ACADEMIC YEAR 2021/2022
Prof.ssa Silvia Nocentini ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Programme
The course provides a general overview of Latin Christian literature which concerns the saints (hagiography, prof.ssa Nocentini) from the late antiquity to 15th century, focusing on the interplays between narrative and figurative sources (iconography, prof.ssa Oen), and the relevant cultural and devotional milieu. Special attention will be due to the different types of saints and their images, exploring how written and oral topoi reflect on the figurative art.
The course is divided into classroom lectures and site visits.
Selected bibliography
R. Bartlett, Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation, Princeton, 2013.
Materials and readings provided by the instructors.
Reference books
G. Kaftal, Iconography of the Saints in Tuscan Painting, Firenze 1952; Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North-East Italy, Firenze 1978; Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North-West Italy, Firenze 1985; Iconography of the Saints in Central and South Italian Schools of Painting, Firenze 1986.
BHL: Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis, Bruxelles 1898-1901; Novum supplementum, Bruxelles 1986.
Assessment methods
Students showing to be able to deeply, critically analyze texts and images and to put them in the appropriate context will be awarded with marks of excellence (28/30L). Special attention is given to the articulation with which the student presents and delivers his ideas during the interview.
Students showing only a mnemonic knowledge of the course’s materials and delivering their inter-view with a fairly proper language at times inappropriate will receive average marks (24/27).
A sufficient or superficial knowledge and critical understanding of the course’s material will be assessed with sufficient marks (18/23).
Training gaps, inappropriate language skills, lack of mastering the material will result into a failing grade.
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ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021
Instructor: Prof. Silvia Nocentini
Programme
The course provides a general overview on latin Christian literature which concerns the saints (hagiography) from the late antiquity to 15th century, focusing on the interplays between narrative and figurative sources (iconography), and the relevant cultural and devotional milieu. Special attention will be due to the different types of saints and their images, exploring how written and oral topoi reflect on the figurative art.
Bibliography
• R. Bartlett, Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation, Princeton, 2013.
• H. Delehaye, Les Légendes hagiographiques, Bruxelles 1906 (online); english translation: The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography, Translated By V. M. Crawford, London 1907 (repr. Notre Dame 1961, online)
• H. Delehaye, Cinq leçons sur la méthode hagiographique, Bruxelles 1981.
•J. Dubois - J.-L. Lemaitre, Sources et méthodes de l'hagiographie médiévale, Paris, 1993.
• Grabar, Christian Iconography. A Study of Its Origins, The A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 1961, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Bollingen Series XXXV, 10), Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton Univ. Press, 1968.
• Leonardi, Agiografia, in Idem, Agiografie medievali, Firenze 2011, pp. 31-72.
Reference Books
G. Kaftal, Iconography of the Saints in Tuscan Painting, Firenze 1952; Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North East Italy, Firenze 1978; Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North West Italy, Firenze 1985; Iconography of the Saints in Central and South Italian Schools of Painting, Firenze 1986.
BHL: Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis, Bruxelles 1898-1901; Novum supplementum, Bruxelles 1986.