§. Germanic Linguistics:
- Indo-European linguistic legacy, innovations, distinctive features and development of the Germanic languages from the beginnings to the Pre-Modern era (First Grimm’s Law, Verner’s Law, strong stress on the first syllable of the word, vowel qualities, umlaut, the change of /z/ > /r/, alternation between fricatives, Second Grimm’s Law, strong and weak verbs, strong and weak nouns, adjectives declension).
- Contacts and linguistic interferences of Germanic languages in ancient times and Middle Ages (loanwords and calques from Latin and Celtic language to old Germanic languages, loanwords from French and Old Norse to Middle English, etc.)
- Detailed study on the beginnings of English and German language (first written witnesses, translations in English and German language, peculiar feature of the initial stage of English and German language)
§. History and culture of the Germanic peoples
- Germanic peoples from Prehistory to nowadays, migrations, Romano-Germanic kingdoms.
- Historical, epigraphic, literary and linguistic sources.
- Social system, social and juridical organization.
- Germanic religion and mythology before and after the contact with the Latin-Christian culture, Christianity.
- Transition from orality to literacy.
§. Medieval Germanic Literature and Introduction to the critical edition.
- Early written witnesses, translations, beginnings of the Germanic vernacular languages literatures (Gothic, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon, Old Norse).
- Texts which are part of the European literary heritage (Beowulf, Hildebrandslied, Nibelungenlied, Heliand, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Old Icelandic sagas).
- The manuscript tradition of these texts.
- Introduction to textual criticism. The importance of the critical edition, problems and methods.
*SINGLE-SUBJECT COURSE (2CFU)
Words and blood. Verbal remedies in Middle Ages.
- Magic, medicine, healing magic and verbal remedies in Middle Ages.
- Monastic medicine and magic: prayers, blessings and charms.
- Fundamentals of medieval medicine (how to live safe and sound, dietetics, pharmacology, surgery).
- The word as remedy.
- Charms analyzed (from: Eleonora Cianci, Incantesimi e benedizioni nella letteratura tedesca medievale (IX-XIII sec.). Göppingen 2004):
1. Ad catarrum dic, pp. 109-110.
2. Ad fluxum sanguinis narium, pp. 111-112.
3. Ad restringendum sanguinem (Abdinghof), pp. 115-117.
4. Bamberg first charm (to stop bleeding), pp. 120-121.
5. Bamberg second charm (to heal wounds), pp. 121-123.
6. Munich charm for wounds, pp. 132-135.
