In England, some of the most important of these took the form of county histories . In the context of the 17th-century scientific revolution , and more specifically that of
6528-412: The fine arts, travel, archaeology, witchcraft, the ‘Dance of Death’, and in foreign books. Although his collection spans a number of different languages, it has particular strengths in English literature, especially Shakespeare, illuminated Books of Hours, and French romances. A catalogue of his manuscripts and printed books was published in 1840 by Henry Octavius Coxe , and later supplemented by entries in
6624-469: The historian were those of the philosophical and literary reinterpretation of received narratives. Jan Broadway defines an antiquary as "someone who studied the past on a thematic rather than a chronological basis". Francis Bacon in 1605 described readings of the past based on antiquities (which he defined as "Monuments, Names, Wordes, Proverbes, Traditions, Private Recordes, and Evidences, Fragments of stories, Passages of Bookes, that concerne not storie, and
6720-504: The invention of printing and are now published in carefully annotated printed editions, such as the Loeb Classical Library , published by Harvard University Press , or the Oxford Classical Texts , published by Oxford University Press . Latin translations of modern literature such as: The Hobbit , Treasure Island , Robinson Crusoe , Paddington Bear , Winnie the Pooh , The Adventures of Tintin , Asterix , Harry Potter , Le Petit Prince , Max and Moritz , How
6816-412: The language of the Roman Rite . The Tridentine Mass (also known as the Extraordinary Form or Traditional Latin Mass) is celebrated in Latin. Although the Mass of Paul VI (also known as the Ordinary Form or the Novus Ordo) is usually celebrated in the local vernacular language, it can be and often is said in Latin, in part or in whole, especially at multilingual gatherings. It is the official language of
6912-440: The large areas where it had come to be natively spoken. However, even after the fall of Western Rome , Latin remained the common language of international communication , science, scholarship and academia in Europe until well into the early 19th century, by which time modern languages had supplanted it in common academic and political usage. Late Latin is the literary language from the 3rd century AD onward. No longer spoken as
7008-467: The late seventeenth century, when spoken skills began to erode. It then became increasingly taught only to be read. Latin grammar is highly fusional , with classes of inflections for case , number , person , gender , tense , mood , voice , and aspect . The Latin alphabet is directly derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets . Latin remains the official language of the Holy See and
7104-431: The later part of the Roman Republic , up to 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin . It is attested both in inscriptions and in some of the earliest extant Latin literary works, such as the comedies of Plautus and Terence . The Latin alphabet was devised from the Etruscan alphabet . The writing later changed from what was initially either a right-to-left or a boustrophedon script to what ultimately became
7200-421: The less prestigious colloquial registers , attested in inscriptions and some literary works such as those of the comic playwrights Plautus and Terence and the author Petronius . While often called a "dead language", Latin did not undergo language death . By the 6th to 9th centuries, natural language change eventually resulted in Latin as a vernacular language evolving into distinct Romance languages in
7296-422: The like") as "unperfect Histories". Such distinctions began to be eroded in the second half of the 19th century as the school of empirical source-based history championed by Leopold von Ranke began to find widespread acceptance, and today's historians employ the full range of techniques pioneered by the early antiquaries. Rosemary Sweet suggests that 18th-century antiquaries ... probably had more in common with
7392-439: The origin of customs, religious rituals , and political institutions ; genealogy ; topography and landmarks; and etymology . Annals and histories might also include sections pertaining to these subjects, but annals are chronological in structure, and Roman histories , such as those of Livy and Tacitus , are both chronological and offer an overarching narrative and interpretation of events. By contrast, antiquarian works as
7488-466: The other varieties, as it was largely separated from the unifying influences in the western part of the Empire. Spoken Latin began to diverge into distinct languages by the 9th century at the latest, when the earliest extant Romance writings begin to appear. They were, throughout the period, confined to everyday speech, as Medieval Latin was used for writing. For many Italians using Latin, though, there
7584-502: The professional historian of the twenty-first century, in terms of methodology, approach to sources and the struggle to reconcile erudition with style, than did the authors of the grand narratives of national history. In many European languages, the word antiquarian (or its equivalent) has shifted in modern times to refer to a person who either trades in or collects rare and ancient antiquarian books ; or who trades in or collects antique objects more generally. In English, however, although
7680-411: The smaller room at the south end, while the printed books were shelved in the larger room at the northern section. In 1839, the library's board of curators commissioned a retired London engraver, Thomas Dodd, to catalogue the prints and drawings. By 1840, however, Douce's coins, tokens, and medals remained unsorted in the library's coin room. It was not until 1871, when William S. Vaux of the British Museum
7776-462: The study of coins , inscriptions and other archaeological remains, as well as documents from medieval periods. Antiquaries often formed collections of these and other objects; cabinet of curiosities is a general term for early collections, which often encompassed antiquities and more recent art, items of natural history, memorabilia and items from far-away lands. The importance placed on lineage in early modern Europe meant that antiquarianism
7872-414: The term "antiquarian" in a pejorative sense, to refer to historical studies which seem concerned only to place on record trivial or inconsequential facts, and which fail to consider the wider implications of these, or to formulate any kind of argument. The term is also sometimes applied to the activities of amateur historians such as historical reenactors , who may have a meticulous approach to reconstructing
7968-575: The terms "antiquarian book" and "antiquarian bookseller" are widely used, the nouns "antiquarian" and "antiquary" very rarely carry this sense. An antiquarian is primarily a student of ancient books, documents, artefacts or monuments. Many antiquarians have also built up extensive personal collections in order to inform their studies, but a far greater number have not; and conversely many collectors of books or antiques would not regard themselves (or be regarded) as antiquarians. Antiquaries often appeared to possess an unwholesome interest in death, decay, and
8064-545: The unfashionable, while their focus on obscure and arcane details meant that they seemed to lack an awareness both of the realities and practicalities of modern life, and of the wider currents of history. For all these reasons they frequently became objects of ridicule. The antiquary was satirised in John Earle 's Micro-cosmographie of 1628 ("Hee is one that hath that unnaturall disease to bee enamour'd of old age, and wrinkles, and loves all things (as Dutchmen doe Cheese)
8160-1017: The word "antiquarian" in their titles. These have included the Cambridge Antiquarian Society , founded in 1840; the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society , founded in 1883; the Clifton Antiquarian Club , founded in Bristol in 1884; the Orkney Antiquarian Society , founded in 1922; and the Plymouth Antiquarian Society , founded in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1919. Latin language Latin ( lingua Latina , pronounced [ˈlɪŋɡʷa ɫaˈtiːna] , or Latinum [ɫaˈtiːnʊ̃] )
8256-484: Was abolished by King James I . Papers read at their meetings are preserved in Cotton's collections , and were printed by Thomas Hearne in 1720 under the title A Collection of Curious Discourses , a second edition appearing in 1771. In 1707 a number of English antiquaries began to hold regular meetings for the discussion of their hobby and in 1717 the Society of Antiquaries was formally reconstituted, finally receiving
8352-416: Was commissioned by the library, that the coins were catalogued, although he only managed to catalogue around half of the collection by 1881. In 1882, Edward B. Nicholson overtook the collection: he held the unorthodox view that all material must be catalogued, and also decided to remove the shelves of The Douce Room, but in doing so forced the relocation of a segment of Douce's books. The new overflow of books
8448-413: Was free to develop on its own, there is no reason to suppose that the speech was uniform either diachronically or geographically. On the contrary, Romanised European populations developed their own dialects of the language, which eventually led to the differentiation of Romance languages . Late Latin is a kind of written Latin used in the 3rd to 6th centuries. This began to diverge from Classical forms at
8544-523: Was managed by adding additional freestanding cases. Nicholson also demanded the creation of a separate catalogue of the library's incunabula, conducted by E. Gordon Duff, which later led to the discovery of the Schoeffer-Fust Canon Missæ of 1457. Duff left the Bodleian in 1888, and his work was resumed by Robert Proctor in 1891 who completed the catalogue in 1893. The catalogue included over 4,800 items, almost 400 of which were part of
8640-496: Was much more liberal in its linguistic cohesion: for example, in classical Latin sum and eram are used as auxiliary verbs in the perfect and pluperfect passive, which are compound tenses. Medieval Latin might use fui and fueram instead. Furthermore, the meanings of many words were changed and new words were introduced, often under influence from the vernacular. Identifiable individual styles of classically incorrect Latin prevail. Renaissance Latin, 1300 to 1500, and
8736-441: Was no complete separation between Italian and Latin, even into the beginning of the Renaissance . Petrarch for example saw Latin as a literary version of the spoken language. Medieval Latin is the written Latin in use during that portion of the post-classical period when no corresponding Latin vernacular existed, that is from around 700 to 1500 AD. The spoken language had developed into the various Romance languages; however, in
8832-464: Was often closely associated with genealogy , and a number of prominent antiquaries (including Robert Glover , William Camden , William Dugdale and Elias Ashmole ) held office as professional heralds . The development of genealogy as a " scientific " discipline (i.e. one that rejected unsubstantiated legends, and demanded high standards of proof for its claims) went hand-in-hand with the development of antiquarianism. Genealogical antiquaries recognised
8928-456: Was perceived to exist between the interests and activities of the antiquary and the historian . The antiquary was concerned with the relics of the past (whether documents , artefacts or monuments ), whereas the historian was concerned with the narrative of the past, and its political or moral lessons for the present. The skills of the antiquary tended to be those of the critical examination and interrogation of his sources, whereas those of
9024-482: Was shut down in June 2019), and Vatican Radio & Television, all of which broadcast news segments and other material in Latin. A variety of organisations, as well as informal Latin 'circuli' ('circles'), have been founded in more recent times to support the use of spoken Latin. Moreover, a number of university classics departments have begun incorporating communicative pedagogies in their Latin courses. These include
9120-405: Was the usual term in English from the 16th to the mid-18th centuries to describe a person interested in antiquities (the word "antiquarian" being generally found only in an adjectival sense). From the second half of the 18th century, however, "antiquarian" began to be used more widely as a noun, and today both forms are equally acceptable. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, a clear distinction
9216-437: Was uneasy from the start, so that after only five years' service he resigned in 1811. In 1823 he received a bequest of £50,000 from the estate of the sculptor Joseph Nollekens, which enabled him to buy the finest printed books and manuscripts that came on to the market. He died on 30 March 1834. In his will he left his printed books, illuminated manuscripts, coins &c., to the Bodleian Library ; his own manuscript works to
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