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Sumerian literature is the literature written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze Age. Most Sumerian literature is preserved indirectly, via Assyrian or Babylonian copies.

The Sumerians invented the first writing system, developing Sumerian cuneiform writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BCE. The earliest literary texts appear from about the 27th century BCE.

The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature.

Sumerian literature has not been handed down to us directly, rather it has been rediscovered through archaeology. Nevertheless, the Akkadians and Babylonians borrowed much from the Sumerian literary heritage, and spread these traditions throughout the Middle East, influencing much of the literature that followed in this region.

Literary works

Important include:

A Creation and Flood Myth (translation) Three epic cycles:

o Two Enmerkar legends:

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta (translation) Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana (translation)

o Two tales of Lugalbanda during Enmerkar's campaign against Aratta: Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave (translation) Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird (translation)

o Five stories in the Gilgamesh epic cycle: Gilgamesh and Huwawa (version A, version B) Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (translation) Gilgamesh and Aga (translation) Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld (translation) The Death of Gilgamesh (translation)

The Lament for Ur (translation)

See also

Ancient Near East portal

Literature portal

Ancient Egyptian literature Cuneiform law Sumerian creation myth

External links

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature Catalogue of literary works at the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

Akkadian literatureAkkadian literature is the ancient literature written in the Akkadian language (Assyrian and Babylonian languages) written in Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylonia) during the period spanning the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age (roughly the 23rd to 6th centuries BC).[1][2]

Drawing on the traditions of Sumerian literature, the Babylonians compiled a substantial textual tradition of mythological narrative, legal texts, scientific works, letters and other literary forms.

Contents

1 Literature in Akkadian society 2 Relation to other ancient literatures 3 Notable works

o 3.1 Annals, chronicles and historical epics o 3.2 Humorous literature o 3.3 Laws o 3.4 Mythology o 3.5 Philosophy

o 3.6 Omens, divination and incantation texts o 3.7 Wisdom and didactic literature o 3.8 Other genres

4 See also 5 References

Literature in Akkadian society

Most of what we have from the Babylonians was inscribed in cuneiform with a metal stylus on tablets of clay, called laterculae coctiles by Pliny the Elder; papyrus seems to have been also employed, but it has perished.

There were libraries in most towns and temples; an old Sumerian proverb averred that "he who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn." Women as well as men learned to read and write, and in Semitic times, this involved a knowledge of the extinct Sumerian language, and a complicated and extensive syllabary. The Babylonians' very advanced systems of writing, science and mathematics contributed greatly to their literary output.

Relation to other ancient literatures

A considerable amount of Babylonian literature was translated from Sumerian originals, and the language of religion and law long continued to be the old agglutinative language of Sumer. Vocabularies, grammars, and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students, as well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of obscure words and phrases. The characters of the syllabary were all arranged and named, and elaborate lists of them were drawn up.

Assyrian culture and literature came from Babylonia, but even here there was a difference between the two countries. There was little in Assyrian literature that was original, and education, general in Babylonia, was mostly restricted to a single class in the northern kingdom. In Babylonia, it was of very old standing. Under the second Assyrian empire, when Nineveh had become a great centre of trade, Aramaic — the language of commerce and diplomacy — was added to the number of subjects that the educated class was required to learn.

Under the Seleucids, Greek was introduced into Babylon, and fragments of tablets have been found with Sumerian and Assyrian (i.e. Semitic Babylonian) words transcribed into Greek letters.

Notable works

According to Oppenheim, the corpus of cuneiform literature amounted to around 1,500 texts at any one time or place, approximately half of which, at least from the first millennium, is extant in fragmentary form, and the most common genres included (in order of predominance) are omen texts, lexical lists, ritual incantations, cathartic and apotropaic conjurations, historical and mythological epics, fables and proverbs.[3]

Annals, chronicles and historical epics

The Assyrian dialect of Akkadian is particularly rich in royal inscriptions from the end of the 14th century BC onward, for example the epics of Adad-nārārī, Tukulti-Ninurta, and Šulmānu-ašarēdu III and the annals which catalogued the campaigns of the neo-Assyrian monarchs. The earliest historical royal epic is, however, that of Zimri-Lim (ca. 1710–1698 BC short) of Mari. Similar literature of the

middle Babylonian period is rather poorly preserved with a fragmentary epic of the Kassite period, that of Adad-šuma-uṣur and of Nabû-kudurrī-uṣur I and Marduk.[4]

The chronicle traditional is first attested in the compositions of the early Iron Age which hark back to earlier times, such as the Chronicle of Early Kings, the Dynastic Chronicle, Chronicle P and the Assyrian Synchronistic History. A series of fifteen neo to late Babylonian Chronicles have been recovered which narrate the period spanning Nabû-nasir (747–734 BC) to Seleucus III Ceraunus (243–223 BC) and were derived from the political events described in Babylonian astronomical diaries.

Humorous literature

Exemplars of comical texts span the genres of burlesque to satire and include humorous love poems and riddles. “At the cleaners” is a tale of the dispute between an insolent scrubber and his client, a “sophomoric fop” who lectures the cleaner in ridiculous detail on how to launder his clothes, driving the exasperated cleaner to suggest that he lose no time in taking it to the river and doing it himself.[5] The Dialogue of Pessimism was seen as a saturnalia by Böhl, where master and servant switch roles, and as a burlesque by Speiser, where a fatuous master mouthes clichés and a servant echoes him. Lambert considered it a musing of a mercurial adolescent with suicidal tendencies.[6]

The Aluzinnu (“trickster,” a jester, clown or buffoon) text, extant in five fragments from the neo-Assyrian period concerns an individual, dābibu, ākil karṣi, “character assassin,” who made a living entertaining others with parodies, mimicry, and scatological songs. The Poor Man of Nippur provides a subversive narrative of the triumph of the underdog over his superior[7] while Ninurta-Pāqidāt's Dog Bite is a school text of a slapstick nature.[8]

Laws

The earliest Akkadian laws are the “Old Assyrian Laws” relating to the conduct of the commercial court of a trading colony in Anatolia, ca. 1900 BC. The Laws of Eshnunna were a collection of sixty laws named for the city of its provenance and dating to around 1770 BC. The Code of Ḫammu-rapi, ca. 1750 BC, was the longest of the Mesopotamian legal collections, extending to nearly three hundred individual laws and accompanied by a lengthy prologue and epilogue. The edict of Ammi-Saduqa, ca. 1646 BC, was the last issued by one of Ḫammu-rapi’s successors.

The Middle Assyrian Laws date to the fourteenth century BC, over a hundred laws are extant from Assur. The Middle Assyrian Palace Decrees, known as the “Harem Edicts,” from the reigns of Aššur-uballiṭ I, ca. 1360 BC, to Tukultī-apil-Ešarra I, ca 1076 BC, concern aspects of courtly etiquette and the severe penalties (flagellation, mutilation and execution) for flouting them. The Neo-Babylonian Laws number just fifteen, ca. 700 BC, probably from Sippar.[9]

Mythology

One of the most famous of these was the Epic of Gilgamesh, which first appears in Akkadian during the Old Babylonian period as a circa 1,000 line epic known by its incipit, šūtur eli šarrī, ‘‘Surpassing all other kings,’’ which incorporated some of the stories from the five earlier Sumerian Gilgamesh tales. A plethora of mid to late second millennium versions give witness to its popularity. The standard Babylonian version, ša naqba īmeru, ‘‘He who saw the deep,’’ contains up to 3,000 lines on eleven tablets and a prose meditation on the fate of man on the twelfth which was virtually a word-for-word translation of the Sumerian “Bilgames and the Netherworld.” It is extant in 73 copies and was credited to a certain Sîn-lēqi-unninni [10] and arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each division contains the story of a single adventure in the career of Gilgamesh. The whole story is a composite product, and it is probable that some of the stories are artificially attached to the central figure.

Another epic was that of the "Creation" Enûma Eliš, whose object was to glorify Bel-Marduk by describing his contest with Tiamat, the dragon of chaos. In the first book, an account is given of the creation of the world from the primeval deep, and the birth of the gods of light. Then comes the story of the struggle between the gods of light and the powers of darkness, and the final victory of Marduk,

who clove Tiamat asunder, forming the heaven from half of her body and the earth from the other. Marduk next arranged the stars in order, along with the sun and moon, and gave them laws they were never to transgress. After this, the plants and animals were created, and finally man. Marduk here takes the place of Ea, who appears as the creator in the older legends, and is said to have fashioned man from clay.

The legend of Adapa, the first man — a portion of which was found in the record-office of the Egyptian king Akhenaton at Tell-el-Amarna — explains the origin of death. Adapa, while fishing, had broken the wings of the south wind, and was accordingly summoned before the tribunal of Anu in heaven. Ea counselled him not to eat or drink anything there. He followed this advice, and thus refused the food that would have made him and his descendants immortal.

Among the other legends of Babylonia may be mentioned those of Namtar, the plague-demon; of Erra, the pestilence; of Etana and of Anzu. Hades, the abode of Ereshkigal or Allatu, had been entered by Nergal, who, angered by a message sent to her by the gods of the upper world, ordered Namtar to strike off her head. She, however, declared that she would submit to any conditions imposed on her, and would give Nergal the sovereignty of the earth. Nergal accordingly relented, and Allatu became the queen of the infernal world. Etana conspired with the eagle to fly to the highest heaven. The first gate, that of Anu, was successfully reached; but in ascending still farther to the gate of Ishtar, the strength of the eagle gave way, and Etanna was dashed to the ground. As for the storm-god Anzu, we are told that he stole the tablets of destiny, and therewith the prerogatives of Enlil. God after god was ordered to pursue him and recover them, but it would seem that it was only by a stratagem that they were finally regained.

Philosophy

The origins of Babylonian philosophy can be traced back to early Mesopotamian wisdom, which embodied certain philosophies of life, particularly ethics. These are reflected in Mesopotamian religion and in a variety of Babylonian literature in the forms of dialectic, dialogs, epic poetry, folklore, hymns, lyrics, prose, and proverbs. These different forms of literature were first classified by the Babylonians, and they had developed forms of reasoning both rationally and empirically.[11]

Esagil-kin-apli's medical Diagnostic Handbook written in the 11th century BC was based on a logical set of axioms and assumptions, including the modern view that through the examination and inspection of the symptoms of a patient, it is possible to determine the patient's disease, its aetiology and future development, and the chances of the patient's recovery.[12]

During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Babylonian astronomers began studying philosophy dealing with the ideal nature of the early universe and began employing an internal logic within their predictive planetary systems. This was an important contribution to the philosophy of science.[13]

It is possible that Babylonian philosophy had an influence on Greek, particularly Hellenistic philosophy. The Babylonian text Dialogue of Pessimism contains similarities to the agonistic thought of the sophists, the Heraclitean doctrine of contrasts, and the dialogs of Plato, as well as a precursor to the maieutic Socratic method developed by Socrates.[14] The Ionian philosopher Thales had also studied in Babylonia (This is controversial; see primary source, Josephus Contra Apionem I.2).

Omens, divination and incantation texts

The magnitude of omen literature within the Akkadian corpus is one of the peculiar distinguishing features of this language’s legacy. According to Oppenheim, 30% of all documents of this tradition are of this genre.[15] Exemplars of omen text appear during the earliest periods of Akkadian literature but come to their maturity early in the first millennium with the formation of canonical versions. Notable amongst these is the Enuma Anu Enlil (astrological omens), Šumma ālu (terrestrial omens), Šumma izbu (anomalous births), Alamdimmû (physiognomic omens), and Iškar Zaqīqu (dream omens). It is amongst this genre, also, that the Sakikkū (SA.GIG) “Diagnostic Handbook” belongs.

The practice of extispicy, divination through the entrails of animals, was perfected into a science over the millennia by the Babylonians and supporting texts were eventually gathered into a monumental handbook, the Bārûtu, extending over a hundred tablets and divided into ten chapters.[16] Divination, however, extended into other fields with, for example, the old Babylonian libanomancy texts, concerning interpreting portents from incense smoke, [17] being one and Bēl-nadin-šumi’s omen text on the flight paths of birds, composed during the reign of Kassite king Meli-Šipak, being another exemplar.[18]

Incantations form an important part of this literary heritage, covering a range of rituals from the sacred, Maqlû, "burning" to counter witchcraft, Šurpu, “incineration” to counter curses, Namburbi, to preempt inauspicious omens, Utukkū Lemnūtu (actually bilingual), to exorcise “Evil Demons,” and Bīt rimki, or “bath house,” the purification and substitution ceremony, to the mundane, Šà.zi.ga, “the rising of the heart,” potency spells, and Zu-buru-dabbeda, “to seize the ‘locust tooth’,” a compendium of incantations against field pests.[19]

Wisdom and didactic literature

A particularly rich genre of Akkadian texts was that represented by the moniker of “wisdom literature,” although there are differences in opinion concerning which works qualify for inclusion.[20] One of the earliest exemplars was the Dialogue between a Man and His God from the late Old Babylonian period. Perhaps the most notable were the Poem of the Righteous Sufferer (Ludlul bēl nēmeqi) and the Babylonian Theodicy. Included in this group are a number of fables or contest literature, in varying states of preservation, such as the Tamarisk and the Palm, the Fable of the Willow, Nisaba and Wheat (kibtu), the Ox and the Horse (Inum Ištar šurbutum, “When exalted Ishtar”), the Fable of the Fox, and the Fable of the Riding-donkey.[21]

W. G. Lambert and others include several popular sayings, and proverbs (both bilingual and Babylonian) together with the Lament of a Sufferer with a Prayer to Marduk, Counsels of Wisdom, Counsels of a Pessimist, and Advice to a Prince in this genre. “A Dialogue between Šūpê-amēli and His Father” (Šimâ milka) is a piece of wisdom literature in the manner of a deathbed debate from the Akkadian hinterland.[20] There are also Akkadian translations of earlier Sumerian works such as the Instructions of Shuruppak which are often considered belonging to this tradition.

Other genres

Besides the purely literary works, there were others of varied nature, including collections of letters, partly official, partly private. Among them the most interesting are the letters of Hammurabi, which have been edited by Leonard William King.

Ancient Egyptian literatureFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

Egyptian hieroglyphs with cartouches for the name "Ramesses II", from the Luxor Temple, New Kingdom

Ancient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from Ancient Egypt's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination. It represents the oldest corpus of Egyptian literature. Along with Sumerian literature, it is considered the world's earliest literature.[1]

Writing in Ancient Egypt—both hieroglyphic and hieratic—first appeared in the late 4th millennium BC during the late phase of predynastic Egypt. By the Old Kingdom (26th century BC to 22nd century BC), literary works included funerary texts, epistles and letters, hymns and poems, and commemorative autobiographical texts recounting the careers of prominent administrative officials. It was not until the early Middle Kingdom (21st century BC to 17th century BC) that a narrative Egyptian literature was created. This was a "media revolution" which, according to Richard B. Parkinson, was the result of the rise of an intellectual class of scribes, new cultural sensibilities about individuality, unprecedented levels of literacy, and mainstream access to written materials.[2] However, it is possible that the overall literacy rate was less than one percent of the entire population. The creation of literature was thus an elite exercise, monopolized by a scribal class attached to government offices and the royal court of the ruling pharaoh. However, there is no full consensus among modern scholars concerning the dependence of ancient Egyptian literature on the sociopolitical order of the royal courts.

Middle Egyptian, the spoken language of the Middle Kingdom, became a classical language during the New Kingdom (16th century BC to 11th century BC), when the vernacular language known as Late Egyptian first appeared in writing. Scribes of the New Kingdom canonized and copied many literary texts written in Middle Egyptian, which remained the language used for oral readings of sacred hieroglyphic texts. Some genres of Middle Kingdom literature, such as "teachings" and fictional tales, remained popular in the New Kingdom, although the genre of prophetic texts was not revived until the Ptolemaic period (4th century BC to 1st century BC). Popular tales included the Story of Sinuhe and The Eloquent Peasant, while important teaching texts include the Instructions of Amenemhat and The Loyalist Teaching. By the New Kingdom period, the writing of commemorative graffiti on sacred temple and tomb walls flourished as a unique genre of literature, yet it employed formulaic phrases similar to other genres. The acknowledgment of rightful authorship remained important only in a few genres, while texts of the "teaching" genre were pseudonymous and falsely attributed to prominent historical figures.

Ancient Egyptian literature has been preserved on a wide variety of media. This includes papyrus scrolls and packets, limestone or ceramic ostraca, wooden writing boards, monumental stone edifices and coffins. Texts preserved and unearthed by modern archaeologists represent a small fraction of ancient Egyptian literary material. The area of the floodplain of the Nile is under-represented because the moist environment is unsuitable for the preservation of papyri and ink inscriptions. On the other

hand, hidden caches of literature, buried for thousands of years, have been discovered in settlements on the dry desert margins of Egyptian civilization.

Contents

1 Scripts, media, and languages o 1.1 Hieroglyphs, hieratic, and Demotic o 1.2 Writing implements and materials o 1.3 Preservation of written material o 1.4 Classical, Middle, Late, and Demotic Egyptian language

2 Literary functions: social, religious and educational 3 Dating, setting, and authorship 4 Literary genres and subjects

o 4.1 Instructions and teachings o 4.2 Narrative tales and stories o 4.3 Laments, discourses, dialogues, and prophecies o 4.4 Poems, songs, hymns, and afterlife texts o 4.5 Private letters, model letters, and epistles o 4.6 Biographical and autobiographical texts o 4.7 Decrees, chronicles, king lists, and histories o 4.8 Tomb and temple graffiti

5 Legacy, translation and interpretation 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

Scripts, media, and languages

Hieroglyphs, hieratic, and DemoticMain article: Writing in Ancient Egypt

The slab stela of the Old Kingdom Egyptian princess Neferetiabet (dated c. 2590–2565 BC), from her tomb at Giza, with hieroglyphs carved and painted on limestone [3]

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By the Early Dynastic Period in the late 4th millennium BC, Egyptian hieroglyphs and their cursive form hieratic were well-established written scripts.[4] Egyptian hieroglyphs are small artistic pictures of natural objects.[5] For example, the hieroglyph for door-bolt, pronounced se, produced the s sound; when this hieroglyph was combined with another or multiple hieroglyphs, it produced a combination of sounds that could represent abstract concepts like sorrow, happiness, beauty, and evil.[6] The Narmer Palette, dated c. 3100 BC during the last phase of Predynastic Egypt, combines the hieroglyphs for catfish and chisel to produce the name of King Narmer.[7]

The Egyptians called their hieroglyphs "words of god" and reserved their use for exalted purposes, such as communicating with divinities and spirits of the dead through funerary texts.[8] Each hieroglyphic word both represented a specific object and embodied the essence of that object, recognizing it as divinely made and belonging within the greater cosmos.[9] Through acts of priestly ritual, like burning incense, the priest allowed spirits and deities to read the hieroglyphs decorating the surfaces of temples.[10] In funerary texts beginning in and following the Twelfth dynasty, the Egyptians believed that disfiguring, and even omitting certain hieroglyphs, brought consequences, either good or bad, for a deceased tomb occupant whose spirit relied on the texts as a source of nourishment in the afterlife.[11] Mutilating the hieroglyph of a venomous snake, or other dangerous animal, removed a potential threat.[11] However, removing every instance of the hieroglyphs representing a deceased person's name would deprive his or her soul of the ability to read the funerary texts and condemn that soul to an inanimate existence.[11]

Abbott Papyrus, a record written in hieratic script; it describes an inspection of royal tombs in the Theban Necropolis and is dated to the 16th regnal year of Ramesses IX, ca. 1110 BCE.

Hieratic is a simplified, cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphs.[12] Like hieroglyphs, hieratic was used in sacred and religious texts. By the 1st millennium BC, calligraphic hieratic became the script predominantly used in funerary papyri and temple rolls.[13] Whereas the writing of hieroglyphs required the utmost precision and care, cursive hieratic could be written much more quickly and was therefore

more practical for scribal record-keeping.[14] Its primary purpose was to serve as a shorthand script for non-royal, non-monumental, and less formal writings such as private letters, legal documents, poems, tax records, medical texts, mathematical treatises, and instructional guides.[15] Hieratic could be written in two different styles; one was more calligraphic and usually reserved for government records and literary manuscripts, the other was used for informal accounts and letters.[16]

By the mid-1st millennium BC, hieroglyphs and hieratic were still used for royal, monumental, religious, and funerary writings, while a new, even more cursive script was used for informal, day-to-day writing: Demotic.[13] The final script adopted by the ancient Egyptians was the Coptic alphabet, a revised version of the Greek alphabet.[17] Coptic became the standard in the 4th century AD when Christianity became the state religion throughout the Roman Empire; hieroglyphs were discarded as idolatrous images of a pagan tradition, unfit for writing the Biblical canon.[17]

Writing implements and materials

An ostracon with hieratic script mentioning officials involved in the inspection and clearing of tombs during the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt, c. 1070–945 BC

Egyptian literature was produced on a variety of media. Along with the chisel, necessary for making inscriptions on stone, the chief writing tool of ancient Egypt was the reed pen, a reed fashioned into a stem with a bruised, brush-like end.[18] With pigments of carbon black and red ochre, the reed pen was used to write on scrolls of papyrus—a thin material made from beating together strips of pith from the Cyperus papyrus plant—as well as on small ceramic or limestone ostraca known as potsherds.[19] It is thought that papyrus rolls were moderately expensive commercial items, since many are palimpsests, manuscripts that have their original contents erased to make room for new written works.[20] This, alongside tearing off pieces of papyrus documents to make smaller letters, suggests that there were seasonal shortages caused by the limited growing season of Cyperus papyrus.[20] It also explains the frequent use of ostraca and limestone flakes as writing media for shorter written works.[21] In addition to stone, ceramic ostraca, and papyrus, writing media also included wood, ivory, and plaster.[22]

By the Roman Period of Egypt, the traditional Egyptian reed pen had been replaced by the chief writing tool of the Greco-Roman world: a shorter, thicker reed pen with a cut nib.[23] Likewise, the original Egyptian pigments were discarded in favor of Greek lead-based inks.[23] The adoption of

Greco-Roman writing tools had an impact on Egyptian handwriting, as hieratic signs became more spaced, had rounder flourishes, and greater angular precision.[23]

Preservation of written material

Underground Egyptian tombs built in the desert provide possibly the most protective environment for the preservation of papyrus documents. For example, there are many well-preserved Book of the Dead funerary papyri placed in tombs to act as afterlife guides for the souls of the deceased tomb occupants.[24] However, it was only customary during the late Middle Kingdom and first half of the New Kingdom to place non-religious papyri in burial chambers. Thus, the majority of well-preserved literary papyri are dated to this period.[24]

Most settlements in ancient Egypt were situated on the alluvium of the Nile floodplain. This moist environment was unfavorable for long-term preservation of papyrus documents. Archaeologists have discovered a larger quantity of papyrus documents in desert settlements on land elevated above the floodplain,[25] and in settlements that lacked irrigation works, such as Elephantine, El-Lahun, and El-Hiba.[26]

Egyptian peasants harvesting papyrus, from a mural painting in a Deir el-Medina tomb dated to the early Ramesside Period (i.e. Nineteenth dynasty)

Writings on more permanent media have also been lost in various ways. Stones with inscriptions were frequently re-used as building materials, and ceramic ostraca require a dry environment to ensure the preservation of the ink on their surfaces.[27] Whereas papyrus rolls and packets were usually stored in boxes for safekeeping, ostraca were routinely discarded in waste pits; one such pit was discovered by chance at the Ramesside-era village of Deir el-Medina, and has yielded the majority of known private letters on ostraca.[21] Documents found at this site include letters, hymns, fictional narratives, recipes, business receipts, and wills and testaments.[28] Penelope Wilson describes this archaeological find as the equivalent of sifting through a modern landfill or waste container.[28] She notes that the inhabitants of Deir el-Medina were incredibly literate by ancient Egyptian standards, and cautions that such finds only come "...in rarefied circumstances and in particular conditions."[29]

John W. Tait stresses, "Egyptian material survives in a very uneven fashion ... the unevenness of survival comprises both time and space."[27] For instance, there is a dearth of written material from all periods from the Nile Delta but an abundance at western Thebes, dating from its heyday.[27] He notes that while some texts were copied numerous times, others survive from a single copy; for example, there is only one complete surviving copy of the Tale of the shipwrecked sailor from the Middle Kingdom.[30] However, Tale of the shipwrecked sailor also appears in fragments of texts on ostraca from the New Kingdom.[31] Many other literary works survive only in fragments or through incomplete copies of lost originals.[32]

Classical, Middle, Late, and Demotic Egyptian language

Columns with inscribed and painted Egyptian hieroglyphs, from the hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum (at Luxor) built during the reign of Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BC)

Although writing first appeared during the very late 4th millennium BC, it was only used to convey short names and labels; connected strands of text did not appear until about 2600 BC, at the beginning of the Old Kingdom.[33] This development marked the beginning of the first known phase of the Egyptian language: Old Egyptian.[33] Old Egyptian remained a spoken language until about 2100 BC, when, during the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, it evolved into Middle Egyptian.[33] While Middle Egyptian was closely related to Old Egyptian, Late Egyptian was significantly different in grammatical structure. Late Egyptian possibly appeared as a vernacular language as early as 1600 BC, but was not used as a written language until c. 1300 BC during the Amarna Period of the New Kingdom.[34] Late Egyptian evolved into Demotic by the 7th century BC, and although Demotic remained a spoken language until the 5th century AD, it was gradually replaced by Coptic beginning in the 1st century AD.[35]

Hieratic was used alongside hieroglyphs for writing in Old and Middle Egyptian, becoming the dominant form of writing in Late Egyptian.[36] By the New Kingdom and throughout the rest of ancient Egyptian history, Middle Egyptian became a classical language that was usually reserved for reading and writing in hieroglyphs.[37] For the rest of ancient Egyptian history, Middle Egyptian remained the spoken language for more exalted forms of literature, such as historical records, commemorative autobiographies, hymns, and funerary spells.[38] However, Middle Kingdom literature written in Middle Egyptian was also rewritten in hieratic during later periods.[39]

Literary functions: social, religious and educational

Seated statue of an Egyptian scribe holding a papyrus document in his lap, found in the western cemetery at Giza, Fifth dynasty of Egypt (25th to 24th centuries BC)

Throughout ancient Egyptian history, reading and writing were the main requirements for serving in public office, although government officials were assisted in their day-to-day work by an elite, literate social group known as scribes.[40] As evidenced by Papyrus Anastasi I of the Ramesside Period, scribes could even be expected, according to Wilson, "...to organize the excavation of a lake and the building of a brick ramp, to establish the number of men needed to transport an obelisk and to arrange the provisioning of a military mission".[41] Besides government employment, scribal services in drafting letters, sales documents, and legal documents would have been frequently sought by illiterate people.[42]

Literate people are thought to have comprised only 1% of the population,[43] the remainder being illiterate farmers, herdsmen, artisans, and other laborers,[44] as well as merchants who required the assistance of scribal secretaries.[45] The privileged status of the scribe over illiterate manual laborers was the subject of a popular Ramesside Period instructional text, The Satire of the Trades, where lowly, undesirable occupations, for example, potter, fisherman, laundry man, and soldier, were mocked and the scribal profession praised.[46] A similar demeaning attitude towards the illiterate is expressed in the Middle Kingdom Teaching of Khety, which is used to reinforce the scribes' elevated position within the social hierarchy.[47]

The scribal class was the social group responsible for maintaining, transmitting, and canonizing literary classics, and writing new compositions.[48] Classic works, such as the Story of Sinuhe and Instructions of Amenemhat, were copied by schoolboys as pedagogical exercises in writing and to instill the required ethical and moral values that distinguished the scribal social class.[49] Wisdom texts of the "teaching" genre represent the majority of pedagogical texts written on ostraca during the Middle Kingdom; narrative tales, such as Sinuhe and King Neferkare and General Sasenet, were rarely copied for school exercises until the New Kingdom.[50] William Kelly Simpson describes narrative tales such as Sinuhe and The shipwrecked sailor as "...instructions or teachings in the guise of narratives", since the main protagonists of such stories embodied the accepted virtues of the day, such as love of home or self-reliance.[51]

There are some known instances where those outside the scribal profession were literate and had access to classical literature. Menena, a draughtsman working at Deir el-Medina during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt, quoted passages from the Middle Kingdom narratives Eloquent Peasant and Tale of the shipwrecked sailor in an instructional letter reprimanding his disobedient son.[31] Menena's Ramesside contemporary Hori, the scribal author of the satirical letter in Papyrus Anastasi I, admonished his addressee for quoting the Instruction of Hardjedef in the unbecoming manner of a non-scribal, semi-educated person.[31] Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert further explains this perceived amateur affront to orthodox literature:

What may be revealed by Hori's attack on the way in which some Ramesside scribes felt obliged to demonstrate their greater or lesser acquaintance with ancient literature is the conception that these venerable works were meant to be known in full and not to be misused as quarries for popular sayings mined deliberately from the past. The classics of the time were to be memorized completely and comprehended thoroughly before being cited.[52]

Hieroglyphs from the Mortuary Temple of Seti I, now located at the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak

There is scant but solid evidence in Egyptian literature and art for the practice of oral reading of texts to audiences.[53] The oral performance word "to recite" (šdj) was usually associated with biographies, letters, and spells.[54] Singing (ḥsj) was meant for praise songs, love songs, funerary laments, and certain spells.[54] Discourses such as the Prophecy of Neferti suggest that compositions were meant for oral reading among elite gatherings.[54] In the 1st millennium BC Demotic short story cycle centered on the deeds of Petiese, the stories begin with the phrase "The voice which is before Pharaoh", which indicates that an oral speaker and audience was involved in the reading of the text.[55] A fictional audience of high government officials and members of the royal court are mentioned in some texts, but a wider, non-literate audience may have been involved.[56] For example, a funerary stela of Senusret I (r. 1971–1926 BC) explicitly mentions people who will gather and listen to a scribe who "recites" the stela inscriptions out loud.[56]

Literature also served religious purposes. Beginning with the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, works of funerary literature written on tomb walls, and later on coffins, and papyri placed within tombs, were designed to protect and nurture souls in their afterlife.[57] This included the use of magical spells, incantations, and lyrical hymns.[57] Copies of non-funerary literary texts found in non-royal tombs suggest that the dead could entertain themselves in the afterlife by reading these teaching texts and narrative tales.[58] See also Egyptian influences in the Hebrew Bible.

Although the creation of literature was predominantly a male scribal pursuit, some works are thought to have been written by women. For example, several references to women writing letters and surviving private letters sent and received by women have been found.[59] However, Edward F. Wente asserts that, even with explicit references to women reading letters, it is possible that women employed others to write documents.[60]

Dating, setting, and authorship

The stela of Minnakht, chief of the scribes, hieroglyph inscriptions, dated to the reign of Ay (r. 1323–1319 BC)

Richard B. Parkinson and Ludwig D. Morenz write that ancient Egyptian literature—narrowly defined as belles-lettres ("beautiful writing")—was not recorded in written form until the early Twelfth dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.[61] Old Kingdom texts served mainly to maintain the divine cults, preserve souls in the afterlife, and document accounts for practical uses in daily life. It was not until the Middle Kingdom that texts were written for the purpose of entertainment and intellectual curiosity.[62] Parkinson and Morenz also speculate that written works of the Middle Kingdom were transcriptions of the oral literature of the Old Kingdom.[63] It is known that some oral poetry was preserved in later writing; for example, litter-bearers' songs were preserved as written verses in tomb inscriptions of the Old Kingdom.[62]

Dating texts by methods of palaeography, the study of handwriting, is problematic because of differing styles of hieratic script.[64] The use of orthography, the study of writing systems and symbol usage, is also problematic, since some texts' authors may have copied the characteristic style of an older archetype.[64] Fictional accounts were often set in remote historical settings, the use of contemporary settings in fiction being a relatively recent phenomenon.[65] The style of a text provides little help in determining an exact date for its composition, as genre and authorial choice might be more concerned with the mood of a text than the era in which it was written.[66] For example, authors of the Middle Kingdom could set fictional wisdom texts in the golden age of the Old Kingdom (e.g. Kagemni, Ptahhotep, and the prologue of Neferti), or they could write fictional accounts placed in a chaotic age resembling more the problematic life of the First Intermediate Period (e.g. Merykare and The Eloquent Peasant).[67] Other fictional texts are set in illo tempore (in an indeterminable era) and usually contain timeless themes.[68]

One of the Heqanakht papyri, a collection of hieratic private letters dated to the Eleventh dynasty of the Middle Kingdom [69]

Parkinson writes that nearly all literary texts were pseudonymous, and frequently falsely attributed to well-known male protagonists of earlier history, such as kings and viziers.[70] Only the literary genres of "teaching" and "laments/discourses" contain works attributed to historical authors; texts in genres such as "narrative tales" were never attributed to a well-known historical person.[71] Tait asserts that during the Classical Period of Egypt, "Egyptian scribes constructed their own view of the history of the role of scribes and of the 'authorship' of texts", but during the Late Period, this role was instead maintained by the religious elite attached to the temples.[72]

There are a few exceptions to the rule of pseudonymity. The real authors of some Ramesside Period teaching texts were acknowledged, but these cases are rare, localized, and do not typify mainstream works.[73] Those who wrote private and sometimes model letters were acknowledged as the original authors. Private letters could be used in courts of law as testimony, since a person's unique handwriting could be identified as authentic.[74] Private letters received or written by the pharaoh were sometimes inscribed in hieroglyphics on stone monuments to celebrate kingship, while kings' decrees inscribed on stone stelas were often made public.[75]

Literary genres and subjects

For technical works outside literature proper, see Medical papyri and Egyptian mathematics.

Modern Egyptologists categorize Egyptian texts into genres, for example "laments/discourses" and narrative tales.[76] The only genre of literature named as such by the ancient Egyptians was the "teaching" or sebayt genre.[77] Parkinson states that the titles of a work, its opening statement, or key words found in the body of text should be used as indicators of its particular genre.[78] Only the genre of "narrative tales" employed prose writing, yet many of the works of that genre, as well as those of other genres, were written in verse format.[79] Most ancient Egyptian verses were written in couplet form, but sometimes triplets and quatrains were used.[80]

Instructions and teachings

A New Kingdom copy on papyrus of the Loyalist Teaching, written in hieratic script

The "instructions" or "teaching" genre, as well as the genre of "reflective discourses", can be grouped within the larger corpus of wisdom literature found in the ancient Near East.[81] The genre is didactic in nature and is thought to have formed part of the Middle Kingdom scribal education syllabus.[82] However, teaching texts often incorporate narrative elements that can instruct as well as entertain.[82] Parkinson asserts that there is evidence that teaching texts were not created primarily for use in scribal education, but for ideological purposes.[83] For example, Adolf Erman (1854–1937) writes that the fictional instruction given by Amenemhat I (r. 1991–1962 BC) to his sons "...far exceeds the bounds of school philosophy, and there is nothing whatever to do with school in a great warning his children to be loyal to the king".[84] While narrative literature, embodied in works such as The Eloquent Peasant, emphasize the individual hero who challenges society and its accepted ideologies, the teaching texts instead stress the need to comply with society's accepted dogmas.[85]

Key words found in teaching texts include "to know" (rh) and "teach" (sba.yt).[81] These texts usually adopt the formulaic title structure of "the instruction of X made for Y", where "X" can be represented by an authoritative figure (such as a vizier or king) providing moral guidance to his son(s).[86] It is sometimes difficult to determine how many fictional addressees are involved in these teachings, since some texts switch between singular and plural when referring to their audiences.[87]

Examples of the "teaching" genre include the Maxims of Ptahhotep, Instructions of Kagemni, Teaching for King Merykare, Instructions of Amenemhat, Instruction of Hardjedef, Loyalist Teaching, and Instructions of Amenemope.[88] Teaching texts that have survived from the Middle Kingdom were written on papyrus manuscripts.[89] No educational ostraca from the Middle Kingdom have survived.[89] The earliest schoolboy's wooden writing board, with a copy of a teaching text (i.e. Ptahhotep), dates to the Eighteenth dynasty.[89] Ptahhotep and Kagemni are both found on the Prisse Papyrus, which was written during the Twelfth dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.[90] The entire Loyalist Teaching survives only in manuscripts from the New Kingdom, although the entire first half is preserved on a Middle Kingdom biographical stone stela commemorating the Twelfth dynasty official Sehetepibre.[91] Merykare, Amenemhat, and Hardjedef are genuine Middle Kingdom works, but only survive in later New Kingdom copies.[92] Amenemope is a New Kingdom compilation.[93]

Narrative tales and stories

The Westcar Papyrus, although written in hieratic during the Fifteenth to Seventeenth dynasties, contains the Tale of the Court of King Cheops, which is written in a phase of Middle Egyptian that is dated to the Twelfth dynasty.[94]

The genre of "tales and stories" is probably the least represented genre from surviving literature of the Middle Kingdom and Middle Egyptian.[95] In Late Egyptian literature, "tales and stories" comprise the majority of surviving literary works dated from the Ramesside Period of the New Kingdom into the Late Period.[96] Major narrative works from the Middle Kingdom include the Tale of the Court of King Cheops, King Neferkare and General Sasenet, The Eloquent Peasant, Story of Sinuhe, and Tale of the shipwrecked sailor.[97] The New Kingdom corpus of tales includes the Quarrel of Apepi and Seqenenre, Taking of Joppa, Tale of the doomed prince, Tale of Two Brothers, and the Report of Wenamun.[98] Stories from the 1st millennium BC written in Demotic include the story of the Famine Stela (set in the Old Kingdom, although written during the Ptolemaic dynasty) and short story cycles of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods that transform well-known historical figures such as Khaemweset (Nineteenth Dynasty) and Inaros (First Persian Period) into fictional, legendary heroes.[99] This is contrasted with many stories written in Late Egyptian, whose authors frequently chose divinities as protagonists and mythological places as settings.[51]

A raised-relief depiction of Amenemhat I accompanied by deities; the death of Amenemhat I is reported by his son Senusret I in the Story of Sinuhe.

Parkinson defines tales as "...non-commemorative, non-functional, fictional narratives" that usually employ the key word "narrate" (sdd).[95] He describes it as the most open-ended genre, since the tales often incorporate elements of other literary genres.[95] For example, Morenz describes the opening section of the foreign adventure tale Sinuhe as a "...funerary self-presentation" that parodies the typical autobiography found on commemorative funerary stelas.[100] The autobiography is for a courier whose service began under Amenemhat I.[101] Simpson states that the death of Amenemhat I in the report given by his son, coregent, and successor Senusret I (r. 1971–1926 BC) to the army in the beginning of Sinuhe is "...excellent propaganda".[102] Morenz describes The shipwrecked sailor as an expeditionary report and a travel-narrative myth.[100] Simpson notes the literary device of the story within a story in The shipwrecked sailor may provide "...the earliest examples of a narrative quarrying report".[103] With the setting of a magical desert island, and a character who is a talking snake, The shipwrecked sailor may also be classified as a fairy tale.[104] While stories like Sinuhe, Taking of Joppa, and the Doomed prince contain fictional portrayals of Egyptians abroad, the Report of Wenamun is most likely based on a true account of an Egyptian who traveled to Byblos in Phoenicia to obtain cedar for shipbuilding during the reign of Ramesses XI.[105]

Narrative tales and stories are most often found on papyri, but partial and sometimes complete texts are found on ostraca. For example, Sinuhe is found on five papyri composed during the Twelfth and Thirteenth dynasties.[106] This text was later copied numerous times on ostraca during the Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties, with one ostraca containing the complete text on both sides.[106]

Laments, discourses, dialogues, and prophecies

The Middle Kingdom genre of "prophetic texts", also known as "laments", "discourses", "dialogues", and "apocalyptic literature",[107] include such works as the Admonitions of Ipuwer, Prophecy of Neferti, and Dispute between a man and his Ba. This genre had no known precedent in the Old Kingdom and no known original compositions were produced in the New Kingdom.[108] However, works like Prophecy of Neferti were frequently copied during the Ramesside Period of the New Kingdom,[109] when this Middle Kingdom genre was canonized but discontinued.[110] Egyptian prophetic literature underwent a revival during the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and Roman period of Egypt with works such as the Demotic Chronicle, Oracle of the Lamb, Oracle of the Potter, and two prophetic texts that focus on Nectanebo II (r. 360–343 BC) as a protagonist.[111] Along with "teaching" texts, these reflective discourses (key word mdt) are grouped with the wisdom literature category of the ancient Near East.[81]

The ba in bird form, one component of the Egyptian soul that is discussed in the Middle Kingdom discourse Dispute between a man and his Ba

In Middle Kingdom texts, connecting themes include a pessimistic outlook, descriptions of social and religious change, and great disorder throughout the land, taking the form of a syntactic "then-now" verse formula.[112] Although these texts are usually described as laments, Neferti digresses from this model, providing a positive solution to a problematic world.[81] Although it survives only in later copies from the Eighteenth dynasty onward, Parkinson asserts that, due to obvious political content, Neferti was originally written during or shortly after the reign of Amenemhat I.[113] Simpson calls it "...a blatant political pamphlet designed to support the new regime" of the Twelfth dynasty founded by Amenemhat, who usurped the throne from the Mentuhotep line of the Eleventh dynasty.[114] In the narrative discourse, Sneferu (r. 2613–2589 BC) of the Fourth dynasty summons to court the sage and lector priest Neferti. Neferti entertains the king with prophecies that the land will enter into a chaotic age, alluding to the First Intermediate Period, only to be restored to its former glory by a righteous king— Ameny—whom the ancient Egyptian would readily recognize as Amenemhat I.[115] A similar model of a tumultuous world transformed into a golden age by a savior king was adopted for the Lamb and Potter, although for their audiences living under Roman domination, the savior was yet to come.[116]

Although written during the Twelfth dynasty, Ipuwer only survives from a Nineteenth dynasty papyrus. However, A man and his Ba is found on an original Twelfth dynasty papyrus, Papyrus Berlin 3024.[117]

These two texts resemble other discourses in style, tone, and subject matter, although they are unique in that the fictional audiences are given very active roles in the exchange of dialogue.[118] In Ipuwer, a sage addresses an unnamed king and his attendants, describing the miserable state of the land, which he blames on the king's inability to uphold royal virtues. This can be seen either as a warning to kings or as a legitimization of the current dynasty, contrasting it with the supposedly turbulent period that preceded it.[119] In A man and his Ba, a man recounts for an audience a conversation with his ba (a component of the Egyptian soul) on whether to continue living in despair or to seek death as an escape from misery.[120]

Poems, songs, hymns, and afterlife texts

This vignette scene from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer (Nineteenth dynasty) shows his heart being weighed against the feather of truth. If his heart is lighter than the feather, he is allowed into the afterlife; if not, his heart is swallowed by Ammit.

The funerary stone slab stela was first produced during the early Old Kingdom. Usually found in mastaba tombs, they combined raised-relief artwork with inscriptions bearing the name of the deceased, their official titles (if any), and invocations.[121]

Funerary poems were thought to preserve a monarch's soul in death. The Pyramid Texts are the earliest surviving religious literature incorporating poetic verse.[122] These texts do not appear in tombs or pyramids originating before the reign of Unas (r. 2375–2345 BC), who had the Pyramid of Unas built at Saqqara.[122] The Pyramid Texts are chiefly concerned with the function of preserving and nurturing the soul of the sovereign in the afterlife.[122] This aim eventually included safeguarding both the sovereign and his subjects in the afterlife.[123] A variety of textual traditions evolved from the original Pyramid Texts: the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom,[124] the so-called Book of the Dead, Litany of Ra, and Amduat written on papyri from the New Kingdom until the end of Ancient Egyptian civilization.[125]

Poems were also written to celebrate kingship. For example, at the Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak, Thutmose III (r. 1479–1425 BC) of the Eighteenth dynasty erected a stela commemorating his military victories in which the gods bless Thutmose in poetic verse and ensure for him victories over his enemies.[126] In addition to stone stelas, poems have been found on wooden writing boards used by schoolboys.[127] Besides the glorification of kings,[128] poems were written to honor various deities, and even the Nile.[129]

A blind harpist, from a mural of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, 15th century BC

Surviving hymns and songs from the Old Kingdom include the morning greeting hymns to the gods in their respective temples.[130] A cycle of Middle-Kingdom songs dedicated to Senusret III (r. 1878–1839 BC) have been discovered at El-Lahun.[131] Erman considers these to be secular songs used to greet the pharaoh at Memphis,[132] while Simpson considers them to be religious in nature but affirms that the division between religious and secular songs is not very sharp.[131] The Harper's Song, the lyrics found on a tombstone of the Middle Kingdom and on Papyrus Harris 500 from the New Kingdom, was to be performed for dinner guests at formal banquets.[133]

During the reign of Akhenaten (r. 1353–1336 BC), the Great Hymn to the Aten—preserved in tombs of Amarna, including the tomb of Ay—was written to the Aten, the sun-disk deity given exclusive patronage during his reign.[134] Simpson compares this composition's wording and sequence of ideas to those of Psalm 104.[135]

Only a single poetic hymn in the Demotic script has been preserved.[136] However, there are many surviving examples of Late-Period Egyptian hymns written in hieroglyphs on temple walls.[137]

No Egyptian love song has been dated from before the New Kingdom, these being written in Late Egyptian, although it is speculated that they existed in previous times.[138] Erman compares the love songs to the Song of Songs, citing the labels "sister" and "brother" that lovers used to address each other.[139]

Private letters, model letters, and epistles

Hieratic script on an ostracon made of limestone; the script was written as an exercise by a schoolboy in Ancient Egypt. He copied four letters from the vizier Khay (who was active during the reign of Ramesses II).

The ancient Egyptian model letters and epistles are grouped into a single literary genre. Papyrus rolls sealed with mud stamps were used for long-distance letters, while ostraca were frequently used to write shorter, non-confidential letters sent to recipients located nearby.[140] Letters of royal or official correspondence, originally written in hieratic, were sometimes given the exalted status of being inscribed on stone in hieroglyphs.[141] The various texts written by schoolboys on wooden writing boards include model letters.[89] Private letters could be used as epistolary model letters for schoolboys to copy, including letters written by their teachers or their families.[142] However, these models were rarely featured in educational manuscripts; instead fictional letters found in numerous manuscripts were used.[143] The common epistolary formula used in these model letters was "The official A. saith to the scribe B".[144]

The oldest-known private letters on papyrus were found in a funerary temple dating to the reign of Djedkare-Izezi (r. 2414–2375 BC) of the Fifth dynasty.[145] More letters are dated to the Sixth dynasty, when the epistle subgenre began.[146] The educational text Book of Kemit, dated to the Eleventh dynasty, contains a list of epistolary greetings and a narrative with an ending in letter form and suitable terminology for use in commemorative biographies.[147] Other letters of the early Middle Kingdom have also been found to use epistolary formulas similar to the Book of Kemit.[148] The Heqanakht papyri, written by a gentleman farmer, date to the Eleventh dynasty and represent some of the lengthiest private letters known to have been written in ancient Egypt.[69]

During the late Middle Kingdom, greater standardization of the epistolary formula can be seen, for example in a series of model letters taken from dispatches sent to the Semna fortress of Nubia during the reign of Amenemhat III (r. 1860–1814 BC).[149] Epistles were also written during all three dynasties of the New Kingdom.[150] While letters to the dead had been written since the Old Kingdom, the writing of petition letters in epistolary form to deities began in the Ramesside Period, becoming very popular during the Persian and Ptolemaic periods.[151]

The epistolary Satirical Letter of Papyrus Anastasi I written during the Nineteenth dynasty was a pedagogical and didactic text copied on numerous ostraca by schoolboys.[152] Wente describes the versatility of this epistle, which contained "...proper greetings with wishes for this life and the next, the rhetoric composition, interpretation of aphorisms in wisdom literature, application of mathematics to engineering problems and the calculation of supplies for an army, and the geography of western Asia".[153] Moreover, Wente calls this a "...polemical tractate" that counsels against the rote, mechanical learning of terms for places, professions, and things; for example, it is not acceptable to know just the place names of western Asia, but also important details about its topography and routes.[153] To enhance the teaching, the text employs sarcasm and irony.[153]

Biographical and autobiographical textsFurther information: Weni the Elder and Harkhuf

Catherine Parke, Professor Emerita of English and Women's Studies at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, writes that the earliest "commemorative inscriptions" belong to ancient Egypt and date to the 3rd millennium BC.[154] She writes: "In ancient Egypt the formulaic accounts of Pharaoh's lives praised the continuity of dynastic power. Although typically written in the first person, these pronouncements are public, general testimonials, not personal utterances."[155] She adds that as in these ancient inscriptions, the human urge to "...celebrate, commemorate, and immortalize, the impulse of life against death", is the aim of biographies written today.[155]

A funerary stela of a man named Ba (seated, sniffing a sacred lotus while receiving libations); Ba's son Mes and wife Iny are also seated. The identity of the libation bearer is unspecified. The stela is dated to the Eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom period.

Olivier Perdu, a professor of Egyptology at the Collège de France, states that biographies did not exist in ancient Egypt, and that commemorative writing should be considered autobiographical.[156] Edward L. Greenstein, Professor of Bible at the Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University, disagrees with Perdu's terminology, stating that the ancient world produced no "autobiographies" in the modern sense, and these should be distinguished from 'autobiographical' texts of the ancient world.[157] However, both Perdu and Greenstein assert that autobiographies of the ancient Near East should not be equated with the modern concept of autobiography.[158]

In her discussion of the Ecclesiastes of the Hebrew Bible, Jennifer Koosed, associate professor of Religion at Albright College, explains that there is no solid consensus among scholars as to whether true biographies or autobiographies existed in the ancient world.[159] One of the major scholarly arguments against this theory is that the concept of individuality did not exist until the European Renaissance, prompting Koosed to write "...thus autobiography is made a product of European civilization: Augustine begat Rosseau begat Henry Adams, and so on".[159] Koosed asserts that the use of first-person "I" in ancient Egyptian commemorative funerary texts should not be taken literally since the supposed author is already dead. Funerary texts should be considered biographical instead of autobiographical.[158] Koosed cautions that the term "biography" applied to such texts is problematic, since they also usually describe the deceased person's experiences of journeying through the afterlife.[158]

Beginning with the funerary stelas for officials of the late Third dynasty, small amounts of biographical detail were added next to the deceased men's titles.[160] However, it was not until the Sixth dynasty that narratives of the lives and careers of government officials were inscribed.[161] Tomb biographies became more detailed during the Middle Kingdom, and included information about the deceased person's family.[162] The vast majority of autobiographical texts are dedicated to scribal bureaucrats, but during the New Kingdom some were dedicated to military officers and soldiers.[163] Autobiographical texts of the Late Period place a greater stress upon seeking help from deities than acting righteously to succeed in life.[164] Whereas earlier autobiographical texts exclusively dealt with celebrating successful lives, Late Period autobiographical texts include laments for premature death, similar to the epitaphs of ancient Greece.[165]

Decrees, chronicles, king lists, and histories

The Annals of Pharaoh Thutmose III at Karnak

Modern historians consider that some biographical—or autobiographical—texts are important historical documents.[166] For example, the biographical stelas of military generals in tomb chapels built under Thutmose III provide much of the information known about the wars in Syria and Palestine.[167] However, the annals of Thutmose III, carved into the walls of several monuments built during his reign, such as those at Karnak, also preserve information about these campaigns.[168] The annals of Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BC), recounting the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites include, for the first time in Egyptian literature, a narrative epic poem, distinguished from all earlier poetry, which served to celebrate and instruct.[169]

Other documents useful for investigating Egyptian history are ancient lists of kings found in terse chronicles, such as the Fifth dynasty Palermo stone.[170] These documents legitimated the contemporary pharaoh's claim to sovereignty.[171] Throughout ancient Egyptian history, royal decrees recounted the deeds of ruling pharaohs.[172] For example, the Nubian pharaoh Piye (r. 752–721 BC), founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty, had a stela erected and written in classical Middle Egyptian that describes with unusual nuances and vivid imagery his successful military campaigns.[173]

An Egyptian historian, known by his Greek name as Manetho (c. 3rd century BC), was the first to compile a comprehensive history of Egypt.[174] Manetho was active during the reign of Ptolemy II (r. 283–246 BC) and used The Histories by the Greek Herodotus (c. 484 BC–c. 425 BC) as his main source of inspiration for a history of Egypt written in Greek.[174] However, the primary sources for Manetho's work were the king list chronicles of previous Egyptian dynasties.[171]

Tomb and temple graffiti

Artistic graffiti of a canine figure at the Temple of Kom Ombo, built during the Ptolemaic dynasty

Fischer-Elfert distinguishes ancient Egyptian graffiti writing as a literary genre.[175] During the New Kingdom, scribes who traveled to ancient sites often left graffiti messages on the walls of sacred mortuary temples and pyramids, usually in commemoration of these structures.[176] Modern scholars do not consider these scribes to have been mere tourists, but pilgrims visiting sacred sites where the extinct cult centers could be used for communicating with the gods.[177] There is evidence from an educational ostracon found in the tomb of Senenmut (TT71) that formulaic graffiti writing was practiced in scribal schools.[177] In one graffiti message, left at the mortuary temple of Thutmose III at Deir el-Bahri, a modified saying from The Maxims of Ptahhotep is incorporated into a prayer written on the temple wall.[178] Scribes usually wrote their graffiti in separate clusters to distinguish their graffiti from others'.[175] This led to competition among scribes, who would sometimes denigrate the quality of graffiti inscribed by others, even ancestors from the scribal profession.[175]

Legacy, translation and interpretation

See also: Transliteration of Ancient Egyptian

After the Copts converted to Christianity in the first centuries AD, their Coptic Christian literature became separated from the pharaonic and Hellenistic literary traditions.[179] Nevertheless, scholars speculate that ancient Egyptian literature, perhaps in oral form, had an impact on Greek and Arabic literature. Parallels are drawn between the Egyptian soldiers sneaking into Jaffa hidden in baskets to capture the city in the story Taking of Joppa and the Mycenaean Greeks sneaking into Troy inside the Trojan Horse.[180] The Taking of Joppa has also been compared to the Arabic story of Ali Baba in One Thousand and One Nights.[181] It has been conjectured that Sinbad the Sailor may have been inspired by the pharaonic Tale of the shipwrecked sailor.[182] Some Egyptian literature was commented on by scholars of the ancient world. For example, the Jewish Roman historian Josephus (37 –c. 100 AD) quoted and provided commentary on Manetho's historical texts.[183]

The trilingual Rosetta Stone in the British Museum

The most recently carved hieroglyphic inscription of ancient Egypt known today is found in a temple of Philae, dated precisely to 394 AD during the reign of Theodosius I (r. 379–395 AD).[184] In the 4th century AD, the Hellenized Egyptian Horapollo compiled a survey of almost two hundred Egyptian hieroglyphs and provided his interpretation of their meanings, although his understanding was limited and he was unaware of the phonetic uses of each hieroglyph.[185] This survey was apparently lost until 1415, when the Italian Cristoforo Buondelmonti acquired it at the island of Andros.[185] Athanasius Kircher (1601–1680) was the first in Europe to realize that Coptic was a direct linguistic descendant of ancient Egyptian.[185] In his Oedipus Aegyptiacus, he made the first concerted European effort to interpret the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs, albeit based on symbolic inferences.[185]

It was not until 1799, with the Napoleonic discovery of a trilingual (i.e. hieroglyphic, Demotic, Greek) stela inscription on the Rosetta Stone, that modern scholars were able to decipher ancient Egyptian literature.[186] The first major effort to translate the hieroglyphs of the Rosetta Stone was made by Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832) in 1822.[187] The earliest translation efforts of Egyptian literature during the 19th century were attempts to confirm Biblical events.[187]

Before the 1970s, scholarly consensus was that ancient Egyptian literature—although sharing similarities with modern literary categories—was not an independent discourse, uninfluenced by the ancient sociopolitical order.[188] However, from the 1970s onwards, a growing number of historians and literary scholars have questioned this theory.[189] While scholars before the 1970s treated ancient Egyptian literary works as viable historical sources that accurately reflected the conditions of this ancient society, scholars now caution against this approach.[190] Scholars are increasingly using a multifaceted hermeneutic approach to the study of individual literary works, in which not only the style and content, but also the cultural, social and historical context of the work are taken into account.[189] Individual works can then be used as case studies for reconstructing the main features of ancient Egyptian literary discourse.[189]

Early Bronze Age: 3rd millennium BC (approximate dates shown) The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 BC (classical Sumerian).[1] The earliest literary authors known by name are Shuruppak and Urukagina, dating to ca. the 27th and 24th centuries BC, respectively. Certain literary texts are difficult to date, such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead which was recorded in the Papyrus of Ani around 1240 BC, but other versions of the book probably date from about the 18th century BC.

2600 Sumerian texts from Abu Salabikh, including the Instructions of Shuruppak and the Kesh temple hymn

2600 Akkadian Legend of Etana [2]

2400 Egyptian Pyramid Texts, including the Cannibal Hymn 2400 Sumerian Code of Urukagina [3]

2400 Egyptian Palermo stone 2350 Egyptian The Maxims of Ptahhotep 2270 Sumerian Enheduanna's Hymns 2250-2000 Sumerian Earliest stories in theEpic of Gilgamesh [4][5]

2100 Sumerian Curse of Agade 2100 Sumerian Debate between Bird and Fish 2050 Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu 2000 Egyptian Coffin Texts 2000 Sumerian Lament for Ur 2000 Sumerian Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

Middle Bronze Age: ca. 2000 to 1600 BC (approximate dates shown)

1950 Akkadian Laws of Eshnunna 1900 Sumerian Code of Lipit-Ishtar 1900 Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh 1850 Akkadian Kultepe texts 1800 Egyptian Story of Sinuhe (in Hieratic) 1800 Sumerian Eridu Genesis 1800 Akkadian Enûma Eliš 1800 Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic 1780 Akkadian Code of Hammurabi stele 1780 Akkadian Mari letters, including the Epic of Zimri-Lim 1750 Hittite Anitta text 1700 Egyptian Westcar Papyrus 1650 Egyptian Ipuwer Papyrus

Late Bronze Age: ca. 1600 to 1200 BC (approximate dates shown)

1700-1100 Vedic Sanskrit: approximate date of the composition of the Rigveda. Many of these were not set to writing until later.[6]

1600 Hittite Code of the Nesilim 1500 Akkadian Poor Man of Nippur [7]

1500 Hittite military oath 1550 Egyptian Book of the Dead 1500 Akkadian Dynasty of Dunnum [8] 1440-1400 Hebrew Torah, also called the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses[9][10][11][12][13] with

a final redaction between 900-450 BC.[14][15] Some give an alternate date of 1320-1280.[16]

1400 Akkadian Marriage of Nergal and Ereshkigal 1400 Akkadian Autobiography of Kurigalzu 1400 Akkadian Amarna letters 1330 Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten 1240 Egyptian Papyrus of Ani, Book of the Dead 1200-900 Akkadian version and younger stories in the Epic of Gilgamesh[17]

1200 Akkadian Tukulti-Ninurta Epic 1200 Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers [18]

Iron Age

Sanskrit literatureFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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History of literature

Bronze Age literature

Sumerian

Egyptian

Akkadian

Classical literatures

Chinese

Greek

Hebrew

Latin

Pahlavi

Pali

Prakrit

Sanskrit Syriac

Tamil

Early Medieval literature

Matter of Rome

Matter of France

Matter of Britain

Byzantine literature

Kannada literature

Persian literature

Turkish

Medieval literature

Old Bulgarian

Old English

Middle English

Arabic

Byzantine

Catalan

Dutch

French

German

Indian

Old Irish

Italian

Japanese

Kannada

Nepal Bhasa

Norse

Persian

Telugu

Turkish

Welsh

Early Modern literature

Renaissance literature

Baroque literature

Modern literature

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

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Literature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity (roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries AD). Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD. There are contemporary efforts towards revival, with events like the "All-India Sanskrit Festival" (since 2002) holding composition contests.

Given its extensive use in religious literature, primarily in Hinduism, and the fact that most modern Indian languages have been directly derived from or strongly influenced by Sanskrit, the language and its literature is of great importance in Indian culture akin to that of Greek and Latin in European culture. Some Sanskrit literature such as the Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali and the Upanishads were translated into Arabic and Persian.[1] The Panchatantra was also translated into Persian.[2]

Contents

1 The Vedas

2 Sutra literature 3 The Epics

o 3.1 The Ramayana o 3.2 The Mahabharata

4 Classical Sanskrit literature o 4.1 Drama o 4.2 Scholarly treatises o 4.3 Stories o 4.4 Classical poetry o 4.5 Puranas

5 Later Sanskrit literature 6 Modern Sanskrit literature 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

The Vedas

Main article: Vedas

Composed between approximately during the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age in pre-classical Sanskrit, Vedic literature forms the basis for the further development of Hinduism. There are four Vedas - Rig, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva, each with a main Samhita and a number of circum-vedic genres, including Brahmanas, Aranyakas,Vedang i.e. Grhyasutras and Shrautasutras and Dharmasutras. The main period of Vedic literary activity falls into ca. the 9th to 7th centuries when the various shakhas (schools) compiled and memorized their respective corpora.

There is some controversy over the dating of the Vedas, due to disagreements about the origin of Aryans, their authors. The older Upanishads (BAU, ChU, JUB, KathU[disambiguation needed], MaitrU) belong to the Vedic period, but the larger part of the Muktika canon is post-Vedic. The Aranyakas form part of both the Brahmana and Upanishad corpus.

Sutra literature

Main article: SutraSee also: Shulba Sutras, Kalpa (Vedanga), Dharma Sutras, and Shastra

Continuing the tradition of the late Vedic Shrautasutra literature, Late Iron Age scholarship (ca. 500 to 100 BCE) organized knowledge into Sutra treatises, including the Vedanga and the religious or philosophical Brahma Sutras, Yoga Sutras, Nyaya Sutras.

In the Vedanga disciplines of grammar and phonetics, no author had greater influence than Pāṇini with his Aṣṭādhyāyī (ca. 5th century BC). In the tradition of Sutra literature exposing the full grammar of Sanskrit in extreme brevity, Panini's brilliance lies in the nature of his work of a prescriptive generative grammar, involving metarules, transformations and recursion. Being prescriptive for all later grammatical works, such as Patanjali's Mahābhāṣya, Pāṇini's grammar effectively fixed the grammar of Classical Sanskrit. The Backus-Naur Form or BNF grammars used to describe modern programming languages have significant similarities with Panini's grammar rules.

The Epics

Main article: Indian epic poetry

The period between approximately the 6th to 1st centuries BC saw the composition and redaction of the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, with subsequent redaction progressing down to the 4th century AD. They are known as itihasa, or "that which occurred".

The RamayanaMain article: Ramayana

While not as long as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is still twice as long as the Iliad and Odyssey put together. Traditionally, the authorship is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki, who is referred to as Adikavi, or "first poet." Valmiki in the Ramayana introduced the Anushtubh meter for the first time. Like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana was also handed down orally and evolved through several centuries before being transferred into writing. It includes tales that form the basis for modern Hindu festivals and even contains a description of the same marriage practice still observed in contemporary times by people of Hindu persuasion.

The story deals with Prince Rama (Hindi: Rām), his exile and the abduction of his wife by the Rakshasa king Ravana, and the Lankan war. Similar to the Mahabharata, the Ramayana also has several full-fledged stories appearing as sub-plots.

The Ramayana has also played a similar and equally important role in the development of Indian culture as the Mahabharata.

The Ramayana is also extant in Ramayana: Southeast Asian versions

See also: Hikayat Seri Rama, Kakawin Rāmâya aṇ , Phra Lak Phra Lam, Ramakien, Reamker, and Yama Zatdaw

The Mahabharata

The battle of Kurukshetra, folio from the Mahabharata.Main article: Mahabharata

The Mahabharata (Great Bharata) is one of the longest poetic works in the world. While it is clearly a poetic epic, it contains large tracts of Hindu mythology, philosophy and religious tracts. Traditionally, authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to the sage Vyasa. According to the Adi-parva of the Mahabharata (81, 101-102), the text was originally 8,800 verses when it was composed by Vyasa and

was known as the Jaya (Victory), which later became 24,000 verses in the Bharata recited by Vaisampayana.

The broad sweep of the story of the Mahabharata chronicles the story of the conflict between two families for control of Hastinapur, a city in Ancient India.

The impact of the Mahabharata on India and Hinduism cannot be stressed enough. Having been molded by Indian culture, it has in turn molded the development of Indian culture. Thousands of later writers would draw freely from the story and sub-stories of the Mahabharata.

Classical Sanskrit literature

The classical period of Sanskrit literature dates to the Gupta period and the successive pre-Islamic Middle kingdoms of India, spanning roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries CE.

DramaMain article: Sanskrit drama

Shakuntala stops to look back at Dushyanta, Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), scene from Abhijñānaśākuntalam.

Drama as a distinct genre of Sanskrit literature emerges in the final centuries BC, influenced partly by Vedic mythology and partly by Hellenistic drama. It reaches its peak between the 4th and 7th centuries before declining together with Sanskrit literature as a whole.

Famous Sanskrit dramatists include Śhudraka, Bhasa, Asvaghosa and Kālidāsa. Though numerous plays written by these playwrights are still available, little is known about the authors themselves.

One of the earliest known Sanskrit plays is the Mrichakatika, thought to have been composed by Śhudraka in the 2nd century BC. The Natya Shastra (ca. 2nd century AD, literally "Scripture of Dance," though it sometimes translated as "Science of Theatre'") is a keystone work in Sanskrit literature on the subject of stagecraft. Bhasa and Kālidāsa are major early authors of the first centuries AD, Kālidāsa qualifying easily as the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit He deals primarily with famous Hindu legends and themes; three famous plays by Kālidāsa are Vikramōrvaśīyam (Vikrama and

Urvashi), Mālavikāgnimitram (Malavika and Agnimitra), and the play that he is most known for: Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala).

Late (post 6th century) dramatists include Dandin and Sriharsha. The only surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is Koodiyattam. Which is being preserved in Kerala by the Chakyar community.

Scholarly treatisesIndian literature

Assamese

Bengali

Bhojpuri

Gujarati

Hindi

Kannada

Kashmiri

Malayalam

Manipuri

Marathi

Mizo

Nepali

Oriya

Punjabi

Rajasthani

Sanskrit Sindhi

Tamil

Telugu

Urdu

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Main articles: Tantras, Shastra, Siddhanta, and JatakaFurther information: Jyotihshastra

The earliest surviving treatise on astrology is the Yavanajataka "sayings of the Greeks" (3rd century). Classical Hindu astrology is based on early medieval compilations, notably the Bṛhat Parāśara Horāśāstra and Sārāvalī (7th to 8th century). The earliest surviving treatise on (non-divinatory) Indian astronomy predates the Yavanajataka: the Vedanga Jyotisha of Ladaga documents the state of in the Maurya period. The astronomy of the classical Gupta period, the centuries following Indo-Greek contact, is documented in treatises known as Siddhantas (which means "established conclusions" [3] ). Varahamihira in his Pancha-Siddhantika contrasts five of these: The Surya Siddhanta besides the Paitamaha Siddhantas (which is more similar to the "classical" Vedanga Jyotisha), the Paulisha and Romaka Siddhantas (directly based on Hellenistic astronomy) and the Vasishta Siddhanta.

The earliest treatise in Indian mathematics is the Āryabhaṭīya (written ca. 500 CE), a work on astronomy and mathematics. The mathematical portion of the Āryabhaṭīya was composed of 33 sūtras (in verse form) consisting of mathematical statements or rules, but without any proofs.[4] However, according to (Hayashi 2003, p. 123), "this does not necessarily mean that their authors did not prove them. It was probably a matter of style of exposition." From the time of Bhaskara I (600 CE onwards), prose commentaries increasingly began to include some derivations (upapatti).

"Tantra" is a general term for a scientific, magical or mystical treatise and mystical texts both Hindu and Buddhist said to concern themselves with five subjects, 1. the creation, 2. the destruction of the world, 3. the worship of the gods, 4. the attainment of all objects, 5. the four modes of union with the supreme spirit by meditation. These texts date to the entire lifespan of Classical Sanskrit literature.

StoriesMain articles: Panchatantra and Hitopadesha

Sanskrit fairy tales and fables are chiefly characterised by ethical reflections and proverbial philosophy. A peculiar style, marked by the insertion of a number of different stories within the framework of a single narrative, made its way to Persian and Arabic literatures, exerting a major influence on works such as One Thousand and One Nights.

The two most important collections are Panchatantra and Hitopadesha; originally intended as manuals for the instruction of kings in domestic and foreign policy, they belong to the class of literature which the Hindus call nīti-śāstra, or "Science of Political Ethics".

Other notable prose works include a collection of pretty and ingenious fairy tales, with a highly Oriental colouring, the Vetāla-panchaviṃśati or "Twenty-five Tales of the Vetāla" (a demon supposed to occupy corpses), the Siṃhāsana-dvātriṃçikā or "Thirty-two Stories of the Lion-seat" (i.e. throne), which also goes by the name of Vikrama-charita, or "Adventures of Vikrama" and the Śuka-saptati, or "Seventy Stories of a Parrot". These three collections of fairy tales are all written in prose and are comparatively short.

Somadeva's Kathā-sarit-sāgara or "Ocean of Rivers of Stories" is a work of special importance: composed in verse and of very considerable length, it contains more than 22,000 shlokas, equal to nearly one-fourth of the Mahābhārata. Like Kshemendra's Brhatkathamanjari and Budhasvamin's Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha, it derives from Gunadhya's Brihatkatha.

Fable collections, originally serving as the handbooks of practical moral philosophy, provided an abundant reservoir of ethical maxims that become so popular that works consisting exclusively of poetical aphorisms started to appear. The most important are the two collections by the highly-gifted Bhartṛhari, entitled respectively Nīti-śataka, or "Century of Conduct," and Vairāgya-śataka, or "Century of Renunciation." The keynote prevailing in this new ethical poetry style is the doctrine of the vanity of human life, which was developed before the rise of Buddhism in the sixth century B.C., and has dominated Indian thought ever since.

Classical poetry

This refers to the poetry produced from the approximately the 3rd to 8th centuries. Kālidāsa is the foremost example of a classical poet.

But a striking characteristic of Indian literary tradition is that sometimes poets show off their technical dexterity with highly Oulipian word-games, like stanzas that read the same backwards and forwards, words that can be split in different ways to produce different meanings, sophisticated metaphors, and so on. This style is referred to as Kāvya. A classic example is the poet Bharavi and his magnum opus, the Kiratarjuniya (6th-7th century). Magh is noted for his epic poem (mahAkAvya) Shishupala Vadha, the 20 cantos of which are based on the Mahabharata episode where the defiant king Shishupala is beheaded by Krishna's chakra (disc)

The greatest works of poetry in this period are the five Mahākāvyas, or "great composition"s:

Kumārasambhava by Kālidāsa Raghuvamsha by Kālidāsa Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi Shishupala Vadha by Māgha Naishadha-Charita by Sriharsha

Some scholars include the Bhattikavya as a sixth Mahākāvya.[5]

Other major literary works from this period are Kadambari by Banabhatta, the first Sanskrit novelist (6th-7th centuries), the Kama Sutra by Vatsyayana, and the three shatakas of Bhartṛhari.

PuranasMain article: Puranas

The corpus of the Hindu Puranas likewise falls into the classical period of Sanskrit literature, dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries, and marks the emergence of the Vaishnava and Shaiva denominations of classical Hinduism. The Puranas are classified into a Mahā- ("great") and a Upa- ("lower, additional") corpus. Traditionally[6] they are said to narrate five subjects, called pañcalakṣaṇa ("five distinguishing marks"):

Sargaśca pratisargasca vamśo manvantarāņi ca I

Vamśānucaritam caiva Purāņam pañcalakśaņam II

They are:

1. Sarga — The creation of the universe.2. Pratisarga — Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.3. Vamśa — Genealogy of royals and sages.4. Manvañtara — Various eras.5. Vamśānucaritam — Dynastic histories.

A Purana usually gives prominence to a certain deity (Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna, Durga) and depicts the other gods as subservient.

Later Sanskrit literature

The Avadhuta Gita, an extreme nondual (Sanskrit: advaita) text, is held by Western scholarship to date in its present form from the 9th or 10th centuries.[7] Some important works from the 11th century include the Katha-sarit-sagara and the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva. Nagananda, attributed to King Harsha, is an outstanding drama that outlines the story of King Jimutavahana, who sacrifices himself to save the tribe of serpents. It is also unique in that it invokes Lord Buddha in what is a predominantly Hindu drama.

The Katha-sarita-sagara (An Ocean of Stories) by Somadeva was an 11th century poetic adaptation in Sanskrit of Brihat-katha, written in the 5th century BC in the Paishachi dialect. One of the famous series of stories in this work is the Vikrama and Vetāla series, known across India today. On the other side of the spectrum, of the 'Bhana' style of drama, Ubhayabhisarika is a one-person drama of an endearing lecher who knows every courtesan and her family by name.

The Gita Govinda (The song of Govinda) by the Oriya composer Jayadeva is the story of Krishna's love for Radha, and is written in spectacularly lyrical and musical Sanskrit.

Basohli painting (circa 1730 AD) depicting a scene from Jayadeva's Gita Govinda.

A central text for several Hindu sects in eastern India, the Gita Govinda is recited regularly at major Hindu pilgrimage sites such as Jagannath temple at Puri, Orissa. The Ashtapadis of the Gita Govinda also form a staple theme in Bharatanatyam and Odissi classical dance recitals.

Beyond the 11th century, the use of Sanskrit for general literature declined, most importantly because of the emergence of literature in vernacular Indian languages (notably Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, and Kannada). Sanskrit continued to be used, largely for Hindu religious and philosophical literature. Sanskrit literature fueled literature in vernacular languages, and the Sanskrit language itself continued to have a profound influence over the development of Indian literature in general.

Attempts at revival of Sanskrit have been undertaken in the Republic of India since its foundation in 1947.

Modern Sanskrit literature

This section requires expansion. (December 2010)

See also: Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit

Literature in Sanskrit continues to be produced, despite its relative neglect by both Sanskritists and non-Sanskritists. Since 1967, the Sahitya Akademi, India's national academy of letters, has had an award for the best creative work written that year in Sanskrit. In 2009, Satyavrat Shastri became the first Sanskrit author to win the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary award.[8] Some other modern Sanskrit composers include Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra (known as Triveṇī Kavi, composer of short stories and several other genres of Sanskrit literature), Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (known as Kavikularatna, composer of two epics, several minor works and commentaries on Prasthānatrayī).

These works, however, have a very small readership. In the introduction to Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets (1992), Radhavallabh Tripathi writes:[9]

Sanskrit is known for its classical literature, even though the creative activity in this language has continued without pause from the medieval age till today. […] Consequently, contemporary Sanskrit writing suffers from a prevailing negligence.

However, Tripathi also points out the abundance of contemporary Sanskrit literature:

1. ̂ P. 228 The Sufis of Britain:an exploration of Muslim identity

2. ̂ P. 7 Panchatantra - Five Strategies: Collection of animal fables complied before ...

3. ̂ Cf. Burgess, Appendix by Whitney p. 439.4. ̂ (Hayashi 2003, pp. 122–123)5. ̂ Fallon, Oliver. 2009. Bhatti’s Poem: The Death of Rávana (Bha ikāvya). ṭṭ

New York: Clay Sanskrit Library [1] . ISBN 978-0-8147-2778-2 | ISBN 0-8147-2778-6 |

6. ̂ Matsya Purana 53.657. ̂ Swami Abhayananda (1992, 2007). Dattatreya: Song of the Avadhut: An

English Translation of the 'Avadhuta Gita' (with Sanskrit Transliteration). Classics of mystical literature series. ISBN 0-914557-15-7 (paper), Source: [2] (accessed: Monday February 22, 2010) p.10

8. ̂ "Sanskrit’s first Jnanpith winner is a 'poet by instinct'". The Indian Express. Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009.

9. ̂ Radhavallabh Tripathi, ed. (1992), o aśī: An Anthology of Ṣ ḍContemporary Sanskrit Poets, Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 81-7201-200-4

Most current Sanskrit poets are employed as teachers, either pandits in pāṭhaśālas or university professors.[1]

Famous Indian Dance Drama, Mrtyuh by Srjan, Script written by Vanikavi Manmohan Acharya

Manmohan Acharya is a poet and published author in Sanskrit literature. His contribution appears significant by inspiring the classical dance, Odissi, for the first time to enter into Bollywood with his Sanskrit lyrics. His Gita-Milindam contains 15 gunjans (songs) in different melodious rhythms. Manomohan Acharya speaks for the common mass. His creative technique suggests his attitude to life. Looking at his off-beat themes, none can deny that he is projecting the voice of the mass and hence is a postmodern poet.[2][3] A devotional song from his Gitamohanam [4] is included in the 2009 movie, The Desire. He authored many Sanskrit poetry to his credit. Some worth-mentioning are Gita-bhaaratam, Palli-panchaasika (Khandakavya), subhasa-charitam (Mahakavya), Sri Sivananda-Laharika (Philosophical Kavya) and Yati-giti-satakam (Sataka-kavya). As a playwright, Manomohan Acharya has written many dance dramas, including Arjuna-Pratijnaa, Shrita-kamalam, Pada-pallavam, Divya-Jayadevam, Pingalaa, Mrtyu, Sthitaprajnah, Tantram,[5] Purva-sakuntalam, Uttara-sakuntalam and Raavanah.[6]

Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279)

rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China. In more modern times, the author Lu Xun (1881–1936) is considered the founder of baihua literature in China.

Contents

1 Classical texts 2 Historical texts, dictionaries and encyclopedias 3 Classical poetry 4 Classical prose

o 4.1 Some notable contributors o 4.2 Classical fiction and drama

5 Modern literature o 5.1 Late Qing (1895–1911) o 5.2 Republican Era (1911–1949) o 5.3 Maoist Era (1949–1976) o 5.4 Post-Mao (1976–present) o 5.5 Book market

6 Women and Chinese literature o 6.1 Early female writers o 6.2 20th century writers and feminism

7 Selected modern Chinese writers 8 Others 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References and further reading 12 External links

Classical texts

Main articles: Chinese classics and List of Chinese language poets

There is a wealth of early Chinese literature dating from the Hundred Schools of Thought that occurred during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BCE). The most important of these include the Classics of Confucianism, of Daoism, of Mohism, of Legalism, as well as works of military science and Chinese history. Note that except for the books of poems and songs, most of this literature is philosophical and didactic; there is little in the way of fiction. However, these texts maintained their significance through both their ideas and their prose style.

The Confucian works in particular have been of key importance to Chinese culture and history, as a set of works known as the Four Books and Five Classics were, in the 12th century CE, chosen as the basis for the Imperial examination for any government post. These nine books therefore became the center of the educational system. They have been grouped into two categories: the Five Classics, allegedly commented and edited by Confucius, and the Four Books. The Five Classics include:

1. The I Ching, or Book of Changes, a divination manual attributed to the mythical emperor Fu Xi and based on eight trigrams. The I Ching is still used by adherents of folk religion.

2. The Classic of Poetry, a collection of poems, folk songs, festival and ceremonial songs, and hymns and eulogies.

3. The Classic of Rites or Record of Rites4. The Classic of History, a collection of documents and speeches allegedly

written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. It contains the best examples of early Chinese prose.

5. The Spring and Autumn Annals, a historical record of Confucius' native state, Lu, from 722 to 479 BCE.

The Four Books include: the Analects of Confucius, a book of pithy sayings attributed to Confucius and recorded by his disciples; Mencius, a collection of political dialogues; the Doctrine of the Mean, a book that teaches the path to Confucian virtue; and the Great Learning, a book about education, self-cultivation and the Dao.

Other important philosophical works include the Mohist Mozi, which taught "inclusive love" as both an ethical and social principle, and Hanfeizi, one of the central Legalist texts.

Important Daoist classics include the Dao De Jing, the Zhuangzi, and the Classic of the Perfect Emptiness. Later authors combined Daoism with Confucianism and Legalism, such as Liu An (2nd century BCE), whose Huainanzi (The Philosophers of Huai-nan) also added to the fields of geography and topography.

Among the classics of military science, The Art of War by Sun Tzu (6th century BCE) was perhaps the first to outline guidelines for effective international diplomacy. It was also the first in a tradition of Chinese military treatises, such as the Wujing Zongyao (Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques, 1044 CE) and the Huolongjing (Fire Dragon Manual, 14th century CE).

Historical texts, dictionaries and encyclopedias

Main article: Chinese historiographyFurther information: Category:Chinese encyclopedias and Chinese dictionary

Sima Qian laid the ground for professional Chinese historiography more than 2,000 years ago.

The Chinese kept consistent and accurate court records after the year 841 BCE, with the beginning of the Gonghe Regency of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The earliest known narrative history of China was the Zuo Zhuan, which was compiled no later than 389 BCE, and attributed to the blind 5th century BCE historian Zuo Qiuming. The Classic of History is thought to have been compiled as far back as the 6th century BCE, and was certainly compiled by 4th century BCE, the latest date for the writing of the Guodian Chu Slips unearthed in a Hubei tomb in 1993. The Classic of History included early information on geography in the chapter of the Yu Gong.[1] The Bamboo Annals found in 281 AD in the tomb of the King of Wei, who was interred in 296 BCE, provide another example; however, unlike the Zuo Zhuan, the authenticity of the early date of the Bamboo Annals is in doubt. Another early text was the political strategy book of the Zhan Guo Ce, compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE, with partial amounts of the text found amongst the 2nd century BCE tomb site at Mawangdui. The oldest extant dictionary in China is the Erya, dated to the 3rd century BCE, anonymously written but with later commentary by the historian Guo Pu (276–324). Other early dictionaries include the Fangyan by Yang Xiong (53 BCE – 18 AD) and the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen (58–147 AD). One of the largest was the Kangxi Dictionary compiled by 1716 under the auspices of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722); it provides definitions for over 47,000 characters.

Although court records and other independent records existed beforehand, the definitive work in early Chinese historical writing was the Shiji (史記/史记), written by the Han Dynasty court historian Sima Qian (145 BCE-90 BCE). This groundbreaking text laid the foundation for Chinese historiography and the many official Chinese historical texts compiled for each dynasty thereafter. Sima Qian is often compared to the Greek Herodotus in scope and method, because he covered Chinese history from the mythical Xia Dynasty until the contemporary reign of Emperor Wu of Han while retaining an objective and non-biased standpoint. This was often difficult for the official dynastic historians, who used historical works to justify the reign of the current dynasty. He influenced the written works of many Chinese historians, including the works of Ban Gu and Ban Zhao in the 1st and 2nd centuries, and even Sima Guang's 11th-century compilation of the Zizhi Tongjian (資治通鑒/资治通鉴), presented to Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1084 AD. The overall scope of the historiographical tradition in China is termed the Twenty-Four Histories, created for each successive Chinese dynasty up until the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); China's last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), is not included.

Large encyclopedias were also produced in China through the ages. The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia was completed by Ouyang Xun in 624 during the Tang Dynasty, with aid from scholars Linghu Defen and Chen Shuda. During the Song Dynasty, the compilation of the Four Great Books of Song (10th century – 11th century), begun by Li Fang and completed by Cefu Yuangui, represented a massive undertaking of written material covering a wide range of different subjects. This included the Extensive Records of the Taiping Era (978), the Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era (983), the Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature (986), and the Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau (1013). Although these Song Dynasty Chinese encyclopedias featured millions of written Chinese characters each, their aggregate size paled in comparison to the later Yongle Encyclopedia (1408) of the Ming Dynasty, which contained a total of 50 million Chinese characters.[2] Even this size was trumped by later Qing Dynasty encyclopedias, such as the printed Gujin Tushu Jicheng (1726), which featured over 100 million written Chinese characters in over 800,000 pages, printed in 60 different copies using copper-metal Chinese movable type printing. Other great encyclopedic writers include the polymath scientist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) and his Dream Pool Essays, the agronomist and inventor Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333) and his Nongshu, and the minor scholar-official Song Yingxing (1587–1666) and his Tiangong Kaiwu.

Classical poetry

Main article: Classical Chinese poetry

Su Shi (1037–1101), a famous Song Dynasty poet and statesman.

The rich tradition of Chinese poetry began with two influential collections. In northern China, the Shijing or Classic of Poetry (approx. 10th-7th century BCE) comprises over 300 poems in a variety of styles ranging from those with a strong suggestion of folk music to ceremonial hymns.[3] The word "shi" has the basic meaning of poem or poetry, as well as its use in criticism to describe one of China's lyrical poetic genres. Confucius is traditionally credited with editing the Shijing. Its stately lines are usually composed of four characters or four syllables (Chinese characters are monosyllabic). Many of these early poems establish the later tradition of starting with a description of nature that leads into emotionally expressive statements, known as bi, xing, or sometime bixing.[4] Associated with what was then considered to be southern China, the Chuci is ascribed to Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 BCE) and his follower Song Yu (fl. 3rd century BCE) and is distinguished by its more emotionally intense affect, often full of despair and descriptions of the fantastic.[5] In some of its sections, the Chu Ci uses a six-character per line meter, dividing these lines into couplets separated in the middle by a strong caesura, producing a driving and dramatic rhythm. Both the Shijing and the Chuci have remained influential throughout Chinese history.

During the greater part of China's first great period of unification, begun with the short-lived Qin Dynasty (221 BCE - 206 BCE) and followed by the centuries-long Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), the shi form of poetry underwent little innovation. But a distinctively descriptive and erudite fu form (not the same fu character as that used for the bureau of music) developed that has been called "rhyme-prose," a uniquely Han offshoot of Chinese poetry's tradition.[6] Equally noteworthy is Music Bureau poetry (yuefu), collected and presumably refined popular lyrics from folk music. The end of the Han witnesses a resurgence of the shi poetry, with the anonymous 19 Old Poems. This collection reflects the emergence of a distinctive five-character line that later became shi poetry's most common line length.[7] From the Jian'an reign period (196 - 220 CE) onward, the five-character line became a focus for innovations in style and theme.[8] The Cao family,[9] rulers of the Wei Dynasty (220 - 265 CE) during the post-Han Three Kingdoms period, distinguished themselves as poets by writing poems filled

with sympathy for the day-to-day struggles of soldiery and the common people. Taoist philosophy became a different, common theme for other poets, and a genre emphasizing true feeling emerged led by Ruan Ji (210-263).[10] The landscape genre of Chinese nature poetry emerged under the brush of Xie Lingyun (385-433), as he innovated distinctively descriptive and complementary couplets composed of five-character lines.[11] A farmland genre was born in obscurity by Tao Qian (365-427) also known as Tao Yuanming as he labored in his fields and then wrote extolling the influence of wine.[12] Toward the close of this period in which many later-developed themes were first experimented with, the Xiao family[13] of the Southern Liang Dynasty (502-557) engaged in highly refined and often denigrated[14] court-style poetry lushly describing sensual delights as well as the description of objects.

Reunified China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) high culture set a high point for many things, including poetry. Various schools of Buddhism flourished, a successfully imported and modified cultural influence from India, as represented by the Chan or Zen beliefs of Wang Wei (701-761).[15] His quatrains (jueju) describing natural scenes are world-famous examples of excellence, each couplet conventionally containing about two distinct images or thoughts per line.[16] Tang poetry's big star is Li Bai (701-762) also pronounced and written as Li Bo, who worked in all major styles, both the more free old style verse (gutishi) as well as the tonally regulated new style verse (jintishi).[17] Regardless of genre, Tang poets notably strove to perfect a style in which poetic subjects are exposed and evident, often without directly referring to the emotional thrust at hand.[18] The poet Du Fu (712-770) excelled at regulated verse and use of the seven-character line, writing denser poems with more allusions as he aged, experiencing hardship and writing about it.[19] A parade of great Tang poets also includes Chen Zi'ang (661-702), Wang Zhihuan (688-742), Meng Haoran (689-740), Bai Juyi (772-846), Li He (790-816), Du Mu (803-852), Wen Tingyun (812-870), (listed chronologically) and Li Shangyin (813-858), whose poetry delights in allusions that often remain obscure,[20] and whose emphasis on the seven-character line also contributed to the emerging posthumous fame of Du Fu,[21] now ranked alongside Li Bai. The distinctively different ci poetry form began its development during the Tang as Central Asian and other musical influences flowed through its cosmopolitan society.[22]

China's Song Dynasty (960-1279), another reunification era after a brief period of disunity, initiated a fresh high culture. Several of its greatest poets were capable government officials as well including Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), Su Shi (1037–1101), and Wang Anshi (1021–1086). The ci form flourished as a few hundred songs became standard templates for poems with distinctive and variously set meters.[23] The free and expressive style of Song high culture has been contrasted with majestic Tang poems by centuries of subsequent critics who engage in fierce arguments over which dynasty had the best poetry.[24] Additional musical influences contributed to the Yuan Dynasty's (1279–1368) distinctive qu opera culture and spawned the sanqu form of individual poems based on it.[25]

Classical Chinese poetry composition became a conventional skill of the well educated throughout the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. Over a million poems have been preserved, including those by women and by many other diverse voices.[26] Painter-poets, such as Shen Zhou (1427–1509), Tang Yin (1470–1524), Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), and Yun Shouping (1633–1690), created worthy conspicuous poems as they combined art, poetry and calligraphy with brush on paper.[27]

Poetry composition competitions were socially common, as depicted in novels, for example over dessert after a nice dinner.[28] The Song versus Tang debate continues through the centuries.[29] While China's later imperial period does not seem to have broken new ground for innovative approaches to poetry, picking through its vast body of preserved works remains a scholarly challenge, so new treasures may yet be restored from obscurity.[30]

Classical prose

Early Chinese prose was deeply influenced by the great philosophical writings of the Hundred Schools of Thought (770-221 BCE). The works of Mo Zi (墨子), Mencius (孟子) and Zhuang Zi (莊子) contain well-reasoned, carefully developed discourses that reveal much stronger organization and style than their predecessors. Mo Zi's polemic prose was built on solid and effective methodological reasoning. Mencius contributed elegant diction and, like Zhuang Zi, relied on comparisons, anecdotes, and allegories. By the 3rd century BCE, these writers had developed a simple, concise and economical prose style that served as a model of literary form for over 2,000 years. They were written in Classical Chinese, an isolating language spoken during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Wen Chang, a Chinese deity of literature.

During the Tang period, the ornate, artificial style of prose developed in previous periods was replace by a simple, direct, and forceful prose based on examples from the Hundred Schools (see above) and from the Han period, the period in which the great historical works of Sima Tan and Sima Qian were published. This neoclassical style dominated prose writing for the next 800 years. It was exemplified in the work of Han Yu 韓愈 (768–824), a master essayist and strong advocate of a return to Confucian orthodoxy; Han Yu was later listed as one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song."

The Song Dynasty saw the rise in popularity of "travel record literature" (youji wenxue). Travel literature combined both diary and narrative prose formats, it was practiced by such seasoned travelers as Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Xu Xiake (1587–1641) and can be seen in the example of Su Shi's Record of Stone Bell Mountain.

After the 14th century, vernacular fiction became popular, at least outside of court circles. Vernacular fiction covered a broader range of subject matter and was longer and more loosely structured than literary fiction. One of the masterpieces of Chinese vernacular fiction is the 18th-century domestic novel Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢).

Some notable contributors

Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song (唐宋八大家)

(韓愈，韩愈)

o Han Yu (韓愈，韩愈)o Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元)o Ouyang Xiu (歐陽修，欧阳修)o Su Zhe (蘇轍，苏辙)o Su Shi (蘇軾，苏轼)o Su Xun (蘇洵，苏洵)o Wang Anshi (王安石)o Zeng Gong (曾鞏，曾巩)

Two great scientific authors from the Song period:

o Shen Kuo (沈括) (1031–1095)o Su Song (蘇頌，苏颂) (1020–1101)

Ming Dynasty o Song Lian (宋濂) (1310–1381)o Liu Ji (劉基，刘基) (1311–1375)o Jiao Yu (焦玉)o Gui Youguang (歸有光，归有光) (1506–1571)o Yuan Hongdao (袁宏道) (1568–1610)o Xu Xiake (徐霞客) (1586–1641)o Gao Qi (高啟，高启)o Zhang Dai (張岱，张岱)o Tu Long (屠隆)o Wen Zhenheng (文震亨)

Qing Dynasty o Li Yu ( 李 漁 ) (1610–1680) o Yao Nai (姚鼐) (1731–1815)o Yuan Mei (袁枚) (1716–1798)o Gong Zizhen (龔自珍，龚自珍) (1792–1841)o Wei Yuan (魏源) (1794–1857)

Classical fiction and drama

Chinese fiction, rooted in narrative works such as Shishuo Xinyu, Sou Shen Ji, Wenyuan Yinghua, Da Tang Xiyu Ji, Youyang Zazu, Taiping Guangji, and official histories, developed into the novel as early as the Song Dynasty. The novel as an extended prose narrative which realistically creates a believable world of its own evolved in China and in Europe from the 14th-18th centuries, though a little earlier in China. Chinese audiences were more interested in history and were more historical minded. They appreciated relative optimism, moral humanism, relative emphasis on group behavior, and welfare of the society.

With the rise of monetary economy and urbanization beginning in the Song Dynasty, there was a growing professionalization of entertainment fostered by the spread of printing, the rise of literacy and education. In both China and Western Europe, the novel gradually became more autobiographical and serious in exploration of social, moral, and philosophical problems. Chinese fiction of the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty was varied, self-conscious, and experimental. In China, however, there was no counterpart to the 19th century European explosion of revolution and romanticism.[31] The novels of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, represented a pinnacle of classical Chinese fiction.

The high points include:

The Four Great Classical Novels (Si Da Ming Zhu 四大名著): o Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢,红楼梦 A Dream of Red

Mansions, The Story of the Stone and The Chronicles of the Stone, 石頭記, 石头记 Shítóu Jì), by Cao Xueqin (曹雪芹)

o Water Margin (水滸傳, 水浒传 All Men Are Brothers and Outlaws of the Marsh), by Shi Naian (施耐庵)

o Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義，三国演义), by Luo Guanzhong (羅貫中，罗贯中)

o Journey to the West (西遊記，西游记, and Monkey), by Wu Cheng'en (吳承恩，吴承恩).

Other classic fiction: o Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊齋誌異，聊斋志异), by Pu

Songling (蒲松齡，蒲松龄)o Jin Ping Mei (金瓶梅, 蘭陵笑笑生，兰陵笑笑生 or The Plum in the

Golden Vase), by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (兰陵笑笑生)o Flowers in the Mirror (镜花缘 Jing huayuan) by Li Ruzheno Fengshen Bang (封神榜, The Investiture of the Gods)o Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan (醒世姻緣傳，醒世姻缘传 or The Story of a

Marital Fate to Awaken the World)o The Scholars (儒林外史 Ru Lin Wai Shi), by Wu Jingzi (吳敬梓)o Dijing Jingwulue (帝京景物略 or Survey of Scenery and Monuments

in the Imperial Capital), by Liu Tongo The Romance of the Eastern Zhou (東周列國志, 东周列国志

dōngzhōu lièguō zhì), by Feng Menglong(冯梦龙), edited by Cai Yuanfang （蔡元放）

o The Carnal Prayer Mat (Chinese: 肉蒲團; pinyin: ròupútuán an erotic novel by Li Yu (李渔) 1657.

Drama: o The Story of the Western Wing (西廂記，西厢记 Xīxiāngjì), by

Wang Shifu (王实甫)o The Injustice to Dou E (竇娥冤，窦娥冤 Dou E Yuan), by Guan

Hanqing (關漢卿，关汉卿)o The Jade Hairpin (Yuzanji 玉簪記，玉簪记), by Gao Lian (高濂)o Hui Lan Ji (灰闌記，灰兰记), by Li Xingdao (李行道) became the

basis for The Caucasian Chalk Circleo The Peony Pavilion (Mudan Ting 牡丹亭), by Tang Xianzu (湯顯祖，汤显祖)

o The Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua Shan 桃花扇) by Kong Shangren (孔尚任)

o The Palace of Eternal Life (長生殿, 长生殿), by Hong Sheng (洪昇)o The Orphan of Zhao (趙氏孤兒), a 13th century play by Ji Junxiang

(紀君祥), was the first Chinese play to have been translated into a European language.[32]

Modern literature

Late Qing (1895–1911)

Scholars now tend to agree that modern Chinese literature did not erupt suddenly in the New Culture Movement (1917–23). Instead, they trace its origins back at least to the late Qing period (1895–1911). The late Qing was a period of intellectual ferment sparked by a sense of national crisis. Intellectuals began to seek solutions to China's problems outside of its own tradition. They translated works of Western expository writing and literature, which enthralled readers with new ideas and opened up windows onto new exotic cultures. Most outstanding[by whom?] were the translations of Yan Fu (严复) (1864–1921) and Lin Shu (林纾) (1852–1924). In this climate, a boom in the writing of fiction occurred, especially after the 1905 abolition of the civil service examination when literati struggled to fill new social and cultural roles for themselves. Stylistically, this fiction shows signs of both the Chinese novelistic tradition and Western narrative modes. In subject matter, it is strikingly concerned with the contemporary: social problems, historical upheaval, changing ethical values, etc. In this sense,

late Qing fiction is modern. Important novelists of the period include Wu Woyao (吴沃尧) (1866–1910), Li Boyuan (李伯元) (1867–1906), Liu E (刘鹗) (1857–1909), and Zeng Pu (曾朴) (1872–1935).

The late Qing also saw a "revolution in poetry" (诗界革命), which promoted experimentation with new forms and the incorporation of new registers of language. However, the poetry scene was still dominated by the adherents to the Tongguang School (named after the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns of the Qing), whose leaders — Chen Yan (陈衍), Chen Sanli (陈三立), Zheng Xiaoxu (郑孝胥), and Shen Zengzhi (沈曾植) — promoted a Song style in the manner of Huang Tingjian. These poets would become the objects of scorn by New Culturalists like Hu Shi, who saw their work as overly allusive, artificial, and divorced from contemporary reality.

In drama, the late Qing saw the emergence of the new "civilized drama" (文明戏), a hybrid of Chinese operatic drama with Western-style spoken drama. Peking opera and "reformed Peking opera" were also popular at the time.

Republican Era (1911–1949)

The literary scene in the first few years after the collapse of the Qing in 1911 was dominated by popular love stories, some written in the classical language and some in the vernacular. This entertainment fiction would later be labeled "Mandarin Ducks and Butterfly" fiction by New Culturalists, who despised its lack of social engagement. Throughout much of the Republican era, Butterfly fiction would reach many more readers than its "progressive" counterpart.

In the course of the New Culture Movement (1917–23), the vernacular language largely displaced the classical in all areas of literature and writing. Literary reformers Hu Shi (胡適) (1891–1962) and Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀) (1880–1942) declared the classical language "dead" and promoted the vibrant vernacular in its stead. Hu Shi once said, "A dead language can never produce a living literature."[citation

needed] In terms of literary practice, Lu Xun (1881–1936) is usually said to be the first major stylist in the new vernacular prose that Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were promoting.

Though often said to be less successful than their counterparts in fiction writing, poets also experimented with the vernacular in new poetic forms, such as free verse and the sonnet. Given that there was no tradition of writing poetry in the vernacular, these experiments were more radical than those in fiction writing and also less easily accepted by the reading public.[by whom?] Modern poetry flourished especially in the 1930s, in the hands of poets like Zhu Xiang (朱湘), Dai Wangshu (戴望舒), Li Jinfa (李金发), Wen Yiduo (闻一多), and Ge Xiao (葛萧). Other poets, even among the May Fourth radicals (e.g., Yu Dafu), continued to write poetry in classical styles.

May Fourth radicalism, combined with changes in the education system, made possible the emergence of a large group of women writers. While there had been women writers in the late imperial period and the late Qing, they had been few in number. These writers generally tackled domestic issues, such as relations between the sexes, family, and friendship, but they were revolutionary in giving direct expression to female subjectivity. Ding Ling's (丁玲) story "Diary of Miss Sophie" (莎菲女士日记) exposes the thoughts and feelings of its female diarist in all their complexity.

The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of spoken drama. Most outstanding among playwrights of the day are Ouyuang Yuqian (欧阳予倩), Hong Shen (洪深), Tian Han (田汉), and Cao Yu (曹禺).[by whom?] More popular than this Western-style drama, however, was Peking Opera, raised to new artistic heights by the likes of Mei Lanfang (梅蘭芳).

In the late 1920s and 1930s, literary journals and societies espousing various artistic theories proliferated. Among the major writers of the period were Guo Moruo (郭沫若) (1892–1978), a poet, historian, essayist, and critic; Mao Dun (茅盾) (1896–1981), the first of the novelists to emerge from the "League of Left-Wing Writers" and one whose work reflected the revolutionary struggle and disillusionment of the late 1920s; satirist and novelist Lao She (老舍) (1899–1966); and Ba Jin (巴金) (1904–2005), a novelist whose work was influenced by Ivan Turgenev and other Russian writers. In the 1930s Ba Jin produced a trilogy that depicted the struggle of modern youth against the ageold

dominance of the Confucian family system. Comparison often is made[by whom?] between Jia (Family), one of the novels in the trilogy, and Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦). Many of these writers became important as administrators of artistic and literary policy after 1949. Most of those authors who were still alive during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) were either purged or forced to submit to public humiliation.

The League of Left-Wing Writers founded in 1930 included Lu Xun (魯迅) among its leadership. By 1932 it had adopted the Soviet doctrine of socialist realism; that is, the insistence that art must concentrate on contemporary events in a realistic way, exposing the ills of nonsocialist society and promoting a glorious future under communism.

Other styles of literature were at odds with the highly-political literature being promoted by the League. The "New Sensationists" (新感觉派) – a group of writers based in Shanghai who were influenced, to varying degrees, by Western and Japanese modernism—wrote fiction that was more concerned with the unconscious and with aesthetics than with politics or social problems. Most important among these writers were Mu Shiying (穆时英), Liu Na'ou (刘呐鸥), and Shi Zhecun (施蛰存).[by whom?] Other writers, including Shen Congwen (沈从文) and Fei Ming (废名), balked at the utilitarian role for literature by writing lyrical, almost nostalgic, depictions of the countryside. Lin Yutang, who had studied at Harvard and Leipzig, introduced the concept of youmo (humor), which he used in trenchant criticism of China's political and cultural situation before leaving for the United States.

The Communist Party of China had established a base after the Long March in Yan'an. The literary ideals of the League were being simplified and enforced on writers and "cultural workers." In 1942, Mao Zedong gave a series of lectures called "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Art and Literature" that clearly made literature subservient to politics via the Yan'an Rectification Movement. This document would become the national guideline for culture after the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Maoist Era (1949–1976)

After coming to power in 1949, the Communists gradually nationalized the publishing industry, centralized the book distribution system, and brought writers under institutional control through the Writers Union. A system of strict censorship was implemented, with Mao's "Yan'an Talks" as the guiding force. Periodic literary campaigns targeted figures such as Hu Shi and Hu Feng (胡风) who did not toe the Party line on literature. Socialist realism became the uniform style. Conflict, however, soon developed between the government and the writers. The ability to satirize and expose the evils in contemporary society that had made writers useful to the Communist Party of China before its accession to power was no longer welcomed. Even more unwelcome to the party was the persistence among writers of what was deplored as "petty bourgeois idealism," "humanitarianism", and an insistence on freedom to choose subject matter. This conflict came to a head in the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956–57). Mao Zedong encouraged writers to speak out against problems in the new society. Having learned the lessons of the anti-Hu Feng campaign, they were initially reluctant; soon, however, a flurry of newspaper articles, films, and literary works drew attention to such problems as bureaucratism and authoritarianism within the ranks of the party. Now aware of the level of discontent toward the new regime by intellectuals, Mao decided to reverse the Hundred Flowers liberalization, a crackdown now referred to as the Anti-Rightist Movement (反右运动). Many intellectuals were attacked. At the time of the Great Leap Forward, the government increased its insistence on the use of socialist realism and combined with it so-called revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism. Authors were permitted to write about contemporary China, as well as other times during China's modern period——as long as it was accomplished with the desired socialist revolutionary realism.

Despite the draconian measures instituted by Mao's regime to instill literary uniformity, novels of great quality were produced. Examples of this new socialist literature include The Builder ( Chuanye Shi 创业史) by Liu Qing 柳青, The Song of Youth (Qing Chun Zhi Ge 青春之歌) by Yang Mo 杨沫, Tracks in the Snowy Forest (Lin Hai Xue Yuan 林海雪原 ) by Qu Bo (novelist) 曲波, Keep the Red Flag Flying (Hong Qi Pu 红旗谱) by Liang Bin 梁斌, The Red Sun ( Hong Ri 红日) by Wu Qiang 吴强, and Red Crag ( Hong Yan 红岩) by Luo Guangbin 罗 广斌 and Yang Yiyan (杨益言).

During the Cultural Revolution, the repression and intimidation led by Mao's fourth wife, Jiang Qing, succeeded in drying up all cultural activity except a few "model" operas and heroic novels, such as those by Hao Ran (浩然). Although it has since been learned that some writers continued to produce in secret, during that period no significant literary work was published.

Post-Mao (1976–present)

The arrest of Jiang Qing and the other members of the Gang of Four in 1976, and especially the reforms initiated at the Third Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee in December 1978, led writers to take up their pens again. Much of the literature in what would be called the "new era" (新时期) discussed the serious abuses of power that had taken place at both the national and the local levels during the Cultural Revolution. The writers decried the waste of time and talent during that decade and bemoaned abuses that had held China back. At the same time, the writers expressed eagerness to make a contribution to building Chinese society. This literature, often called "the literature of the wounded," contained disquieting views of the party and the political system. Intensely patriotic, these authors wrote cynically of the political leadership that gave rise to the extreme chaos and disorder of the Cultural Revolution. Some of them extended the blame to the entire generation of leaders and to the political system itself. The political authorities were faced with a serious problem: how could they encourage writers to criticize and discredit the abuses of the Cultural Revolution without allowing that criticism to go beyond what they considered tolerable limits?

During this period, a large number of novels and short stories were published. Literary magazines from before the Cultural Revolution were revived, and new ones were established to satisfy the appetite of the reading public. There was a special interest in foreign works. Linguists were commissioned to translate recently published foreign literature, often without carefully considering its interest for the Chinese reader. Literary magazines specializing in translations of foreign short stories became very popular, especially among the young.

These dramatic changes brought objections from some leaders in the government, literary and art circles who feared it was happening too fast. The first reaction came in 1980 with calls to combat "bourgeois liberalism," a campaign that was repeated in 1981. These two difficult periods were followed by the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign in late 1983.

At the same time, writers remained more free to write in unconventional styles and to treat sensitive subject matter. A spirit of literary experimentation flourished in the second half of the 1980s. Fiction writers such as Wang Meng (王蒙), Zhang Xinxin (张辛欣), and Zong Pu (宗璞) and dramatists such as Gao Xingjian (高行健) experimented with modernist language and narrative modes. Another group of writers—collectively said to constitute the Roots (寻根) movement—including Han Shaogong (韩少功), Mo Yan, and A Cheng (阿城) sought to reconnect literature and culture to Chinese traditions, from which a century of modernization and cultural and political iconoclasm had severed them. Other writers (e.g., Yu Hua (余华), Ge Fei (格非), Su Tong (苏童) experimented in a more avant-garde (先锋) mode of writing that was daring in form and language and showed a complete loss of faith in ideals of any sort.[by whom?]

In the wake of the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 and with the intensification of market reforms, literature and culture turned increasingly commercial and escapist. Wang Shuo (王朔), the so-called "hooligan" (痞子) writer, is the most obvious manifestation of this commercial shift, though his fiction is not without serious intent.[by whom?] Some writers, such as Yan Lianke 阎连科, continue to take seriously the role of literature in exposing social problems; his novel Dreams of Ding Village (丁庄梦) deals with the plight of HIV-AIDS victims.

As in the May Fourth Movement, women writers flourish in present-day China. Many of them, such as Chen Ran (陈然), Wei Hui (卫慧), Wang Anyi (王安忆), and Hong Ying (虹影), explore female subjectivity in a radically changing society. Neo-realism (e.g., Liu Heng (刘恒), Chi Li (池莉), Fang Fang (方方), He Dun (何顿), and Zhu Wen (朱文) is another important current in post-Tian'anmen fiction.

China's state-run General Administration of Press and Publication (新闻出版总署) screens all Chinese literature intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by the GAPP, that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates.[33] As a result, the ratio of official to pirated books is said to be 2:3.[34] According to a report in ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around China.[33] The Chinese government continues to hold public book burnings[35] on unapproved yet popular "spiritual pollution" literature, though critics claim this spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel booksales.[36] Many new-generation Chinese authors who were the recipients of such government attention have been re-published in English and success in the western literary markets, namely Zhou Weihui's Shanghai Baby, Anchee Min's controversial memoir Red Azalea, Time Magazine banned-book covergirl Chun Sue's Beijing Doll, and Mian Mian's Candy. Online bestseller Ghost Blows Out the Light had to be rewritten to remove references to the supernatural before it could be released in print.[37]

After the liberal 1980s, the 1990s saw a strong commercialization of literature due to an opening of the book market. According to Martin Woesler trends were 'cult literature' with Guo Jingming (郭敬明), 悲伤 逆流成河 Cry me a sad river, vagabond literature with Xu Zechen (徐则臣), 跑步穿过 中关村Peking double quick, Liu Zhenyun (刘震云), 我叫刘跃 The pickpockets, underground literature Mian Mian (棉棉), 声名狼籍 Panda Sex, 'longing for something' literature, divided in historicizing literature with Yu Dan 于丹, 《论语 》心得 Confucius in your heart, Yi Zhongtian (易中天) and in Tibetan literature with Alai, literature of the mega cities, women's literature with Bi Shumin (毕淑敏), 女儿拳Women’s boxing, 女心理师 The female psychologist, master narratives by narrators like Mo Yan 莫言with 生死疲勞 Life and Death are Wearing me out.[38]

However Chinese literature at the beginning of the 21st century shows signs of overcoming the commercialization of literature of the 1980s and 1990s. An example is Han Han's (韩寒) novel 他的国 His land (2009), which was written in a social critical surrealistic style against the uncritical mainstream, but ranked 1st in 2009 Chinese bestseller list.[39]

In the new millennium, online literature in China plays a much more important role than in the United States or in the rest of the world.[40] Almost any book is available online, novels finding millions of readers, being available at 2 Yuan in average, a tenth of the average price of a printed book.[41] Online literature stars are, amongst others, again Han Han and Guo Jingming.[42]

Chinese language literature also flourishes in the diaspora—in South East Asia, the United States, and Europe. China is the largest publisher of books, magazines and newspapers in the world.[citation needed] In book publishing alone, some 128,800 new titles of books were published in 2005, according to the General Administration of Press and Publication. There are more than 600 literary journals across the country. Living and writing in France but continuing to write primarily in Chinese, Gao Xingjian became the first Chinese writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000. In 2012, Mo Yan also received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Book market

Inside Chongwen Book City, a large bookstore in Wuhan.

China buys many foreign book rights; nearly 16 million copies of the sixth book of the Harry Potter series were sold in Chinese translation. As China Book Review reported, the rights to 9,328 foreign titles – including many children's books – went to China in 2007. China was nominated as a Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Bookfair in 2009. [2] [3]

The book market in China traditionally orders books during bookfairs, because the country lacks a national book ordering system. In 2006, 6.8 million titles were sold, not including an unknown number of banned titles, bootleg copies and underground publishing factories. Seven percent of all publishers are located in Shanghai. Because the industry lacks a national distribution system, many titles from publishers in the provinces can only be found there.

The central publishing houses belonging to ministries or (other) government institutions have their main seat at Beijing (40 percent of all publishers). Most regional publishing houses are situated in the capitals of the provinces. Universities also have associated presses. Private publishing is tolerated. 220,000 books were published in 2005. Among 579 publishers – almost five times more than thirty years ago – 225 are supervised by ministries, commissions or the army; 348 are controlled by agencies; and six are even more independent. On the other hand 100,000 private bookstores bring in the half of the income of the book industry.[43]

In 2005, the Chinese government started a sponsoring program for translations of government-approved Chinese works, which has already resulted in more than 200 books being translated from Chinese into another language.

Shanda Literature Ltd. is an online publishing company that claims to publish 8,000 Chinese literary works daily.

Women and Chinese literature

Early female writers

Cai, or literary talent, is an attribute describing profound lyricism, deep intellectuality and analytic skill.[44] Although it was acknowledged that both women and men possessed cai, the phrase nuren wucai bian shi de 女人無才便是德(for women, lack of literary talent is a virtue)[44] summarizes the dominant sentiment that the literary field was traditionally a domain for men. Despite this belief, works authored by women play an integral part throughout Chinese history. There were a number of women writers prior to the 20th century who were respected by the intelligentsia of their era, even if much of their work was considered less important than men's work in general.[45] Female writers helped to bring forth themes such as romance, marriage, gender roles and the politics surrounding women.

The first women recorded in biography and bibliography were poets.[45] The aesthetic nature of poetry was highly regarded, while fiction was viewed as an avenue taken because of a failed career or commercial venture.[45] A marked increase in female literacy took place during the Late Imperial Era. One of the more notable poets of this time was Mao Xiuhui, a 16th century poet that used the plight of her husband's failed attempt at gaining a position as civil servant to write a poem that draws parallels between the male and female as they suffer hardships in the political and domestic arenas respectively. Other notable female poets in Chinese history were Gao Zhixian, Xue Tao, and Li Qingzhao.

20th century writers and feminism

The beginning of the century marked a period of growing unrest for women as the feminist movement took hold. Women of this period were faced with the dilemma of protesting oppressive ideals stemming from Confucian ideology or remaining true to their family and maintaining peace and order. Literary discourse at the time was highly influenced by this social movement. Women writers of the

time authored works reflecting the feminist sentiment and the issues that came with revolution.[46] Zhang Ailing, Lu Yin, Shi Pingmei and Ding Ling, were four of the most influential feminist writers of the time. In the 1920s and 1930s, Freudian psychoanalysis gained favor with Chinese feminists looking to study gender relationships, thus becoming a topic of many feminist writers throughout the early and mid portions of the 20th century.[46]

When Mao came to power in 1949, he addressed the issue of women's rights and tried to establish women's equality through the "iron girls" of national development ideal.[46] Through this philosophy, long-standing practices such as foot binding, prostitution and trafficking of women were abolished. Women were given the opportunity to own land, divorce, and join the military and other employment fields.[47] The establishment of this ideology, however, did not liberate women; instead, it undermined the feminine voice by forcing women to take a male-oriented stance on public and domestic policy.[46] Literature authored during this time reflects the restrictive and masculine perspective of women writers during this period.[46] This "Mulanian" style of writing submerged true feminine identity, rendering the female perspective neglected and hidden in the male dominated political and aesthetic arenas.[48] There were some exceptions to this rule, such as Yuan Qiongqiong, who wrote about women’s issues and how much women could accomplish without men.

Selected modern Chinese writers

Wang Tao (王韜) (1828–1897) Yan Fu (嚴復) (1853–1924) Liu E (劉鶚) (1857–1909) Liang Qichao (梁啟超) (1873–1929) Wang Guowei (王國維) (1877–1927) Hu Shi (胡適) (1891–1962) Su Manshu (蘇曼殊) (1894–1918) Lu Xun (魯迅) (1881–1936) Liang Shiqiu (梁實秋) (1903–1987) Xu Dishan (許地山) (1893–1941) Ye Shengtao (葉聖陶) (1894–1988) Lin Yutang (林語堂) (1895–1976) Mao Dun (茅盾) (1896–1981) Xu Zhimo (徐志摩) (1896–1936) Yu Dafu (郁達夫) (1896–1945) Guo Moruo (郭沫若) (1892–1978) Lao She (老舍) (1897–1966) Zhu Ziqing (朱自清) (1898–1948) Tian Han (田漢) (1898–1968) Feng Zikai (豐子愷) (1898–1975) Wen Yiduo (聞一多) (1899–1946) Bing Xin (冰心) (1900–1999) Ba Jin (巴金) (1904–2005) Shen Congwen (沈從文) (1902–1988) Cao Yu (曹禺) (1905–1996) Qian Zhongshu (錢鍾書) (1910–1988) He Qifang (何其芳) (1912–1977) Lin Haiyin (林海音) (1918–2001) Eileen Chang (張愛玲) (1920–1995) Qiu Miaojin (邱妙津) (1969-1995) Qu Bo (novelist) (曲波) (1922–2002)

Wang Xiaobo (王小波) (1952–1997) Wang Zengqi (汪曾祺) (1920–1997) Bei Dao (北島) (1949—) Cong Weixi (從維熙) (1933—) Jinyong (金庸), The pen name of living Chinese author Louis Cha, the best

selling living Chinese author[49]

Mo Yan (莫言) (1955—) Su Tong (蘇童) (1963—) Ma Jian (馬建) (1953—) Tie Ning (鐵凝) (1957—) Gao Xingjian (高行健) (1940-) Yang Mu (楊牧) (1940–) Zhang Xianliang (張賢亮) (1936—) Chiung Yao (琼瑶) (1938—) Chen Zhongshi (陳忠實) (1942—)

Others

Chinese writers writing in English:

Ha Jin (金雪飞) (1956—) Lien Chao (1950—) Chiang Yee (1903–1977)

Chinese writers writing in French:

Chen Jitong (陳季同) (1852–1907) François Cheng (程抱一) (1929—) Dai Sijie (戴思杰) (1954—) Shan Sa (山飒) (1972—)

Chinese writer writing in Indonesian:

Kho Ping Hoo (1926–1994)

Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries BC

1200-1100 BC approximate date of books RV 1 and RV 10 in the Rigveda 1200-800 BC approximate date of the Vedic Sanskrit Yajurveda, Atharvaveda 1100-800 BC date of the redaction of the extant text of the Rigveda 1050 BC Egyptian Story of Wenamun 1050 BC Akkadian Sakikkū (SA.GIG) “Diagnostic Omens” by Esagil-kin-apli.[19]

1050 BC The Babylonian Theodicy of Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib.[19]

1000-600 BC Chinese Classic of Poetry (Shījīng), Classic of Documents (Shūjīng) (authentic portions), Classic of Changes (I Ching)

950 BC date of the Jahwist portions of the Torah according to the documentary hypothesis 900 BC Akkadian Epic of Erra 850 BC date of the Elohist portions of the Torah according to the documentary hypothesis

Classical Antiquity

Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until roughly the rise of the Byzantine Empire.

Contents

1 Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity o 1.1 Epic poetry o 1.2 Lyric poetry o 1.3 Drama o 1.4 Historiography o 1.5 Philosophy

2 Hellenistic Age o 2.1 Hellenistic poetry

3 The Hellenistic and Roman Periods o 3.1 Historiography o 3.2 Science and mathematics o 3.3 Philosophy

4 Legacy 5 See also 6 Further reading

Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity

This period of Greek literature stretches from Homer until the 4th century BC and the rise of Alexander the Great. English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once claimed that all of philosophy is but a footnote to Plato. To suggest that all of Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of ancient Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so far-ranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today not already debated by the ancient writers.

The earliest known Greek writings are Mycenaean, written in the Linear B syllabary on clay tablets. These documents contain prosaic records largely concerned with trade (lists, inventories, receipts, etc.); no real literature has been discovered. Several theories have been advanced to explain this curious absence. One is that Mycenaean literature, like the works of Homer and other epic poems, was passed on orally, since the Linear B syllabary is not well-suited to recording the sounds of Greek (see phonemic principle).

Greek literature was divided in well-defined literary genres, each one having a compulsory formal structure, about both dialect and metrics. The first division was between prose and poetry. Fictional literature was written in verse, while scientific literature was in prose. Within the poetry we could separate three super-genres: epic, lyric and drama. We can observe here that the Greek terminology has became the common European terminology about literary genres. Lyric and drama were further divided into more genres: lyric in four (elegiac, iambic, monodic lyric and choral lyric); drama in three (tragedy, comedy and pastoral drama). About literature in prose there was more freedom; the main areas were historiography, philosophy and political rhetoric.

Epic poetry

At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The figure of Homer is shrouded in mystery. Although the works as they now stand are credited to him, it is certain that their roots reach far back before his time (see Homeric Question). The Iliad is the famous story about the Trojan War. It centers on the person of Achilles, who embodied the Greek heroic ideal.

While the Iliad is pure tragedy, the Odyssey is a mixture of tragedy and comedy. It is the story of Odysseus, one of the warriors at Troy. After ten years fighting the war, he spends another ten years sailing back home to his wife and family. During his ten-year voyage, he loses all of his comrades and ships and makes his way home to Ithaca disguised as a beggar. Both of these works were based on ancient legends. The stories are told in language that is simple, and direct. The Homeric dialect was an archaic language based on Ionic dialect mixed with some element of Aeolic dialect and Attic dialect, the latter due to the Athenian edition of 6th century BC. The epic verse was the hexameter.

The other great poet of the preclassical period was Hesiod. Unlike Homer, Hesiod speaks of himself in his poetry; it remains true that nothing is known about him from any external source. He was a native of Boeotia in central Greece, and is thought to have lived and worked around 700 BC. His two works were Works and Days and Theogony. The first is a faithful depiction of the poverty-stricken country life he knew so well, and it sets forth principles and rules for farmers. Theogony is a systematic account of creation and of the gods. It vividly describes the ages of mankind, beginning with a long-past Golden Age. Together the works of Homer and Hesiod comprised a kind of Bible for the Greeks; Homer told the story of a heroic relatively near past, which Hesiod bracketed with a creation narrative and an account of the practical realities of contemporary daily life.

Lyric poetryMain article: Greek lyric

The type of poetry called lyric got its name from the fact that it was originally sung by individuals or a chorus accompanied by the instrument called the lyre. Although, despite the name, the lyric poetry in this general meaning was divided in four genres, two of which were not accompanied by cithara, but by flute. These two latters genres were the elegiac poetry and the iambic poetry. Both were written in ionic dialect, elegiac poetry was in elegiac couplets and iambic poems in iambic trimeter. The first of the lyric poets was probably Archilochus of Paros, circa 700 BC, the most important iambic poet. Only fragments remain of his work, as is the case with most of the poets. The few remnants suggest that he was an embittered adventurer who led a very turbulent life. The lyric in narrow sense was written in aeolic dialect and meters were really varied. The most famous authors were the so-called Nine lyric poets, and particularly Alcaeus and Sappho for monodic lyric and Pindarus for choral lyric.

Drama

Ancient Greek drama developed around Greece's theater culture. Drama was particularly developed in Athens, so works are written in Attic dialect. The dialogues are in iambic trimeter, while chorus are in the meters of choral lyric.

In the age that followed the Greco-Persian Wars, the awakened national spirit of Athens was expressed in hundreds of superb tragedies based on heroic and legendary themes of the past. The tragic plays grew out of simple choral songs and dialogues performed at festivals of the god Dionysus. In the classic period, performances included three tragedies and one pastoral drama, depicting four different episodes of the same myth. Wealthy citizens were chosen to bear the expense of costuming and training the chorus as a public and religious duty. Attendance at the festival performances was regarded as an act of worship. Performances were held in the great open-air theater of Dionysus in Athens. All of the greatest poets competed for the prizes offered for the best plays.

The three best authors are Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. From Aeschylus, we still have seven tragedies, among which the only surviving series of three tragedies performed together, the so-called

Oresteia. Seven works of Sophocles have survived, the most important of which are Oedipus rex and Antigone. From Euripides, seventeen tragedies have survived, among them Medea and The Bacchae.

Like tragedy, comedy arose from a ritual in honor of Dionysus, but in this case the plays were full of frank obscenity, abuse, and insult. At Athens, the comedies became an official part of the festival celebration in 486 BC, and prizes were offered for the best productions. As with the tragedians, few works still remain of the great comedic writers. Of the works of earlier writers, only some plays by Aristophanes exist. These are a treasure trove of comic presentation. He poked fun at everyone and every institution. For boldness of fantasy, for merciless insult, for unqualified indecency, and for outrageous and free political criticism, there is nothing to compare to the comedies of Aristophanes. In The Birds, he held up Athenian democracy to ridicule. In The Clouds, he attacked the philosopher Socrates. In Lysistrata, he denounced war. Only 11 of his plays have survived.

The third dramatic genre was the satyr play. Although the genre was popular, only one example has survived in its entirety, Euripides' Cyclops.

HistoriographyThis article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (December 2008)

Two of the most famous historians who have ever written flourished during Greece's classical age: Herodotus and Thucydides. Herodotus is commonly called the father of history, and his "History" contains the first truly literary use of prose in Western literature. Of the two, Thucydides was the more careful historian. His critical use of sources, inclusion of documents, and laborious research made his History of the Peloponnesian War a significant influence on later generations of historians.

A third historian of ancient Greece, Xenophon, began his Hellenica where Thucydides ended his work about 411 BC and carried his history to 362 BC. His writings were superficial in comparison to those of Thucydides, but he wrote with authority on military matters. He therefore is at his best in the Anabasis, an account of his participation in a Greek mercenary army that tried to help the Persian Cyrus expel his brother from the throne. Xenophon also wrote three works in praise of the philosopher Socrates: Apology, Symposium, and Memorabilia. Although both Xenophon and Plato knew Socrates, their accounts are very different, and it is interesting to compare the view of the military historian to that of the poet-philosopher.

Philosophy

The greatest achievement of the 4th century was in philosophy. There were many Greek philosophers, but Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle tower above the rest and had enormous influence on Western society. Socrates himself wrote nothing, but his thought (or a reasonable presentation of it) is believed to be given by Plato's early socratic dialogues. Aristotle is virtually without rivals among scientists and philosophers. The first sentence of his Metaphysics reads: "All men by nature desire to know." He has, therefore, been called the "Father of those who know." His medieval disciple Thomas Aquinas referred to him simply as "the Philosopher." Aristotle was a student at Plato's Academy, and it is known that like his teacher he wrote dialogues, or conversations. None of these exist today. The body of writings that has come down to the present probably represents lectures that he delivered at his own school in Athens, the Lyceum. Even from these books the enormous range of his interests is evident. He explored matters other than those that are today considered philosophical. The treatises that exist cover logic, the physical and biological sciences, ethics, politics, and constitutional government. There are also treatises on The Soul and Rhetoric. His Poetics has had an enormous influence on literary theory and served as an interpretation of tragedy for more than 2,000 years. With his death in 322 BC, the classical era of Greek literature drew to a close.

Hellenistic Age

By 338 BC all of the Greek city-states except Sparta had been conquered by Philip II of Macedon. Philip's son Alexander the Great extended his father's conquests greatly. Athens lost its preeminent status as the leader of Greek culture, and it was replaced temporarily by Alexandria, Egypt.

The city of Alexandria in northern Egypt became, from the 3rd century BC, the outstanding center of Greek culture. It also soon attracted a large Jewish population, making it the largest center for Jewish scholarship in the ancient world. In addition, it later became a major focal point for the development of Christian thought. The Museum, or Shrine to the Muses, which included the library and school, was founded by Ptolemy I. The institution was from the beginning intended as a great international school and library. The library, eventually containing more than a half million volumes, was mostly in Greek. It served as a repository for every Greek work of the classical period that could be found.

Hellenistic poetry

Poetry flourished in Alexandria in the third century BC. The chief Alexandrian poets were Theocritus, Callimachus, and Apollonius of Rhodes. Theocritus, who lived from about 310 to 250 BC, invented a new genre of poetry—bucolic, a genre that the Roman Virgil would later imitate in his Eclogues.

Callimachus, who lived at the same time as Theocritus, worked his entire adult life at Alexandria and compiled a prose treatise entitled the Pinakes which catalogued the great works held in the library. Aside from a collection of hymns, only fragments of his poetry survive. The most famous work was Aetia (Causes). In four books of elegiac couplets it explained the legendary origin of obscure customs, festivals, and names. Its structure became a model for the work of the Roman poet Ovid. Of his elegies for special occasions, the best known is the Lock of Berenice, a piece of court poetry which formed part of the Aetia and was later adapted by the Roman Catullus. Callimachus also wrote short poems for special occasions and at least one short epic, the Ibis, which was directed against his former pupil Apollonius.

Apollonius of Rhodes was born about 295 BC. He is best remembered for his epic the Argonautica, about Jason and his shipmates in search of the golden fleece. Apollonius studied under Callimachus, with whom he later quarreled. He also served as librarian at Alexandria for about 13 years. Apart from the Argonautica, he wrote poems on the foundation of cities as well as a number of epigrams. The Roman poet Virgil was strongly influenced by the Argonautica in writing his Aeneid. Lesser 3rd-century poets include Aratus of Soli and Herodas. Aratus wrote the Phaenomena, a poetic version of a treatise on the stars by Eudoxus of Cnidus, who had lived in the 4th century. Herodas wrote mimes reminiscent of those of Theocritus. His works give a hint of the popular entertainment of the times. Mime and pantomime were a major form of entertainment during the early Roman Empire

The Hellenistic and Roman Periods

While the transition from city-state to empire affected philosophy a great deal, shifting the emphasis from political theory to personal ethics, Greek letters continued to flourish both under the Successors (especially the Ptolemies) and under Roman rule. Romans of literary or rhetorical inclination looked to Greek models, and Greek literature of all types continued to be read and produced both by native speakers of Greek and later by Roman authors as well. A notable characteristic of this period was the expansion of literary criticism as a genre, particularly as exemplified by Demetrius, Pseudo-Longinus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The Greek novel, typified by Chariton's Callirhoe and the Hero and Leander of Pseudo-Musaeus, also emerged. The New Testament, written by various authors in varying qualities of Koine Greek also hails from this period, the most important works being the Gospels and the Epistles of Saint Paul.

Historiography

The significant historians in the period after Alexander were Timaeus, Polybius, Diodorus Siculus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Appian of Alexandria, Arrian, and Plutarch. The period of time they cover extended from late in the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD.

Timaeus was born in Sicily but spent most of his life in Athens. His History, though lost, is significant because of its influence on Polybius. In 38 books it covered the history of Sicily and Italy to the year 264 BC, which is where Polybius began his work. Timaeus also wrote the Olympionikai, a valuable chronological study of the Olympic Games. Polybius was born about 200 BC. He was brought to Rome as a hostage in 168. At Rome he became a friend of the general Scipio Aemilianus. He probably accompanied the general to Spain and North Africa in the wars against Carthage. He was with Scipio at the destruction of Carthage in 146. The history on which his reputation rests consisted of 40 books, five of which have been preserved along with various excerpts. They are a vivid recreation of Rome's rise to world power. A lost book, Tactics, was on military matters.

Diodorus Siculus lived in the 1st century BC, the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus. He wrote a universal history, Bibliotheca historica, in 40 books. Of these, the first five and the 11th through the 20th remain. The first two parts covered history through the early Hellenistic era. The third part takes the story to the beginning of Caesar's wars in Gaul, now France. Dionysius of Halicarnassus lived late in the 1st century BC. His history of Rome from its origins to the First Punic War (264 to 241 BC) is written from a Roman point of view, but it is carefully researched. He also wrote a number of other treatises, including On Imitation, Commentaries on the Ancient Orators, and On the Arrangement of Words.

Appian and Arrian both lived in the 2nd century AD. Appian wrote on Rome and its conquests, while Arrian is remembered for his work on the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Arrian served in the Roman army. His book therefore concentrates heavily on the military aspects of Alexander's life. Arrian also wrote a philosophical treatise, the Diatribai, based on the teachings of his mentor Epictetus. Best known of the late Greek historians to modern readers is Plutarch, who died about AD 119. His Parallel Lives of great Greek and Roman leaders has been read by every generation since the work was first published. His other surviving work is the Moralia, a collection of essays on ethical, religious, political, physical, and literary topics.

Science and mathematicsFurther information: Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, and Medicine in ancient Greece

Eratosthenes of Alexandria, who died about 194 BC, wrote on astronomy and geography, but his work is known mainly from later summaries. He is credited with being the first person to measure the Earth's circumference. Much that was written by the mathematicians Euclid and Archimedes has been preserved. Euclid is known for his Elements, much of which was drawn from his predecessor Eudoxus of Cnidus. The Elements is a treatise on geometry, and it has exerted a continuing influence on mathematics. From Archimedes several treatises have come down to the present. Among them are Measurement of the Circle, in which he worked out the value of pi; The Method of Mechanical Theorems, on his work in mechanics; The Sand Reckoner; and On Floating Bodies. A manuscript of his works is currently being studied.

The physician Galen, in the history of ancient science, is the most significant person in medicine after Hippocrates, who laid the foundation of medicine in the 5th century BC. Galen lived during the 2nd century AD. He was a careful student of anatomy, and his works exerted a powerful influence on medicine for the next 1,400 years . Strabo, who died about AD 23, was a geographer and historian. His Historical Sketches in 47 volumes has nearly all been lost. His Geographical Sketches remain as the only existing ancient book covering the whole range of people and countries known to the Greeks and Romans through the time of Augustus. Pausanias, who lived in the 2nd century AD, was also a geographer. His Description of Greece is an invaluable guide to what are now ancient ruins. His book takes the form of a tour of Greece, starting in Athens. The accuracy of his descriptions has been proved by archaeological excavations. The scientist of the Roman period who had the greatest influence on later generations was undoubtedly the astronomer Ptolemy. He lived during the 2nd century AD, though little is known of his life. His masterpiece, originally entitled The Mathematical Collection, has come to the present under the title Almagest, as it was translated by Arab astronomers with that title. It was Ptolemy who devised a detailed description of an Earth-centered universe, a notion that dominated astronomical thinking for more than 1,300 years. The Ptolemaic view of the universe endured until Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and other early modern astronomers replaced it with heliocentrism.

Philosophy

Epictetus, who died about AD 135, was associated with the moral philosophy of the Stoics. His teachings were collected by his pupil Arrian in the Discourses and the Encheiridion (Manual of Study). Diogenes Laertius, who lived in the 3rd century, wrote Lives, Teachings, and Sayings of Famous Philosophers, a useful, though often unreliable, sourcebook. Another major philosopher of his period was Plotinus. He transformed Plato's philosophy into a school called Neoplatonism. His Enneads had a wide-ranging influence on European thought until at least the 17th century.

Legacy

The influence of Ancient Greek Literature on Western Literature has been enormous. In fact, the frame of Greek literary genres has been almost perfectly adopted by Latin literature, firstly, and then by the European literatures, until the 18th century. The Greek works were well known by Roman writers, as well as by European writers since Renaissance. So, these works, particularly the Homeric poems and the tragedies were the model for the successive writers of the same genres.

Greek lyric is the body of lyric poetry written in dialects of ancient Greek. It is primarily associated with the early 7th to the early 5th centuries BC, sometimes called the "Lyric Age of Greece",[1] but continued to be written into the Hellenistic and Imperial periods. Lyric is one of three broad categories of poetry in classical antiquity, along with drama—both tragedy and comedy were composed as verse—and epic, according to the scheme of the "natural forms of poetry" developed by Goethe in the early nineteenth century.[2] Culturally, Greek lyric is the product of the political, social and intellectual milieu of the Greek polis ("city-state").[3]

Much of Greek lyric is occasional poetry, composed for public or private performance by a soloist or chorus to mark particular occasions. The symposium ("drinking party") was one setting in which lyric poems were performed.[4] "Lyric" indicates that these poems were conceived of as belonging to the tradition of poetry sung or chanted to the accompaniment of the lyre, also known as melic poetry (from melos, "song"; compare English "melody"). Modern surveys of "Greek lyric" often include relatively short poems composed for similar purposes or circumstances that were not strictly "song lyrics" in the modern sense, such as elegies and iambics.[5]

Greek lyric poems celebrate athletic victories (epinikia), commemorate the dead, exhort soldiers to valor, and offer religious devotion in the forms of hymns, paeans, and dithyrambs. Partheneia, "maiden-songs," were sung by choruses of maidens at festivals.[6] Love poems praise the beloved, express unfulfilled desire, proffer seductions, or blame the former lover for a breakup. In this last mood, love poetry might blur into invective, a poetic attack aimed at insulting or shaming a personal enemy, an art at which Archilochus, the earliest known Greek lyric poet, excelled. The themes of Greek lyric include "politics, war, sports, drinking, money, youth, old age, death, the heroic past, the gods," and hetero- and homosexual love.[7]

In the 3rd century BC, the encyclopedic movement at Alexandria produced a canon of the nine melic poets: Alcaeus, Alcman, Anacreon, Bacchylides, Ibycus, Pindar, Sappho, Simonides, and Stesichorus.[8] Only a small sampling of lyric poetry from Archaic Greece, the period when it first flourished, survives. For example, the poems of Sappho are said to have filled nine papyrus rolls in the Library of Alexandria, with the first book alone containing more than 1,300 lines of verse. Today, only one of Sappho's poems exists intact, with fragments from other sources that would scarcely fill a chapbook.[9]

Contents

1 Meters 2 Bibliography

o 2.1 Translations o 2.2 Critical editions

o 2.3 Scholarship 3 References

Meters

Greek poetry meters are based on patterns of long and short syllables (in contrast to English verse, which is determined by stress), and lyric poetry is characterized by a great variety of metrical forms.[10] The nine melic poets composed in complex triadic forms of strophe, antistrophe, and epode, with the first two parts of the triad having the same metrical pattern, and the epode a different form.[11]

Iambic and trochaic meters, most commonly iambic trimeter and trochaic tetrameter, alternate long and short syllables. Iambic meters were thought to reflect most closely the rhythms of Greek as spoken in everyday life,[12] and was thus the meter used for dialogue in Greek plays of the 5th century BC. Earlier, it was usually used for invective or satire, as suggested by the word iambos, which meant "lampoon" or "scurrilous abuse",[13] and as found in Archilochus and Hipponax. Semonides of Amorgos uses iambic trimeter for both his "misogynistic satirizing of women" and for his poem on the theme of "the vanity of human wishes."[14]

Literary histories usually treat elegies, a category which includes any poetry written in elegiac couplets, as part of the lyric tradition. Since the first line of an elegiac couplet is dactylic hexameter, the verse form used for epic poetry in both the Greek and Latin literature, the division between elegy and epic is permeable. Military and didactic themes may be treated in elegiac couplets, drawing on poetic conventions from epic.[15]

Syriac literature is literature written in the Syriac language, the classical Middle Aramaic language of Syriac Christianity. The majority of classical Syriac literature is of a Christian religious nature.

The earliest Christian literature in Classical Syriac was biblical translation, the Peshitta and the Diatessaron. The 4th century is considered to be the golden age of Syriac literature. The two giants of this period are Aphrahat, writing homilies for the church in Persia, and Ephrem the Syrian, writing hymns, poetry and prose for the church just within the Roman Empire. The next two centuries, which are in many ways a continuation of the golden age, sees important Syriac poets and theologians: Jacob of Serugh, Narsai, Philoxenus of Mabbog, Babai the Great, Isaac of Nineveh and Jacob of Edessa.

With the advent and spread of Islam throughout the Middle East the process of hellenization of Syriac, which was prominent in the sixth and seventh centuries, slowed and ceased. Syriac entered a silver age from around the ninth century. The works of this period were more encyclopaedic and scholastic, and include the biblical commentators Ishodad of Merv and Dionysius bar Salibi. Crowning the silver age of Syriac literature is the thirteenth-century polymath Bar-Hebraeus.

The conversion of the Mongols to Islam began a period of retreat and hardship for Syriac culture. However, there has been a continuous stream of Syriac literature from the fourteenth century through to the present day. This has included the flourishing of literature from the various colloquial Neo-Aramaic languages spoken by Christians. This Neo-Syriac literature bears a dual tradition: it continues the traditions of the Syriac literature of the past, and it incorporates a converging stream of the less homogeneous spoken language. The first such flourishing of Neo-Syriac was the seventeenth century literature of the School of Alqosh, in northern Iraq. This literature led to the establishment of Chaldean Neo-Aramaic as a written literary language. In the nineteenth century, printing presses were established in Urmia, in northern Iran. This led to the establishment of the 'General Urmian' dialect of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic as the standard in much Neo-Syriac literature. The comparative ease of modern publishing methods has encouraged other colloquial Neo-Aramaic languages, like Turoyo and Senaya, to begin to produce literature. Composition in the classical Syriac language still continues, especially among members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, where students in the church's monasteries are taught living, spoken Syriac, or Kṯoḇonoyo.

Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. Beginning around the 3rd century BC, it took two centuries to become a dominant literature of Ancient Rome, with many educated Romans still reading and writing in Ancient Greek, as late as Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD). Latin literature was in many ways a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms.

Latin was the language of the ancient Romans, but it was also the lingua franca of Europe throughout the middle ages, so Latin literature includes not only Roman authors like Cicero, Vergil, Ovid and Lucretius, but also includes European writers after the fall of the Empire from religious writers like St. Augustine (354–430 AD), to secular writers like Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and Spinoza (1632–1677).

Contents

1 History o 1.1 Early Latin literature o 1.2 The Golden Age

1.2.1 The age of Cicero 1.2.2 The Augustan Age

o 1.3 The Imperial Period o 1.4 Latin in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

2 Characteristics of Latin literature o 2.1 Language and form

3 Latin in translation 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

History

Early Latin literatureMain article: Old Latin

Formal Latin literature began in 240 BC, when a Roman audience saw a Latin version of a Greek play.[1] The adaptor was Livius Andronicus, a Greek who had been brought to Rome as a prisoner of war in 272 BC. Andronicus also translated Homer's Greek epic the Odyssey into an old type of Latin verse called Saturnian. The first Latin poet to write on a Roman theme was Gnaeus Naevius during the 200s BC. He composed an epic poem about the first Punic War, in which he had fought. Naevius's dramas were mainly reworkings of Greek originals, but he also created tragedies based on Roman myths and history.

Other epic poets followed Naevius. Quintus Ennius wrote a historical epic, the Annals (soon after 200 BC), describing Roman history from the founding of Rome to his own time. He adopted Greek dactylic hexameter, which became the standard verse form for Roman epics. He also became famous for his tragic dramas. In this field, his most distinguished successors were Marcus Pacuvius and Lucius Accius. These three writers rarely used episodes from Roman history. Instead, they wrote Latin versions of tragic themes that the Greeks had already handled. But even when they copied the Greeks, they did not translate slavishly. Only fragments of their plays have survived.

Cato the Elder

We know much more about early Latin comedy, because we have 20 complete plays by Plautus and 6 by Terence.[2] These men modeled their comedies on Greek plays known as New Comedy. But they treated the plots and wording of the originals freely. Plautus scattered songs through his plays and increased the humor with puns and wisecracks, plus comic actions by the actors. Terence's plays were more polite in tone, dealing with domestic situations. His works provided the chief inspiration for French and English comedies of the 1600s, and even for modern American comedy.

The prose of the period is best known through On Agriculture (160 BC) by Cato the Elder. Cato also wrote the first Latin history of Rome and of other Italian cities.[3] He was the first Roman statesman to put his political speeches in writing as a means of influencing public opinion.

Early Latin literature ended with Gaius Lucilius, who created a new kind of poetry in his 30 books of Satires (100s BC). He wrote in an easy, conversational tone about books, food, friends, and current events.

The Golden AgeMain article: Classical Latin

Latin literature was at its height from 81 BC to AD 17. This period began with the first known speech of Cicero and ended with the death of Ovid.

The age of Cicero

Cicero has traditionally been considered the master of Latin prose.[4][5] The writing he produced from about 80 BC until his death in 43 BC exceeds that of any Latin author whose work survives in terms of quantity and variety of genre and subject matter, as well as possessing unsurpassed stylistic excellence. Cicero's many works can be divided into four groups: (1) letters, (2) rhetorical treatises, (3) philosophical works, and (4) orations. His letters provide detailed information about an important period in Roman history and offer a vivid picture of the public and private life among the Roman governing class. Cicero's works on oratory are our most valuable Latin sources for ancient theories on education and rhetoric. His philosophical works were the basis of moral philosophy during the Middle Ages. His speeches inspired many European political leaders and the founders of the United States.

Cicero

Julius Caesar and Sallust were outstanding historical writers of Cicero's time. Caesar wrote commentaries on the Gallic and civil wars in a straightforward style to justify his actions as a general. Sallust adopted an abrupt, pointed style in his historical works. He wrote brilliant descriptions of people and their motives.

The birth of lyric poetry in Latin occurred during the same period. The short love lyrics of Catullus have never been surpassed in emotional intensity. Catullus also wrote masterful poems that attacked his enemies. In his longer poems, he suggested beautiful images in rich, delicate language.

In contrast, the poet Lucretius interpreted the ideas of the Greek philosopher Epicurus. Lucretius's work De Rerum Natura (55 BC) contains many majestic passages. It is a triumph of poetic genius over unpoetic matter.

The most learned writer of the period was Varro. He wrote about a remarkable variety of subjects, from religion to poetry. But only his writings on agriculture and the Latin language survive in their complete form.

The Augustan AgeMain article: Augustan literature (ancient Rome)

Virgil

The emperor Augustus took a personal interest in the literary works produced during his years of power from 27 BC to AD 14. This period is sometimes called the Augustan Age of Latin Literature. Virgil published his pastoral Eclogues; the Georgics, perhaps the most beautiful poem ever written about country life; and the Aeneid, an epic poem describing the events that led to the creation of Rome. Virgil told how the Trojan hero Aeneas became the ancestor of the Roman people. Virgil also provided divine justification for Roman rule over the world. Although Virgil died before he could put the finishing touches on his poem, it was soon recognized as the greatest work of Latin literature.[6][7]

Virgil's friend Horace wrote Epodes, Odes, Satires, and Epistles. The perfection of the Odes in content, form, and style has charmed readers for hundreds of years. The Satires and Epistles discuss ethical and literary problems in an urbane, witty manner. Horace's Art of Poetry, probably published as a separate work, greatly influenced later poetic theories. It stated the basic rules of classical writing as the Romans understood and used them. After Virgil died, Horace was Rome's leading poet.[8]

The Latin elegy reached its highest development in the works of Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid. Most of this poetry is concerned with love. Ovid also wrote the Fasti, which describes Roman festivals and their legendary origins. Ovid's greatest work, the Metamorphoses weaves various myths into a fast-paced, fascinating story. Ovid was a witty writer who excelled in creating lively and passionate characters. The Metamorphoses was the best-known source of Roman mythology throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It inspired many poets, painters, and composers.

In prose, Livy produced a history of the Roman people in 142 books. Only 35 survive, but they are a major source of information on Rome.[9]

The Imperial Period

From the death of Augustus in AD 14 until about 200, Roman authors emphasized style and tried new and startling ways of expression. During the reign of Nero from 54 to 68, the Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote a number of dialogues and letters on such moral themes as mercy and generosity. In his Natural Questions, Seneca analyzed earthquakes, floods, and storms. Seneca's tragedies greatly influenced the growth of tragic drama in Europe. His nephew Lucan wrote the Pharsalia (about 60), an epic poem describing the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. The Satyricon (about 60) by Petronius was the first Latin novel.[10] Only fragments of the complete work survive. It describes the adventures of various low-class characters in absurd, extravagant, and dangerous situations, often in the world of petty crime.

Epic poems included the Argonautica of Gaius Valerius Flaccus, the Thebaid of Statius, and the Punica of Silius Italicus. At the hands of Martial, the epigram achieved the stinging quality still associated with it. Juvenal brilliantly satirized vice.

The historian Tacitus painted an unforgettably dark picture of the early empire in his Histories and Annals, both written in the early 100s. His contemporary Suetonius wrote biographies of the 12 Roman rulers from Julius Caesar through Domitian. The letters of Pliny the Younger described Roman life of the period. Quintilian composed the most complete work on ancient education that we possess. Important works from the 100s include the Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius, a collection of anecdotes and reports of literary discussions among his friends; and the letters of the orator Marcus Cornelius Fronto to Marcus Aurelius. The most famous work of the period was Metamorphoses, also called The Golden Ass, by Apuleius. This novel concerns a young man who is accidentally changed into a donkey. The story is filled with colorful tales of love and witchcraft.

Latin in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Pagan Latin literature showed a final burst of vitality in the late 200s and 400s. Ammianus Marcellinus in history, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus in oratory, and Ausonius and Rutilius Claudius Namatianus in poetry all wrote with great talent. The Mosella by Ausonius demonstrated a modernism of feeling that indicates the end of classical literature as such.

At the same time, other men laid the foundations of Christian Latin literature during the 300s and 400s. They included the church fathers Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, and Ambrose, and the first great Christian poet, Prudentius.

Latin continued to be used as a lingua franca throughout Europe, with some of the latest great works in Latin being composed by Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and Spinoza (1632–1677).

Characteristics of Latin literature

Much Latin writing reflects the Romans' interest in rhetoric, the art of speaking and persuading. Public speaking had great importance for educated Romans because most of them wanted successful political careers. When Rome was a republic, effective speaking often determined who would be elected or what bills would pass. After Rome became an empire, the ability to impress and persuade people by the

spoken word lost much of its importance. But training in rhetoric continued to flourish and to affect styles of writing. A large part of rhetoric consists of the ability to present a familiar idea in a striking new manner that attracts attention. Latin authors became masters of this art of variety.

Language and form

Latin is a highly inflected language, with many grammatical forms for various words. As a result, it can be used with a pithiness and brevity unknown in English. It also lends itself to elaboration, because its tight syntax holds even the longest and most complex sentence together as a logical unit. Latin can be used with striking conciseness, as in the works of Sallust and Tacitus. Or it can have wide, sweeping phrases, as in the works of Livy and the speeches of Cicero.

Latin lacks the rich poetic vocabulary that marks Greek poetry. Some earlier Latin poets tried to make up for this deficiency by creating new compound words, as the Greeks had done. But Roman writers seldom invented words. Except in epic poetry, they tended to use a familiar vocabulary, giving it poetic value by imaginative combinations of words and by rich sound effects. Rome's leading poets had great technical skill in the choice and arrangement of language. They also had an intimate knowledge of the Greek poets, whose themes appear in almost all Roman literature.

Latin moves with impressive dignity in the writings of Lucretius, Cicero, or Virgil. It reflects the seriousness and sense of responsibility that characterized the ruling class of Rome during the great years of the republic. But the Romans could also relax and allow what Horace called the "Italian vinegar" in their systems to pour forth in wit and satire.

Latin in translation

The best Latin literature has been translated into most major languages. Until the 1900s, the majority of educated people in the West knew at least some Latin. Today, a smaller proportion of educated people are familiar with the language, but an increasing number enjoy Latin literature through translations.[citation needed]

Some translators paraphrase — that is, they try to keep the beauty and spirit of the original work without providing the exact meaning of each phrase. During the 1600s and 1700s, a number of English poets translated much Latin poetry by paraphrasing. Perhaps the outstanding[according to whom?] example was John Dryden's English version of the poems of Virgil, published in 1697.

Other translators provide literal translations, trying to imitate exactly the writings of Latin authors. But these translations lose much of the beauty and style that made the originals works of art. The chief value of literal translations lies in helping students read Latin more easily.

Old Latin (also called Early Latin or Archaic Latin) refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC.[1] The term prisca Latinitas distinguishes it in New Latin and Contemporary Latin from vetus Latina, in which "old" has another meaning.

The use of "old", "early" and "archaic" has been standard in publications of the corpus of Old Latin writings since at least the 18th century. The definition is not arbitrary but these terms refer to writings with spelling conventions and word forms not generally found in works written under the Roman Empire. This article presents some of the major differences.

Contents

1 Philological constructs o 1.1 The old-time language o 1.2 The four Latins of Isidore

o 1.3 Old Latin 2 Corpus

o 2.1 Fragments and inscriptions o 2.2 Works of literature

3 Script 4 Orthography 5 Phonology 6 Grammar and morphology

o 6.1 Nouns 6.1.1 First declension (a) 6.1.2 Second declension (o) 6.1.3 Third declension (c) 6.1.4 Fourth declension (u) 6.1.5 Fifth declension (e)

o 6.2 Personal pronouns o 6.3 Relative pronoun o 6.4 Verbs

6.4.1 Old present and perfects 7 Bibliography 8 Sources 9 See also 10 External links

Philological constructs

The old-time language

The concept of Old Latin (Prisca Latinitas) is as old as the concept of Classical Latin, both dating to at least as early as the late Roman Republic. In that time period Marcus Tullius Cicero, along with others, noted that the language he used every day, presumably the upper-class city Latin, included lexical items and phrases that were heirlooms from a previous time, which he called verborum vetustas prisca,[2] translated as "the old age/time of language."

During the classical period, Prisca Latinitas, Prisca Latina and other expressions using the adjective always meant these remnants of a previous language, which, in the Roman philology, was taken to be much older in fact than it really was. Viri prisci, "old-time men," were the population of Latium before the foundation of Rome.

The four Latins of Isidore

In the Late Latin period, when Classical Latin was behind them, the Latin- and Greek-speaking grammarians were faced with multiple phases, or styles, within the language. Isidore of Seville reports a classification scheme that had come into existence in or before his time: "the four Latins" ("Latinas autem linguas quatuor esse quidam dixerunt").[3] They were Prisca, spoken before the founding of Rome, when Janus and Saturn ruled Latium, to which he dated the Carmen Saliare; Latina, dated from the time of king Latinus, in which period he placed the laws of the Twelve Tables; Romana, essentially equal to Classical Latin; and Mixta, "mixed" Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin, which is known today as Late Latin. The scheme persisted with little change for some thousand years after Isidore.

Old Latin

In 1874 John Wordsworth used the definition:[4]

By Early Latin I understand Latin of the whole period of the Republic, which is separated very strikingly, both in tone and in outward form, from that of the Empire.

Although the differences are striking and can be easily identified by Latin readers, they are not such as to cause a language barrier. Latin speakers of the empire had no reported trouble understanding old Latin, except for the few texts that must date from the time of the kings, mainly songs. Thus the laws of the twelve tables, which began the republic, were comprehensible, but the Carmen Saliare, probably written under Numa Pompilius, was not entirely.

An opinion concerning Old Latin, of a Roman man of letters in the middle Republic, does survive: the historian, Polybius,[5] read "the first treaty between Rome and Carthage", which he says "dates from the consulship of Lucius Junius Brutus and Marcus Horatius, the first consuls after the expulsion of the kings." Knowledge of the early consuls is somewhat obscure, but Polybius also states that the treaty was formulated 28 years after Xerxes I crossed into Greece; that is, in 452 BC, about the time of the Decemviri, when the constitution of the Roman republic was being defined. Polybius says of the language of the treaty: "...the ancient Roman language differs so much from the modern that it can only be partially made out, and that after much application by the most intelligent men."

There is no sharp distinction between Old Latin as it was spoken for most of the republic and classical Latin, but the earlier grades into the later. The end of the republic was too late a termination for compilers after Wordsworth; Charles Edwin Bennett said:[6]

'Early Latin' is necessarily a somewhat vague term ... Bell, De locativi in prisca Latinitate vi et usu, Breslau, 1889,[7] sets the later limit at 75 BC. A definite date is really impossible, since archaic Latin does not terminate abruptly, but continues even down to imperial times.

Bennett's own date of 100 BC. did not prevail but rather Bell's 75 BC. became the standard as expressed in the four-volume Loeb Library and other major compendia. Over the 377 years from 452 BC to 75 BC Old Latin evolved from being partially comprehensible by classicists with study to being easily read by men of letters.

Corpus

The Forum inscription, one of the oldest known Latin inscriptions. It is written boustrophedon, albeit irregularly. From a rubbing by Domenico Comparetti.

Old Latin authored works began in the 3rd century BC. These are complete or nearly complete works under their own name surviving as manuscripts copied from other manuscripts in whatever script was current at the time. In addition are fragments of works quoted in other authors.

Numerous inscriptions placed by various methods (painting, engraving, embossing) on their original media survive just as they were except for the ravages of time. Some of these were copied from other inscriptions. No inscription can be earlier than the introduction of the Greek alphabet into Italy but none survive from that early date. The imprecision of archaeological dating makes precise dates impossible but the earliest survivals are probably from the 6th century BC. Some of the texts, however, surviving as fragments in the works of classical authors, had to have been composed earlier than the republic, in the monarchy. These are listed below.

Fragments and inscriptions

Notable Old Latin fragments with estimated dates include:

The Carmen Saliare (chant put forward in classical times as having been sung by the salian brotherhood formed by Numa Pompilius, approximate date 700 BC)

The Praeneste fibula (traditionally attributed to the 7th century BC, though it has been suggested that it may be a 19th-century forgery)

The Forum inscription (illustration, right c. 550 BC under the monarchy) The Duenos inscription (c. 500 BC) The Castor-Pollux dedication (c. 500 BC) The Garigliano Bowl (c. 500 BC) The Lapis Satricanus (early 5th century BC) The preserved fragments of the laws of the Twelve Tables (traditionally,

449 BC, attested much later) The Tibur pedestal (c. 400 BC) The Scipionum Elogia

o Epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (c. 280 BC)o Epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Scipio (consul 259 BC)o Epitaph of Publius Cornelius Scipio P.f. P.n. Africanus (died about

170 BC) The Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus (186 BC) The Vase Inscription from Ardea The Corcolle Altar fragments The Carmen Arvale Altar to the Unknown Divinity (92 BC)

Works of literature

Cato the Elder and his wife

The authors are as follows:

Lucius Livius Andronicus (c. 280/260 BC — c. 200 BC), translator, founder of Roman drama

Gnaeus Naevius (c. 264 — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poet Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of

comedies Quintus Ennius (239 — c. 169 BC), poet Marcus Pacuvius (c. 220 — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poet Statius Caecilius (220 — 168/166 BC), comic dramatist

Publius Terentius Afer (195/185 — 159 BC), comic dramatist Quintus Fabius Pictor (3rd century BC), historian Lucius Cincius Alimentus (3rd century BC), military historian Marcius Porcius Cato (234 — 149 BC), generalist, topical writer Gaius Acilius (2nd century BC), historian Lucius Accius (170 — c. 86 BC), tragic dramatist, philologist Gaius Lucilius (c. 160s — 103/102 BC), satirist Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd century BC), public officer, epigramatist Aulus Furius Antias (2nd century BC), poet Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (130 BC — 87 BC), public officer,

tragic dramatist Lucius Pomponius Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist,

satirist Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd century BC), historian Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (2nd century BC), historian Manius Manilius (2nd century BC), public officer, jurist Lucius Coelius Antipater (2nd century BC), jurist, historian Publius Sempronius Asellio (158 BC — after 91 BC), military officer,

historian Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus (2nd century BC), jurist Lucius Afranius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatist Titus Albucius (2nd and 1st centuries BC), orator Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BC — after 78 BC), jurist Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus (154 — 74 BC), philologist Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius (2nd and 1st centuries BC), historian Valerius Antias (2nd and 1st centuries BC), historian Lucius Cornelius Sisenna (121 — 67 BC), soldier, historian Quintus Cornificius (2nd and 1st centuries BC), rhetorician

Script

Main articles: History of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, and Old Italic alphabet

Old Latin surviving in inscriptions is written in various forms of the Etruscan alphabet as it evolved into the Latin alphabet. The writing conventions varied by time and place until classical conventions prevailed. The works of authors in manuscript form were copied over into the scripts of other times. The original writing does not exist.

Orthography

Some differences between old and classical Latin were of spelling only; pronunciation is thought to be essentially as in classical Latin:[8]

Single for double consonants: Marcelus for Marcellus Double vowels for long vowels: aara for āra q for c before u: pequnia for pecunia gs/ks/xs for x: e.g. regs for rex, saxsum for saxum c for g: Caius for Gaius

These differences did not necessarily run concurrently with each other and were not universal; that is, c was used for both c and g.

Phonology

Diphthong changes from Old Latin (left) to Classical Latin (right)[9]

Phonological characteristics of older Latin:

Preservation of original PIE (Proto-Indo-European) thematic case endings -os and -om (later -us and -um).

Most original PIE diphthongs were preserved in stressed syllables, including /ai/ (later ae, but pronunciation unchanged); /ei/ (later ī); /oi/ (later ū, or sometimes oe); /ou/ (from PIE /eu/ and /ou/; later ū).

Intervocalic /s/ (pronounced [z]) preserved up through 350 BC or so, at which point it changed into /r/ (called rhotacism). This rhotacism had implications for declension: early classical Latin, honos, honoris (from honos, honoses); later Classical (by analogy) honor, honoris ("honor"). Some Old Latin texts preserve /s/ in this position, such as the Carmen Arvale's lases for lares. Later instances of /s/ are mostly due either to reduction of early /ss/ after long vowels or diphthongs; borrowings; or late reconstructions.

Many unreduced clusters, e.g. iouxmentom (later iūmentum, "beast of burden"); losna (later lūna, "moon") < *lousna < */leuksnā/; cosmis (later cōmis, "courteous"); stlocum, acc. (later locum, "place").

/dw/ (later b): duenos (later bonus, "good"), in the famous Duenos inscription.

Final /d/ in ablatives (later lost) and in third-person secondary verbs (later t).

Grammar and morphology

Nouns

Latin nouns are distinguished by grammatical case, a word with a termination, or suffix, determining its use in the sentence, such as subject, predicate, etc. A case for a given word is formed by suffixing a case ending to a part of the word common to all its cases called a stem. Stems are classified by their last letters as vowel or consonant. Vowel stems are formed by adding a suffix to a shorter and more ancient segment called a root. Consonant stems are the root (roots end in consonants). The combination of the last letter of the stem and the case ending often results in an ending also called a case ending or termination. For example, the stem puella- receives a case ending -m to form the accusative case puellam in which the termination -am is evident.[10]

In Classical Latin textbooks the declensions are named from the letter ending the stem or First, Second, etc. to Fifth. A declension may be illustrated by a paradigm, or listing of all the cases of a typical word. This method is less frequently applied to Old Latin, and with less validity. In contrast to Classical Latin, Old Latin reflects the evolution of the language from an unknown hypothetical ancestor spoken in Latium. The endings are multiple. Their use depends on time and locality. Any paradigm selected would be subject to these constraints and if applied to the language universally would result in false constructs, hypothetical words not attested in the Old Latin corpus. Nevertheless the endings are illustrated below by quasi-classical paradigms. Alternative endings from different stages of development are given, but they may not be attested for the word of the paradigm. For example, in the Second Declension, *campoe "fields" is unattested, but poploe "peoples" is attested.

First declension (a)

The 'A-Stem Declension'. The stems of nouns of this declension usually end in –ā and are typically feminine.[11]

A nominative case ending of –s in a few masculines indicates the nominative singular case ending may have been originally –s: paricidas for later paricida, but the –s tended to get lost.[12] In the nominative plural, -ī replaced original -s as in the genitive singular.[13]

In the genitive singular, the –s was replaced with –ī from the second declension, the resulting diphthong shortening to –ai subsequently becoming –ae.[14] In a few cases the replacement did not take place: pater familiās.

Explanations of the late inscriptional -aes are speculative. In the genitive plural, the regular ending is –āsōm (classical –ārum by rhotacism and shortening of final o) but some nouns borrow –om (classical –um) from the second declension.[13]

In the dative singular the final i is either long[15] or short.[16] The ending becomes –ae, –a (Feronia) or –e (Fortune).[15]

In the accusative singular, Latin regularly shortens a vowel before final m.[16]

In the ablative singular, –d was regularly lost after a long vowel.[16] In the dative and ablative plural, the –abos descending from Indo-European *–ābhos[17] is used for feminines only (deabus). *–ais > –eis > īs is adapted from –ois of the o-declension.[18]

In the vocative singular, an original short a merged with the shortened a of the nominative.[16]

puellā, –āīgirl, maiden f.

Singular PluralNominative puellā puellāī

Genitive puell-ās/-āī/-ais puell-om/-āsōmDative puellāi puell-eis/-abos

Accusative puellam puellāsAblative puellād puell-eis/-abosVocative puella puellaiLocative Romai Syracuseis

The locative case would not apply to such a meaning as puella, so Roma, which is singular, and Syracusae, which is plural, have been substituted. The locative plural has already merged with the –eis form of the ablative.

Second declension (o)

The 'O-Stem Declension'. The stems of the nouns of the o-declension end in ŏ deriving from the o-grade of Indo-European ablaut.[19] Classical Latin evidences the development ŏ > ŭ. Nouns of this declension are either masculine or neuter.

campos, –īfield, plain m.

saxom, –ārock, stone n.

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nominative camposcamp-oe/-e/-ei/-ī      /-ēs/-eis/-īs

saxom sax-ā/-ă

Genitive camp-ī/-ei camp-ōm/-ūm saxī sax-ōm/-ūm

Dative campōcamp-ois/-oes/-eis/-īs

saxōsax-ois/-oes/-eis/-īs

Accusative campom campōs saxom sax-ā/-ă

Ablative campōdcamp-ois/-oes/-eis/-īs

saxōdsax-ois/-oes/-eis/-īs

Vocative camp-e/-uscamp-oe/-e/-ei/-ī     /-ēs/-eis/-īs

saxom saxă

Locative campī/-ei/-oicamp-ois/-oes/-eis/-īs

saxī/-ei/-oisax-ois/-oes/-eis/-īs

Nominative singulars ending in -ros or -ris syncopate the -os:[20] ager not ageros. The nominative plural masculine follows two lines of development, each leaving a trail of endings. Roman generalizes the Indo-European pronominal ending *-oi. The sequence is *-oi>-oe>-ei>-e>-ī[21] The "provincial texts" generalize from the Indo-European nominative plural ending *-ōs appearing in the Third Declension:[21]

*-ōs >-ēs, -eis, -īs,[22] from 190 BC on.[23]

In the genitive singular, –ī is earliest, alternating later with –ei: populi Romanei, "of the Roman people."[24] In the genitive plural, -om and -um (or -ōm and -ūm[22]) from Indo-European *-ōm survived in classical Latin "words for coins and measures";[25] otherwise classical has -ōrum by analogy with 1st declension -ārum.

In the dative singular, if the Praenestine Fibula is a fraud, Numasioi, the only instance of –ōi, does not count and the Old Latin ending must be –ō.

In the vocative singular, some nouns lose the –e, (0 ending) but not necessarily the same as in classical Latin.[26] The -e alternates regularly with -us.[27] The vocative plural was the same as the nominative plural.[28] Except for some singular forms that were like the genitive, the locative was captured by the ablative case in all Italic languages prior to Old Latin.[29]

Third declension (c)

The Consonant Declension. This declension contains nouns that are masculine, feminine, and neuter. The stem ends in the root consonant, except in the special case where it ends in -i (i-stem declension). The i-stem, which is a vowel-stem, partially fused with the consonant-stem in the pre-Latin period and went further in Old Latin.[30] I/y and u/w can be treated either as consonants or as vowels; hence their classification as semi-vowels. Mixed-stem declensions are partly like consonant-stem and partly like i-

stem. Consonant-stem declensions vary slightly depending on which consonant is root-final: stop-, r-, n-, s-, etc.[31] The paradigms below include a stop-stem (reg-) and an i-stem (igni-).

Rēgs –ēsking m.

Ignis -ēsfire m.

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nominative rēg/-s rēg-eīs/-īs/-ēs/-ĕs ign-is/-esign-eīs/-ēs/-īs/-ĕs

Genitive rēg-es/-is/-os/-usrēg-om/-um/-erum

ignis ign-iom/-ium

Dative rēg-ei/-ī/-ē/-ěrēg-ebus/-ebūs     /-ibos/-ibus

ign-i/-eī/-ē ign-ibus/-ibos

Accusative rēgem rēg-eīs/-īs/-ēs ignim ign-eīs/-ēs/-īs

Ablativerēg-īd/-ĭd/-ī/-ē/-ĕ

rēg-ebus/-ebūs     /-ibos/-ibus

ign-īd/-ĭd     /-ī/-ē/-ĕ

ign-ebus/-ebūs     /-ibos/-ibus

Vocative rēg/-s rēg-eīs/-īs/-ēs/-ĕs ign-is/-esign-eīs/-ēs/-īs/-ĕs

Locative rēgī rēgebos ignī ignibos

For the consonant declension, in the nominative singular, the -s was affixed directly to the stem consonant, but the combination of the two consonants produced modified nominatives over the Old Latin period. The case appears in different stages of modification in different words diachronically.[32] The nominative as rēgs instead of rēx is an orthographic feature of Old Latin; the letter x was seldom used alone (as in the classical period) to designate the /ks/ or /gs/ sound, but instead, was written as either 'ks', 'cs', or even 'xs'. The Latin neuter form (not shown) is the Indo-European nominative without stem ending; for example, cor < *cord "heart."[33]

The genitive singular endings include -is < -es and -us < *-os.[34] In the genitive plural, some forms appear to affix the case ending to the genitive singular rather than the stem: regerum < *reg-is-um.[35]

In the dative singular, -ī succeeded -eī and -ē after 200 BC.

In the accusative singular, -em < *-ṃ after a consonant.[34]

In the ablative singular, the -d was lost after 200 BC.[22] In the dative and ablative plural, the early poets sometimes used -būs.[22]

In the locative singular, the earliest form is like the dative but over the period assimilated to the ablative.[36]

Fourth declension (u)

The 'U-Stem' declension. The stems of the nouns of the u-declension end in ŭ and are masculine, feminine and neuter. In addition is a ū-stem declension, which contains only a few "isolated" words, such as sūs, "pig", and is not presented here.[37]

senātus, –ūssenate m.

Singular PluralNominative senātus senātūs

Genitive senāt-uos/-uis/-ī/-ous/-ūs senāt-uom/-um

Dative senātuī senāt-ubus/-ibusAccusative senātum senātūs

Ablative senāt-ūd/-ud senāt-ubus/-ibusVocative senātus senātūsLocative senāti

Fifth declension (e)

The "E-Stem" declension functions in Old Latin much as it did in Classical Latin, with a few exceptions.

While the commonest ending in the nominative in both the singular and plural forms is '-ēs' (i.e. 'rēs, rĕī'), there have been recorded a few instances of either a shortened 'e' with the addition of a consonantal 'i', as in 'reis', or the abandonment of the nature of the 'e-stem' declension (i.e. 'res, rei').

The genitive in the singular functions as the second declension: 'rĕī' (the breve above the 'e' is the result of a voiceless 'r' preceding a vowel that has no solid nature at the time of the Old Latin's use). The genitive plural, in a like manner to the second declension, is formed with an '-ēsōm', primarily.

The dative is generally formed with an unstressed '-ei' in the singular, and an '-ēbos' in the plural.

The accusative, like all the other declensions, keeps the final 'm' to shorten the inherently long vowel in the singular: 'rem', and elongates it again with a final 's' in the plural: 'rēs'.

The ablative singular is as the pronouns and the 3rd person practical: 'rēd', voiceless to keep the long 'e'. The plural is generally like the dative plural but sometimes formed with an '-rīs'.

The locative functions exactly in the singular as it does in the plural, with a short '-eis' as the 1st although there are no singular-based city names in the singular besides the occasional 'Athenseis'.

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns are among the most common thing found in Old Latin inscriptions. In all three persons, the ablative singular ending is identical to the accusative singular.

Ego, I Tu, You Suī, Himself, Herself, Etc.Nominative ego tu -Genitive mis tis seiDative mihei, mehei tibei sibeiAccusative mēd tēd sēdAblative mēd tēd sēd

PluralNominative nōs vōs -

Genitivenostrōm,-ōrum, -i

vostrōm,-ōrum, -i

sei

rēs, reīthing f.

Singular PluralNominative rēs, reis rēs

Genitive rēis, rēs rēsomDative reī rēbos

Accusative rem rēsAblative rēd rēbosVocative rēs rēsLocative

Dative nōbeis, nis vōbeis sibeiAccusative nōs vōs sēdAblative nōbeis, nis vōbeis sēd

Relative pronoun

In Old Latin, the relative pronoun is also another common concept, especially in inscriptions. The forms are quite inconsistent and leave much to be reconstructed by scholars.

queī, quaī, quod who, whatMasculine Feminine Neuter

Nominative queī quaī quodGenitive quoius, quoios quoia quoium, quoiomDative quoī, queī, quoieī, queīAccusative quem quam quodAblative quī, quōd quād quōd

PluralNominative ques, queis quaī quaGenitive quōm, quōrom quōm, quārom quōm, quōromDative queis, quīsAccusative quōs quās quaAblative queis, quīs

Verbs

Old present and perfects

There is little evidence of the inflection of Old Latin verb forms and the few surviving inscriptions hold many inconsistencies between forms. Therefore, the forms below are ones that are both proven by scholars through Old Latin inscriptions, and recreated by scholars based on other early Indo-European languages such as Greek and Italic dialects such as Oscan and Umbrian.

Indicative Present: Sum Indicative Present: FacioOld Classical Old Classical

Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular PluralFirst

Personsom, esom

somos, sumos

sum sumus fac(e/ī)o fac(e)imos faciō facimus

Second Person

es esteīs es estis fac(e/ī)s fac(e/ī)teis facis facitis

Third Person

est sont est suntfac(e/ī)d/-(e/i)t

fac(e/ī)ont facit faciunt

Indicative Perfect: Sum Indicative Perfect: FacioOld Classical Old Classical

Singular

PluralSingula

rPlural Singular Plural

Singular

Plural

First Perso

nfuei fuemos fuī

fuimus

(fe)fecei (fe)fecemos fēcī fēcimus

Second

Person

fuistei fuisteīs fuistī fuistis(fe)fecistei

(fe)fecisteis fēcistī fēcistis

Third Perso

n

fued/fuit

fueront/-erom

fuitfuērunt

(fe)feced/-et

(fe)feceront/-erom

fēcitfēcērunt/-ēre

Classical Latin is the modern term used to refer to the form of the Latin language recognised as standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. In some later periods it was regarded as "good" Latin, with later versions being seen as debased or corrupt. The word "Latin" is now taken by default as meaning "Classical Latin", so that, for example, modern Latin text books describe classical Latin. Marcus Tullius Cicero and his contemporaries of the late republic, while using lingua Latina and sermo Latinus to mean the Latin language as opposed to the Greek or other languages, and sermo vulgaris or sermo vulgi to refer to the vernacular of the uneducated masses, regarded the speech they valued most and in which they wrote as Latinitas, "Latinity", with the implication of good. Sometimes it is called sermo familiaris, "speech of the good families", sermo urbanus, "speech of the city" or rarely sermo nobilis, "noble speech", but mainly besides Latinitas it was Latine (adverb), "in good Latin", or Latinius (comparative degree of adjective), "good Latin."

Latinitas was spoken as well as written. Moreover, it was the language taught by the schools. Prescriptive rules therefore applied to it, and where a special subject was concerned, such as poetry or rhetoric, additional rules applied as well. Now that the spoken Latinitas has become extinct (in favor of various other registers later in date) the rules of the, for the most part, polished (politus) texts may give the appearance of an artificial language, but Latinitas was a form of sermo, or spoken language and as such retains a spontaneity. No authors are noted for the type of rigidity evidenced by stylized art, except possibly the repetitious abbreviations and stock phrases of inscriptions.

Contents

1 Philological constructs o 1.1 The classical o 1.2 The canonical o 1.3 The ages of Latin

2 Authors of the Golden Age o 2.1 Republican o 2.2 Augustan

3 Authors of the Silver Age o 3.1 Through the death of Trajan, 114 AD o 3.2 Through the death of Marcus Aurelius, 180 AD

4 Stylistic shifts 5 Notes 6 Bibliography 7 See also 8 External links

Philological constructs

The classical

Good Latin in philology is "classical" Latin literature. The term refers to the canonicity of works of literature written in Latin in the late Roman republic and the early to middle Roman empire: "that is to say, that of belonging to an exclusive group of authors (or works) that were considered to be emblematic of a certain genre."[1] The term classicus (masculine plural classici) was devised by the Romans themselves to translate Greek ἐγκριθέντες (egkrithentes), "select", referring to authors who wrote in Greek that were considered model. Before then, classis, in addition to being a naval fleet, was a social class in one of the diachronic divisions of Roman society according to property ownership by the Roman constitution.[2] The word is a transliteration of Greek κλῆσις (klēsis) "calling", used to rank army draftees by property from first to fifth class.

Classicus is anything primae classis, "first class", such as the authors of the polished works of Latinitas, or sermo urbanus. It had nuances of the certified and the authentic: testis classicus, "reliable witness." It was in this sense that Marcus Cornelius Fronto (an African-Roman lawyer and language teacher) in the 2nd century AD used scriptores classici, "first-class" or "reliable authors" whose works could be relied upon as model of good Latin.[3] This is the first known reference, possibly innovated at this time, to classical applied to authors by virtue of the authentic language of their works.[4]

The canonical

Ruhnken

In imitation of the Greek grammarians, the Roman ones, such as Quintilian, drew up lists termed indices or ordines on the model of the Greek lists, termed pinakes, considered classical: the recepti scriptores, "select writers." Aulus Gellius includes many authors, such as Plautus, who are currently considered writers of Old Latin and not strictly in the period of classical Latin. The classical Romans distinguished Old Latin as prisca Latinitas and not sermo vulgaris. Each author (and work) in the Roman lists was considered equivalent to one in the Greek; for example Ennius was the Latin Homer, the Aeneid was a new Iliad, and so on. The lists of classical authors were as far as the Roman grammarians went in developing a philology. The topic remained at that point while interest in the classici scriptores declined in the medieval period as the best Latin yielded to medieval Latin, somewhat less than the best by classical standards.

The Renaissance brought a revival of interest in restoring as much of Roman culture as could be restored and with it the return of the concept of classic, "the best." Thomas Sebillet in 1548 (Art Poétique) referred to "les bons et classiques poètes françois", meaning Jean de Meun and Alain Chartier, which was the first modern application of the word.[citation needed] According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the term classical, from classicus, entered modern English in 1599, some 50 years after its re-introduction on the continent. Governor William Bradford in 1648 referred to synods of a separatist church as "classical meetings" in his Dialogue, a report of a meeting between New-England-born "young men" and "ancient men" from Holland and England.[5] In 1715 Laurence

Echard's Classical Geographical Dictionary was published.[6] In 1736 Robert Ainsworth's Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Compendarius turned English words and expressions into "proper and classical Latin."[7] In 1768 David Ruhnken (Critical History of the Greek Orators) recast the mold of the view of the classical by applying the word canon to the pinakes of orators, after the Biblical canon or list of authentic books of the Bible. Ruhnken had a kind of secular catechism in mind.[8]

The ages of Latin

Wilhelm Sigismund Teuffel

In 1870 Wilhelm Sigismund Teuffel in Geschichte der Römischen Literatur (A History of Roman Literature) innovated the definitive philological classification of classical Latin based on the metaphoric uses of the ancient myth of the Ages of Man, a practice then universally current: a Golden Age and a Silver Age of classical Latin were to be presumed. The practice and Teuffel's classification, with modifications, are still in use. His work was translated into English as soon as published in German by Wilhelm Wagner, who corresponded with Teuffel. Wagner published the English translation in 1873. Teuffel divides the chronology of classical Latin authors into several periods according to political events, rather than by style. Regarding the style of the literary Latin of those periods he had but few comments.

Teuffel was to go on with other editions of his history, but meanwhile it had come out in English almost as soon as it did in German and found immediate favorable reception. In 1877 Charles Thomas Cruttwell produced the first English work along the same lines. In his Preface he refers to "Teuffel's admirable history, without which many chapters in the present work could not have attained completeness" and also gives credit to Wagner.

Cruttwell adopts the same periods with minor differences; however, where Teuffel's work is mainly historical, Cruttwell's work contains detailed analyses of style. Nevertheless like Teuffel he encounters the same problem of trying to summarize the voluminous detail in a way that captures in brief the gist of a few phases of writing styles. Like Teuffel, he has trouble finding a name for the first of the three periods (the current Old Latin phase), calling it mainly "from Livius to Sulla." The language, he says, is "…marked by immaturity of art and language, by a vigorous but ill-disciplined imitation of Greek poetical models, and in prose by a dry sententiousness of style, gradually giving way to a clear and fluent strength…" These abstracts have little meaning to those not well-versed in Latin literature. In fact, Cruttwell admits "The ancients, indeed, saw a difference between Ennius, Pacuvius, and Accius, but it may be questioned whether the advance would be perceptible by us."

Some of Cruttwell's ideas have become stock in Latin philology for better or for worse. While praising the application of rules to classical Latin, most intensely in the Golden Age, he says "In gaining accuracy, however, classical Latin suffered a grievous loss. It became cultivated as distinct from a natural language… Spontaneity, therefore, became impossible and soon invention also ceased… In a certain sense, therefore, Latin was studied as a dead language, while it was still a living."[9] These views are certainly debatable; one might ask how the upper classes of late 16th century Britain, who shared the Renaissance zealousness for the classics, managed to speak spontaneous Latin to each other officially and unofficially after being taught classical Latin by tutors hired for the purpose. Latinitas in

the Golden Age was in fact sermo familiaris, the spoken Latin of the Roman upper classes, who sent their children to school to learn it. The debate continues.

A second problem is the appropriateness of Teuffel's scheme to the concept of classical Latin, which Teuffel does not discuss. Cruttwell addresses the problem, however, altering the concept of the classical. As the best Latin is defined as golden Latin, the second of the three periods, the other two periods considered classical are left hanging. While on the one hand assigning to Old Latin the term pre-classical and by implication the term post-classical (or post-Augustan) to silver Latin Cruttwell realizes that this construct is not according to ancient usage and asserts "…the epithet classical is by many restricted to the authors who wrote in it [golden Latin]. It is best, however, not to narrow unnecessarily the sphere of classicity; to exclude Terence on the one hand or Tacitus and Pliny on the other, would savour of artificial restriction rather than that of a natural classification." (This from a scholar who had just been complaining that golden Latin was not a natural language.) The contradiction remains; Terence is and is not a classical author depending on context.[10]

Authors of the Golden Age

At Maecenas' Reception, oil, Stepan Bakalovich, 1890. An artist's view of the classical. Maecenas knew and entertained everyone literary in the Golden Age, especially Augustus.

After defining a "First Period" of inscriptional Latin and the literature of the earliest known authors and fragments, to which he assigns no definitive name (he does use the term "Old Roman" at one point), Teuffel presents "the second period", his major, "das goldene Zeitalter der römischen Literatur", the Golden Age of Roman Literature, dated 671–767 AUC or 83 BC – 14 AD according to his time reckoning, between the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the death of the emperor Augustus.[11][12] Of it Wagner translating Teuffel writes

The golden age of the Roman literature is that period in which the climax was reached in the perfection of form, and in most respects also in the methodical treatment of the subject-matters. It may be subdivided between the generations, in the first of which (the Ciceronian Age) prose culminated, while poetry was principally developed in the Augustan Age.

The Ciceronian Age was dated 671–711 AUC (83 BC – 43 BC), ending just after the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar, and the Augustan 711–67 AUC (43 BC – 14 AD), ending with the death of Augustus. The Ciceronian Age is further divided by the consulship of Cicero in 691 AUC or 63 BC into a first and second half. Authors are assigned to these periods by years of principal achievements.

The Golden Age had already made an appearance in German philology but in a less systematic way. In Bielfeld's 1770 Elements of universal erudition the author says (in translation): "The Second Age of Latin began about the time of Caesar [his ages are different from Teuffel's], and ended with Tiberius. This is what is called the Augustan Age, which was perhaps of all others the most brilliant, a period at which it should seem as if the greatest men, and the immortal authors, had met together upon the earth, in order to write the Latin language in its utmost purity and perfection."[13] and of Tacitus "…his conceits and sententious style is not that of the golden age…".[14] Teuffel evidently received the ideas of a golden and silver Latin from an existing tradition and embedded them in a new system, transforming them as he thought best.

In Cruttwell's introduction, the Golden Age is dated 80 BC – 14 AD ("from Cicero to Ovid"), which is about the same as Teuffel's. Of this "Second Period" Cruttwell says that it "represents the highest excellence in prose and poetry," paraphrasing Teuffel. The Ciceronian Age is now "the Republican Period" and is dated 80–42 BC through the Battle of Philippi. Later in the book Cruttwell omits Teuffel's first half of the Ciceronian and starts the Golden Age at Cicero's consulship of 63 BC, an error perpetuated into Cruttwell's second edition as well. He must mean 80 BC as he includes Varro in Golden Latin. Teuffel's Augustan Age is Cruttwell's Augustan Epoch, 42 BC – 14 AD.

Republican

Marcus Tullius Cicero, after whom Teuffel named his Ciceronian period of the Golden Age.

Julius Caesar.

The literary histories list all authors canonical to the Ciceronian Age even though their works may be fragmentary or may not have survived at all. With the exception of a few major writers, such as Cicero, Caesar, Lucretius and Catullus, ancient accounts of Republican literature are glowing accounts of jurists and orators who wrote prolifically but who now can't be read because their works have been lost, or analyses of language and style that appear insightful but can't be verified because there are no surviving instances. In that sense the pages of literary history are peopled with shadows: Aquilius Gallus, Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, Lucius Licinius Lucullus and many others who left a reputation but no readable works; they are to be presumed in the Golden Age by their associations. A list of some canonical authors of the period, whose works have survived in whole or in part (typically in part, some only short fragments) is as follows:

Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BC), highly influential grammarian Titus Pomponius Atticus (112/109 – 35/32), publisher and

correspondent of Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC), orator, philosopher, correspondent,

whose works define golden Latin prose and are used in Latin curricula beyond the elementary level

Servius Sulpicius Rufus (106–43 BC), jurist, poet Decimus Laberius (105–43 BC), writer of mimes Marcus Furius Bibaculus (1st century BC), writer of ludicra

Gaius Julius Caesar (103–44 BC), general, historian Gaius Oppius (1st century BC), secretary to Julius Caesar, probable author

under Caesar's name Gaius Matius (1st century BC), public figure, correspondent with Cicero Cornelius Nepos (100–24 BC), biographer Publilius Syrus (1st century BC), writer of mimes and maxims Quintus Cornificius (1st century BC), public figure and writer on rhetoric Titus Lucretius Carus (Lucretius; 94–50 BC), poet, philosopher Publius Nigidius Figulus (98–45 BC), public officer, grammarian Aulus Hirtius (90–43 BC), public officer, military historian Gaius Helvius Cinna (1st century BC), poet Marcus Caelius Rufus (87–48 BC), orator, correspondent with Cicero Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86–34 BC), historian Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (Cato the Younger; 95–46 BC), orator Publius Valerius Cato (1st century BC), poet, grammarian Gaius Valerius Catullus (Catullus; 84–54 BC), poet Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus (82–47 BC), orator, poet

Augustan

Virgil's bust, on his tomb in NaplesMain article: Augustan literature (ancient Rome)

The Golden Age is divided by the assassination of Julius Caesar. In the wars that followed the Republican generation of literary men was lost, as most of them had taken the losing side; Marcus Tullius Cicero was beheaded in the street as he enquired from his litter what the disturbance was. They were replaced by a new generation that had grown up and been educated under the old and were now to make their mark under the watchful eye of the new emperor. As the demand for great orators was more or less over,[15] the talent shifted emphasis to poetry. Other than the historian Livy, the most remarkable writers of the period were the poets Vergil, Horace, and Ovid. Although Augustus evidenced some toleration to republican sympathizers, he exiled Ovid, and imperial tolerance ended with the continuance of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty.

Augustan writers include:

Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil, spelled also as Vergil; 70–19 BC), Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace; 65–8 BC), known for lyric poetry and

satires Sextus Aurelius Propertius (50–15 BC), poet Albius Tibullus (54–19 BC), elegiac poet Titus Livius (Livy; 64 BC – 12 AD), historian Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) (43 BC – 18 AD), poet Grattius Faliscus , a contemporary of Ovid), poet Marcus Manilius (1st century BC & AD), astrologer, poet Gaius Julius Hyginus (64 BC – 17 AD), librarian, poet, mythographer Marcus Verrius Flaccus (55 BC – 20 AD), grammarian, philologist,

calendrist Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80-70 BC — after 15 BC), engineer, architect Marcus Antistius Labeo (d. 10 or 11 AD), jurist, philologist Lucius Cestius Pius (1st century BC & AD), Latin educator Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus (1st century BC), historian, naturalist Marcus Porcius Latro (1st century BC), rhetorician Gaius Valgius Rufus (consul 12 BC), poet

Authors of the Silver Age

The frowning second emperor, Tiberius, limited free speech, precipitating the rise of Silver Latin, with its emphasis on mannerism rather than on solid content, according to Teuffel's model

In his second volume, on the Imperial Period, Teuffel initiated a slight alteration in approach, making it clearer that his terms applied to the Latin and not just to the age, and also changing his dating scheme from years AUC to modern. Although he introduces das silberne Zeitalter der römischen Literatur, "the Silver Age of Roman Literature", 14–117 AD,[16] from the death of Augustus to the death of Trajan, he also mentions regarding a section of a work by Seneca the Elder a wenig Einfluss der silbernen Latinität, a "slight influence of silver Latin." It is clear that he had shifted in thought from golden and silver ages to golden and silver Latin, and not just Latin, but Latinitas, which must at this point be interpreted as classical Latin. He may have been influenced in that regard by one of his sources, E. Opitz, who in 1852 had published a title specimen lexilogiae argenteae latinitatis, mentioning silver Latinity.[17] Although Teuffel's First Period was equivalent to Old Latin and his

Second Period was equal to the Golden Age, his Third Period, die römische Kaiserheit, encompasses both the Silver Age and the centuries now termed Late Latin, in which the forms seemed to break loose from their foundation and float freely; that is, literary men appeared uncertain as to what "good Latin" should mean. The last of the Classical Latin is the Silver Latin. The Silver Age is the first of the Imperial Period and is divided into die Zeit der julischen Dynastie, 14–68; die Zeit der flavischen Dynastie, 69–96; and die Zeit des Nerva und Trajan, 96–117. Subsequently Teuffel goes over to a century scheme: 2nd, 3rd, etc., through 6th. His later editions (which came out in the rest of the late 19th century) divide the Imperial Age into parts: the 1st century (Silver Age), the 2nd century: Hadrian and the Antonines and the 3rd through the 6th Centuries. Of the Silver Age proper, pointing out that anything like freedom of speech had vanished with Tiberius, Teuffel says[18]

…the continual apprehension in which men lived caused a restless versatility… Simple or natural composition was considered insipid; the aim of language was to be brilliant… Hence it was dressed up with abundant tinsel of epigrams, rhetorical figures and poetical terms… Mannerism supplanted style, and bombastic pathos took the place of quiet power.

The content of new literary works was continually proscribed by the emperor (by executing or exiling the author), who also played the role of literary man (typically badly). The talent therefore went into a repertory of new and dazzling mannerisms, which Teuffel calls "utter unreality." Crutwell picks up this theme:[19]

The foremost of these [characteristics] is unreality, arising from the extinction of freedom… Hence arose a declamatory tone, which strove by frigid and almost hyterical exaggeration to make up for the healthy stimulus afforded by daily contact with affairs. The vein of artificial rhetoric, antithesis and epigram… owes its origin to this forced contentment with an uncongenial sphere. With the decay of freedom, taste sank…

Marcus Aurelius, emperor over the last generation of classicists and himself a classicist.

In Crutwell's view (which had not been expressed by Teuffel), Silver Latin was a "rank, weed-grown garden", a "decline."[20] Cruttwell had already decried what he saw as a loss of spontaneity in Golden Latin. That Teuffel should regard the Silver Age as a loss of natural language and therefore of spontaneity, implying that the Golden Age had it, is passed without comment. Instead, Tiberius brought about a "sudden collapse of letters." The idea of a decline had been dominant in English society since Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Once again, Cruttwell evidences some unease with his stock pronouncements: "The Natural History of Pliny shows how much remained to be done in fields of great interest." The idea of Pliny as a model is not consistent with any sort of decline; moreover, Pliny did his best work under emperors at least as tolerant as Augustus had been. To include some of the best writings of the Silver Age, Cruttwell found he had to extend the period through the death of Marcus Aurelius, 180 AD. The philosophic prose of that good emperor was in no way compatible with either Teuffel's view of unnatural language or Cruttwell's depiction of a decline. Having created these constructs, the two philologists found they could not entirely justify them; apparently, in the worst implications of their views, there was no classical Latin by the ancient definition at all and some of the very best writing of any period in world history was a stilted and degenerate unnatural language.

The Silver Age also furnishes the only two extant Latin novels: Apuleius's The Golden Ass and Petronius's Satyricon.

Writers of the Silver Age include:

Through the death of Trajan, 114 AD

Germanicus Caesar

Ancient bust of Seneca, part of a double herm (Antikensammlung Berlin)

Aulus Cremutius Cordus (d. 25 AD), historian

Marcus Velleius Paterculus (19 BC – 31 AD), military officer, historian Valerius Maximus (1st century AD), rhetorician Masurius Sabinus (1st century AD), jurist Phaedrus (c. 15 BC – 50 AD), fabulist Germanicus Julius Caesar (15 BC – 19 AD), royal family, imperial officer,

translator Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC – 50 AD), physician, encyclopedist Quintus Curtius Rufus (1st century AD), historian Cornelius Bocchus (1st century AD), natural historian Pomponius Mela (1st century AD), geographer Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD), educator, imperial advisor,

philosopher, man of letters Titus Calpurnius Siculus (1st century AD), poet Marcus Valerius Probus (1st century AD), literary critic Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BC – 54 AD), Emperor,

man of letters, public officer Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (1st century AD), general, natural historian Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (4–70 AD), military officer,

agriculturalist Quintus Asconius Pedianus (9 BC – 76 AD), historian, Latinist Gaius Musonius Rufus (1st century AD), stoic philosopher Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus (1st century AD), imperial officer and

public man Gaius Plinius Secundus (23–79 AD), imperial officer, encyclopedist Gaius Valerius Flaccus (1st century AD), poet Tiberius Catius Silius Italicus (25–101 AD), epic poet Gaius Licinius Mucianus (1st century AD), general, man of letters Gaius Petronius Arbiter (27–66 AD), courtier, satirist Lucilius Junior (1st century AD), poet Aulus Persius Flaccus (34–62 AD), poet and satirist Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (35–100 AD), rhetorician Sextus Julius Frontinus (40–103 AD), engineer, writer Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (39–65 AD), poet, historian Publius Iuventius Celsus Titus Aufidius Hoenius Severianus (1st and early

2nd centuries AD), imperial officer, jurist Aemilius Asper (1st & 2nd centuries AD), grammarian, literary critic Marcus Valerius Martialis (38/41–102/104 AD), poet Publius Papinius Statius (45–96 AD), poet Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (61–112 AD), attorney, magistrate,

correspondent Decimus Junius Juvenalis (1st & 2nd centuries AD), poet, satirist Publius Annaeus Florus (1st & 2nd centuries AD), poet, rhetorician and

probable author of the epitome of Livy Velius Longus (1st & 2nd centuries AD), grammarian, literary critic Flavius Caper (1st & 2nd centuries AD), grammarian Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (56–117 AD), imperial officer,

historian and in Teuffel's view "the last classic of Roman literature."

Through the death of Marcus Aurelius, 180 AD

Of the additional century granted by Cruttwell and others of his point of view to Silver Latin but not by Teuffel the latter says "The second century was a happy period for the Roman State, the happiest indeed during the whole Empire… But in the world of letters the lassitude and enervation, which told of Rome's decline, became unmistakeable… its forte is in imitation."[21] Teuffel, however, excepts the jurists; others find other "exceptions," recasting Teuffels's view.

Sketch of Apuleius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (70/75 – after 130 AD), biographer Marcus Junianus Justinus (2nd century AD), historian Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Julianus Aemilianus (100–70

AD), imperial officer, jurist Sextus Pomponius (2nd century AD), jurist Quintus Terentius Scaurus (2nd century AD), grammarian, literary critic Aulus Gellius (125 – after 180 AD), grammarian, polymath Lucius Apuleius Platonicus (123/125–80 AD), novelist Marcus Cornelius Fronto (100–70 AD), advocate, grammarian Gaius Sulpicius Apollinaris (2nd century AD), educator, literary

commentator Granius Licinianus (2nd century AD), writer Lucius Ampelius (2nd century AD), educator Gaius (110–80 AD), jurist Lucius Volusius Maecianus (2nd century AD), educator, jurist Marcus Minucius Felix (2nd century AD), apologist of Christianity, "the

first Christian work in Latin" (Teuffel) Sextus Julius Africanus (2nd century AD), Christian historian Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (121–180 AD, stoic philosopher,

Emperor in Latin, essayist in ancient Greek, role model of the last generation of classicists (Cruttwell)

Stylistic shifts

The style of language refers to repeatable features of speech that are somewhat less general than the fundamental characteristics of the language. The latter give it a unity allowing it to be referenced under a single name. Thus Old Latin, Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin, etc., are not considered different

languages, but are all referenced under the name of Latin. This is an ancient practice continued by moderns rather than a philological innovation of recent times. That Latin had case endings is a fundamental feature of the language. Whether a given form of speech prefers to use prepositions such as ad, ex, de for "to", "from" and "of" rather than simple case endings is a matter of style. Latin has a large number of styles. Each and every author has a style, which typically allows his prose or poetry to be identified by experienced Latinists. The problem of comparative literature has been to group styles finding similarities by period, in which case one may speak of Old Latin, Silver Latin, Late Latin as styles or a phase of styles.

The ancient authors themselves first defined style by recognizing different kinds of sermo, or "speech." In making the value judgement that classical Latin was "first class" and that it was better to write with Latinitas they were themselves selecting the literary and upper-class language of the city as a standard style and all sermo that differed from it was a different style; thus in rhetoric Cicero was able to define sublime, intermediate and low styles (within classical Latin) and St. Augustine to recommend the low style for sermons (from sermo).[22] Style therefore is to be defined by differences in speech from a standard. Teuffel defined that standard as Golden Latin.

John Edwin Sandys, for many decades an authority on Latin style, summarizes the differences between Golden and Silver Latin as follows.[23] Silver Latin is to be distinguished by

"an exaggerated conciseness and point" "occasional archaic words and phrases derived from poetry" "increase in the number of Greek words in ordinary use" (Claudius

Suetonius refers to "both our languages", Latin and Greek[24]) "literary reminiscences" "The literary use of words from the common dialect" (dictare and

dictitare as well as classical dicere, "to say")

Augustan literature is the period of Latin literature written during the reign of Augustus (27 BC–AD 14), the first Roman emperor.[1] In literary histories of the first part of the 20th century and earlier, Augustan literature was regarded along with that of the Late Republic as constituting the Golden Age of Latin literature, a period of stylistic classicism.

Poets of the period include Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Propertius, and Tibullus. Augustan literature thus produced the most widely read, influential, and enduring of Rome’s poets.[2] Although Vergil has sometimes been considered a “court poet,” his Aeneid, the most important of the Latin epics, also permits complex readings on the source and meaning of Rome’s power and the responsibilities of a good leader. Ovid’s work were wildly popular, but the poet was exiled by Augustus in one of literary history’s great mysteries; carmen et error (“a poem” or “poetry” and “a mistake”) is Ovid’s own oblique explanation. Among prose works, the monumental history of Livy is preeminent for both its scope and stylistic achievement. The multivolume work On Architecture by Vitruvius remains of great informational interest.[3]

Questions pertaining to tone, or the writer's attitude toward his subject matter, are acute among the preoccupations of scholars who study the period. In particular, Augustan works are analyzed in an effort to understand the extent to which they advance, support, criticize or undermine social and political attitudes promulgated by the regime, official forms of which were often expressed in aesthetic media.[4]

List of Augustan writers

Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil, spelled also as Vergil) (70 – 19 BC), Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) (65 – 8 BC), known for lyric poetry and

satires Sextus Aurelius Propertius (50 – 15 BC), poet

Albius Tibullus (54 – 19 BC), elegiac poet Titus Livius (Livy) (64 BC – 12 AD), historian Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) (43 BC – 18 AD), poet Grattius Faliscus (a contemporary of Ovid), poet Marcus Manilius (1st century BC & AD), astrologer, poet Gaius Julius Hyginus (64 BC – 17 AD), librarian, poet, mythographer Marcus Verrius Flaccus (55 BC – 20 AD), grammarian, philologist,

calendrist Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80 70 BC – after 15 BC), engineer, architect Marcus Antistius Labeo (d. 10 or 11 AD), jurist, philologist Lucius Cestius Pius (1st century BC & AD), Latin educator Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus (1st century BC), historian, naturalist Marcus Porcius Latro (1st century BC), rhetorician Gaius Valgius Rufus (consul 12 BC), poet

Ancient Greece

7th

Poets (by date of birth)

Homer , born near or before the beginning of the century Hesiod , born near or before the beginning of the century in Boeotia Archilochus of Paros (born c. 700) Alcman (dates unknown) Semonides Solon (ca. 638–558 BCE) Mimnermus of Colophon (fl. 630-600) Stesichorus (640 - 555 BCE), Himera, Sicily Alcaeus (born c. 620 in Mytilene) Sappho (c. 610 - 580 BCE) Callinus (c. 740 - c. 665 BC) Eumelus of Corinth (late 7th century BC) Tytaeus (c. 700 - c. 640 BC)

Works

Odyssey

Iliad

Theogony

Works and Days

Homeric Hymns

Aethiopis

Little Iliad

Iliou persis ("Sack of Troy")

Nostoi

Telegony

Cypria

Oedipodea

Thebaid

Epigoni

Alkmaionis

6th

Poets (by date of birth)

Anacreon (c. 570 BCE), Teos Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570 - 480 BCE) Phocylides (b. c. 560 BCE) Simonides of Ceos (c. 556 - 469 BCE) Hipponax of Ephesus (fl. 540 BCE) Aeschylus (525 - 456 BCE) Pindar (c. 522/518 in Cynoscephalae - 443 BCE in Argos) Bacchylides (born c. 507 BCE)

Dates unknown:

Ibycus , flourished in Rhegium Aesop Theognis of Megara Corinna

5th

Poets (by date of birth)

Sophocles (495 - 406 BCE) Euripides (480 - 406 BCE) Critias (460 - 403 BCE)

4th

The Hellenistic World

Poets (by date of birth)

Aratus of Soli (c. 315/310 - 240 BCE), Macedonia, in Greek Theocritus (c. 310 - c. 250 BCE), in Greek Callimachus (c. 305 - c. 240 BCE), Alexandria, in Greek

Works

China

Poets (by date of birth)

Qu Yuan (340 - 278 BCE)

Works

Chu Ci , the second great anthology of early Chinese poetry

3th

Poets (by date of birth)

Apollonius of Rhodes (c. 295 - after 246 BCE), Greek Ennius (239 - 169 BCE), Salento, Latin

Date unknown:

Herodas , Greek Theocritus , Greek Anyte of Tegea , Greek woman poet

Works

Likely date for the Book of Job, written in Hebrew

2th

Poets (by date of birth)

Jia Yi (200 - 168 BCE) Sima Xiangru (179-117 BCE), Western Han Sima Qian (145 - ? BCE)

Works

South Asia

Poets

Approximate time of Tiruvalluvar (300 - 100 BCE), writing in Tamil

Works

Compilation of the Pathinenmaelkanakku (Eighteen Major Anthology Series) of early Tamil poetry.

1th

Poets (by date of birth)

Lucretius (94 - 49 BCE) Catullus (84 -54 BCE) Virgil (Oct. 15, 70 - Sept. 21, 19 BCE) Gallus (69 - 26 BC), Egypt Horace (Dec. 8, 65 - Nov. 27, 8 BC) Tibullus (54 - 19 BCE) Propertius (50 - 15/2 BCE), Bevagna Ovid (Mar 20, 43 BCE - 17 CE)

Unknown Date:

Sulpicia I - the only woman poet of Ancient Rome whose works survive Meleager of Gadara

Works

Meleager of Gadara gathers an anthology of short poems and epigrams that would become the basis for the Greek Anthology

8th century BC

Greek Trojan War cycle, including the Iliad and the Odyssey 800-500 BC: Sanskrit Brahmanas Oldest non-Pentateuchal books of the Hebrew Bible (the Book of Nahum, Book of Hosea,

Book of Amos, Book of Isaiah)

7th century BC

Greek: o Hesiod : The Theogony and Works and Dayso Archilochus o Alcman o Semonides of Amorgos o Solon o Mimnermus

o Stesichorus

6th century BC

Hebrew Bible : Psalms[citation needed] (according to late dating) Book of Ezekiel, Book of Daniel (according to conservative or early dating)

Chinese: Sun Tzu: The Art of War (Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ) Sanskrit:

o Sutra literatureo some Mukhya Upanishads (Katha Upanishad, Maitrayaniya Upanishad)

Greek: o Sappho o Ibycus o Alcaeus of Mytilene o Aesop's Fables

5th century BC

5th century BC to 4th century AD: Sanskrit: Epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana) Avestan: Yasht Chinese:

o Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū) (722–481 BC, chronicles of the state of Lu)o Confucius : Analects (Lúnyǔ)o Classic of Rites (Lǐjì)o Commentaries of Zuo (Zuǒzhuàn)

Greek: o Pindar : Odeso Herodotus : The Histories of Herodotuso Thucydides : History of the Peloponnesian Waro Aeschylus : The Suppliants, The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Oresteiao Sophocles : Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra and other playso Euripides : Alcestis, Medea, Heracleidae, Hippolytus, Andromache, Hecuba, The

Suppliants, Electra, Heracles, Trojan Women, Iphigeneia in Tauris, Ion, Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes, Bacchae, Iphigeneia at Aulis, Cyclops, Rhesus

o Aristophanes : The Acharnians, The Knights, The Clouds, The Wasps, Peace, The Birds, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae, The Frogs, Ecclesiazousae, Plutus

Hebrew: date of the extant text of the Torah

4th century BC

Hebrew: Book of Job, beginning of Hebrew wisdom literature Chinese:

o Laozi (or Lao Tzu): Tao Te Chingo Zhuangzi : Zhuangzi (book)o Mencius : Mencius

Greek: o Xenophon : Anabasis, Cyropaediao Aristotle : Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysicso Plato : Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Theaetetus, Parmenides, Symposium, Phaedrus,

Protagoras, Gorgias, Meno, Menexenus, Republic, Timaeuso Euclid : Elementso Menander : Dyskoloso Theophrastus : Enquiry into Plants

3rd century BC

Avestan: Avesta Etruscan : Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis (Linen Book of Zagreb) Sanskrit: Panchatantra by Vishnu Sarma Tamil :

o 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: Sangam poemso Tolkāppiyam (grammar book)

Hebrew: Ecclesiastes Greek:

o Apollonius of Rhodes : Argonauticao Callimachus (310/305-240 B.C.), lyric poeto Manetho : Aegyptiacao Theocritus , lyric poet

Latin : o Lucius Livius Andronicus (c. 280/260 BC — c. 200 BC), translator, founder of

Roman dramao Gnaeus Naevius (ca. 264 — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poeto Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of comedies:

Poenulus, Miles Gloriosus, and other playso Quintus Fabius Pictor (3rd century BC), historiano Lucius Cincius Alimentus (3rd century BC), military historian and antiquarian

2nd century BC

Avestan: Vendidad Chinese: Sima Qian: Records of the Grand Historian (Shǐjì) Aramaic: Book of Daniel Hebrew: Sirach Greek

o Polybius : The Historieso Book of Wisdom o Septuagint

Latin: o Terence (195/185 BC — 159 BC), comic dramatist: The Brothers, The Girl from

Andros, Eunuchus, The Self-Tormentor,o Quintus Ennius (239 BC — c. 169 BC), poeto Marcus Pacuvius (ca. 220 BC — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poeto Statius Caecilius (220 BC — 168/166 BC), comic dramatisto Marcius Porcius Cato (234 BC — 149 BC), generalist, topical writero Gaius Acilius (2nd century BC), historiano Lucius Accius (170 BC — c. 86 BC), tragic dramatist, philologisto Gaius Lucilius (c. 160's BC — 103/2 BC), satiristo Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd century BC), public officer, epigramatisto Aulus Furius Antias (2nd century BC), poeto Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (130 BC — 87 BC), public officer, tragic

dramatisto Lucius Pomponius Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist, satiristo Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd century BC), historiano Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (2nd century BC), historiano Manius Manilius (2nd century BC), public officer, juristo Lucius Coelius Antipater (2nd century BC), jurist, historiano Publius Sempronius Asellio (158 BC — after 91 BC), military officer, historiano Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus (2nd century BC), juristo Lucius Afranius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatisto Titus Albucius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), oratoro Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BC — after 78 BC), juristo Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd & 1st centuries BC), public officer, poeto Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus (154 BC — 74 BC), philologist

o Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historiano Valerius Antias (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historiano Lucius Cornelius Sisenna (121 BC — 67 BC), soldier, historiano Quintus Cornificius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), rhetorician

1st century BC

Pali : Tipitaka Latin:

o Cicero : Catiline Orations, Pro Caelio, Dream of Scipioo Julius Caesar : Gallic Warso Virgil : Eclogues, Georgics and Aeneido Lucretius : On the Nature of Thingso Livy : Ab Urbe Condita (History of Rome)

1st century AD

Poets (by date of birth)

Columella (4-70), Cadiz? Persius (34-62), Etruscan Quintilian (35-95) Lucan (Nov. 3, 39 - Apr. 3, 65), Hispania Baetica Statius (45-96), Naples Martial (86-103), Hispania

Dates not known:

Calpurnius , Sicily? Manilius Juvenal Sulpicia II

Roman empire

Poets

Juvenal , in Latin Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, writing in Greek Lucian of Assyria, writing in Greek Straton of Sardis , writing in Greek

Works

Persia

Works

latest likely date for the Drakht-i Asurig, the earliest known Pahlavi poem

3th

Poets

Nemesianus (c. 283), Carthage, in Latin Oppian of Apamea, Syria, in Greek

1st century AD

Chinese: Ban Gu: Book of Han (Hànshū) Greek:

o Plutarch : Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romanso Josephus : The Jewish War, Antiquities of the Jews, Against Apiono The books of the New Testament

Latin: see Classical Latin o Tacitus : Germaniao Ovid : Metamorphoseso Pliny the Elder : Natural Historyo Petronius : Satyricono Seneca the Younger : Phaedra, Dialogues

2nd century

Sanskrit: Aśvagho aṣ : Buddhacharita (Acts of the Buddha) Pahlavi:

o Yadegar-e Zariran (Memorial of Zarēr)o Visperad o Drakht-i Asurig (The Babylonian Tree)

Greek: o Arrian : Anabasis Alexandrio Marcus Aurelius : Meditationso Epictetus and Arrian: Enchiridiono Ptolemy : Almagesto Athenaeus : The Banquet of the Learnedo Pausanias : Description of Greece

Latin: see Classical Latin o Apuleius : The Golden Asso Lucius Ampelius: Liber Memorialiso Suetonius : Lives of the Twelve Caesars

3rd century

Avestan: Khordeh Avesta (Zoroastrian prayer book) Pahlavi: Mani: Shabuhragan (Manichaean holy book) Chinese: Chen Shou: Records of Three Kingdoms (Sānguó Zhì) Greek: Plotinus: Enneads Latin: see Late Latin

o Distichs of Cato Hebrew: Mishnah

Late Antiquity

4th

Poets

Ephrem the Syrian (306 - 373), Nisibis, writing in Syriac Ausonius (310-395), Bordeaux Himerius (315 -386), from Bithynia writing in Greek Prudentius (348 - 405/413) in Tarraconensis, writing in Latin Claudian ( ? -404)

Dates Unknown:

Avienus , Volsinii, Etruria, writing in Latin Nonnus , Egypt, writing in Greek Quintus Smyrnaeus , writing in Greek Tryphiodorus , Egypt, writing in Greek Palladas , Alexandria, Egypt, writing in Greek

Events

476: Invasion of Germanic tribes and fall of Western Empire leads to eclipse of Latin as the European Lingua franca; Germanic and Celtic vernaculars begin process of becoming literary languages.

Roman poets

Rutilius Claudius Namatianus flourishes, writing in Latin. Sidonius Apollinaris (430–489), in Lugdunum, Gaul, writing in Latin. Magnus Felix Ennodius (474 – July 17, 521), Bishop of Pavia and poet,

writing in Latin Coluthus of Lycopolis (fl. 491–518), writing in Greek. Jacob of Serugh (451 – November 521), writing in Syriac Blossius Aemilius Dracontius (c. 455 – c. 505) , writing in Latin in

Carthage

Roman works

Blossius Aemilius Dracontius , Satisfactio

South Asia

Works

Cilappatikaram , one of Five Great Epics of Tamil literature.

4th century

Latin: see Late Latin o Augustine of Hippo : Confessions, On Christian Doctrineo Apicius (a.k.a. De re coquinaria, On the Subject of Cooking)o Pervigilium Veneris (Vigil of Venus)

Syriac: Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian Hebrew: Gemara

5th century

Chinese: Fan Ye: Book of the Later Han (Hòuhànshū) Sanskrit: Kālidāsa (speculated): The Recognition of Śakuntalā, The Cloud Messenger Pahlavi:

o Matigan-i Hazar Datistan (The Thousand Laws of the Magistan)o Frahang-i Oim-evak (Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary)

Latin: see Late Latin o Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus : De Re Militario Augustine of Hippo : The City of Godo Paulus Orosius : Seven Books of History Against the Paganso Jerome : Vulgateo Prudentius : Psychomachiao Consentius 's grammaro Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite : Celestial Hierarchy, Mystical Theology

6th century

Latin: Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae (The Consolation of Philosophy) 524 AD, widely considered to be the last work of classical philosophy.[20][21]

Literature and writing, though obviously connected, are not synonymous. The very first writings from ancient Sumer by any reasonable definition do not constitute literature—the same is true of some of the early Egyptian hieroglyphics or the thousands of logs from ancient Chinese regimes. Scholars have always disagreed concerning when written record-keeping became more like "literature" than anything else; the definition is largely subjective.

Moreover, given the significance of distance as a cultural isolator in earlier centuries, the historical development of literature did not occur at an even pace across the world. The problems of creating a uniform global history of literature are compounded by the fact that many texts have been lost over the millennia, either deliberately, by accident, or by the total disappearance of the originating culture. Much has been written, for example, about the destruction of the Library of Alexandria in the 1st century BC, and the innumerable key texts which are believed to have been lost forever to the flames. The deliberate suppression of texts (and often their authors) by organisations of either a spiritual or a temporal nature further shrouds the subject.

A stone tablet containing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh Certain primary texts, however, may be isolated which have a qualifying role as literature's

first stirrings. Very early examples are Epic of Gilgamesh, in its Sumerian version predating 2000 BC, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead written down in the Papyrus of Ani in approximately 1250 BC but probably dates from about the 18th century BC. Ancient Egyptian literature was not included in early studies of the history of literature because the writings of Ancient Egypt were not translated into European languages until the 19th century when the Rosetta stone was deciphered.

Many texts handed down by oral tradition over several centuries before they were fixed in written form are difficult or impossible to date. The core of the Rigveda may date to the mid 2nd millennium BC. The Pentateuch is traditionally dated to the 15th century, although modern scholarship estimates its oldest part to date to the 10th century BC at the earliest.

Homer 's Iliad and Odyssey date to the 8th century BC and mark the beginning of Classical Antiquity. They also stand in an oral tradition that stretches back to the late Bronze Age.

Indian śruti texts post-dating the Rigveda (such as the Yajurveda, the Atharvaveda and the Brahmanas), as well as the Hebrew Tanakh and the mystical collection of poems attributed to Lao Tze, the Tao te Ching, date to the Iron Age, but their dating is difficult and controversial. The great Hindu epics were also transmitted orally, likely predating the Maurya period.

Other oral traditions were fixed in writing much later, such as the Elder Edda, written down in the 12th or 13th century.

There are various candidates for the first novel ever written.

2600 Sumerian texts from Abu Salabikh, including the Instructions of Shuruppak and the Kesh temple hymn

2600 Akkadian Legend of Etana [2]

2400 Egyptian Pyramid Texts, including the Cannibal Hymn 2400 Sumerian Code of Urukagina [3]

2400 Egyptian Palermo stone 2350 Egyptian The Maxims of Ptahhotep 2270 Sumerian Enheduanna's Hymns 2250-2000 Sumerian Earliest stories in theEpic of Gilgamesh [4][5]

2100 Sumerian Curse of Agade 2100 Sumerian Debate between Bird and Fish

2050 Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu 2000 Egyptian Coffin Texts 2000 Sumerian Lament for Ur 2000 Sumerian Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

Middle Bronze Age: ca. 2000 to 1600 BC (approximate dates shown)

1950 Akkadian Laws of Eshnunna 1900 Sumerian Code of Lipit-Ishtar 1900 Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh 1850 Akkadian Kultepe texts 1800 Egyptian Story of Sinuhe (in Hieratic) 1800 Sumerian Eridu Genesis 1800 Akkadian Enûma Eliš 1800 Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic 1780 Akkadian Code of Hammurabi stele 1780 Akkadian Mari letters, including the Epic of Zimri-Lim 1750 Hittite Anitta text 1700 Egyptian Westcar Papyrus 1650 Egyptian Ipuwer Papyrus

Late Bronze Age: ca. 1600 to 1200 BC (approximate dates shown)

1700-1100 Vedic Sanskrit: approximate date of the composition of the Rigveda. Many of these were not set to writing until later.[6]

1600 Hittite Code of the Nesilim 1500 Akkadian Poor Man of Nippur [7]

1500 Hittite military oath 1550 Egyptian Book of the Dead 1500 Akkadian Dynasty of Dunnum [8] 1440-1400 Hebrew Torah, also called the Pentateuch or Five Books of

Moses[9][10][11][12][13] with a final redaction between 900-450 BC.[14][15] Some give an alternate date of 1320-1280.[16]

1400 Akkadian Marriage of Nergal and Ereshkigal 1400 Akkadian Autobiography of Kurigalzu 1400 Akkadian Amarna letters 1330 Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten 1240 Egyptian Papyrus of Ani, Book of the Dead 1200-900 Akkadian version and younger stories in the Epic of

Gilgamesh[17]

1200 Akkadian Tukulti-Ninurta Epic 1200 Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers [18]

Iron AgeSee also Sanskrit literature, Chinese literature

Iron Age texts predating Classical Antiquity: 12th to 8th centuries BC

1200-1100 BC approximate date of books RV 1 and RV 10 in the Rigveda

1200-800 BC approximate date of the Vedic Sanskrit Yajurveda, Atharvaveda

1100-800 BC date of the redaction of the extant text of the Rigveda 1050 BC Egyptian Story of Wenamun 1050 BC Akkadian Sakikkū (SA.GIG) “Diagnostic Omens” by Esagil-kin-

apli.[19]

1050 BC The Babylonian Theodicy of Šaggil-kīnam-ubbib.[19]

1000-600 BC Chinese Classic of Poetry (Shījīng), Classic of Documents (Shūjīng) (authentic portions), Classic of Changes (I Ching)

950 BC date of the Jahwist portions of the Torah according to the documentary hypothesis

900 BC Akkadian Epic of Erra 850 BC date of the Elohist portions of the Torah according to the

documentary hypothesis

Classical AntiquitySee also Ancient Greek literature, Syriac literature, Latin literature, Indian literature, Hebrew literature, AvestaSee also: centuries in poetry: 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st

8th century BC

Greek Trojan War cycle, including the Iliad and the Odyssey 800-500 BC: Sanskrit Brahmanas Oldest non-Pentateuchal books of the Hebrew Bible (the Book of Nahum,

Book of Hosea, Book of Amos, Book of Isaiah)

7th century BC

Greek: o Hesiod : The Theogony and Works and Dayso Archilochus o Alcman o Semonides of Amorgos o Solon o Mimnermus o Stesichorus

6th century BC

Hebrew Bible : Psalms[citation needed] (according to late dating) Book of Ezekiel, Book of Daniel (according to conservative or early dating)

Chinese: Sun Tzu: The Art of War (Sūnz Bīngf )ǐ ǎ Sanskrit:

o Sutra literatureo some Mukhya Upanishads (Katha Upanishad, Maitrayaniya

Upanishad) Greek:

o Sappho

o Ibycus o Alcaeus of Mytilene o Aesop's Fables

5th century BC

5th century BC to 4th century AD: Sanskrit: Epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana)

Avestan: Yasht Chinese:

o Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū) (722–481 BC, chronicles of the state of Lu)

o Confucius : Analects (Lúny )ǔo Classic of Rites (L jì)ǐo Commentaries of Zuo (Zu zhuàn)ǒ

Greek: o Pindar : Odeso Herodotus : The Histories of Herodotuso Thucydides : History of the Peloponnesian Waro Aeschylus : The Suppliants, The Persians, Seven Against Thebes,

Oresteiao Sophocles : Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra

and other playso Euripides : Alcestis, Medea, Heracleidae, Hippolytus, Andromache,

Hecuba, The Suppliants, Electra, Heracles, Trojan Women, Iphigeneia in Tauris, Ion, Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes, Bacchae, Iphigeneia at Aulis, Cyclops, Rhesus

o Aristophanes : The Acharnians, The Knights, The Clouds, The Wasps, Peace, The Birds, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae, The Frogs, Ecclesiazousae, Plutus

Hebrew: date of the extant text of the Torah

4th century BC

Hebrew: Book of Job, beginning of Hebrew wisdom literature Chinese:

o Laozi (or Lao Tzu): Tao Te Chingo Zhuangzi : Zhuangzi (book)o Mencius : Mencius

Greek: o Xenophon : Anabasis, Cyropaediao Aristotle : Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysicso Plato : Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Theaetetus, Parmenides,

Symposium, Phaedrus, Protagoras, Gorgias, Meno, Menexenus, Republic, Timaeus

o Euclid : Elementso Menander : Dyskoloso Theophrastus : Enquiry into Plants

3rd century BC

Avestan: Avesta Etruscan : Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis (Linen Book of Zagreb) Sanskrit: Panchatantra by Vishnu Sarma Tamil :

o 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD: Sangam poemso Tolkāppiyam (grammar book)

Hebrew: Ecclesiastes Greek:

o Apollonius of Rhodes : Argonauticao Callimachus (310/305-240 B.C.), lyric poeto Manetho : Aegyptiacao Theocritus , lyric poet

Latin : o Lucius Livius Andronicus (c. 280/260 BC — c. 200 BC), translator,

founder of Roman dramao Gnaeus Naevius (ca. 264 — 201 BC), dramatist, epic poeto Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254 — 184 BC), dramatist, composer of

comedies: Poenulus, Miles Gloriosus, and other playso Quintus Fabius Pictor (3rd century BC), historiano Lucius Cincius Alimentus (3rd century BC), military historian and

antiquarian

2nd century BC

Avestan: Vendidad Chinese: Sima Qian: Records of the Grand Historian (Sh jì)ǐ Aramaic: Book of Daniel Hebrew: Sirach Greek

o Polybius : The Historieso Book of Wisdom o Septuagint

Latin: o Terence (195/185 BC — 159 BC), comic dramatist: The Brothers,

The Girl from Andros, Eunuchus, The Self-Tormentor,o Quintus Ennius (239 BC — c. 169 BC), poeto Marcus Pacuvius (ca. 220 BC — 130 BC), tragic dramatist, poeto Statius Caecilius (220 BC — 168/166 BC), comic dramatisto Marcius Porcius Cato (234 BC — 149 BC), generalist, topical writero Gaius Acilius (2nd century BC), historiano Lucius Accius (170 BC — c. 86 BC), tragic dramatist, philologisto Gaius Lucilius (c. 160's BC — 103/2 BC), satiristo Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd century BC), public officer,

epigramatisto Aulus Furius Antias (2nd century BC), poeto Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (130 BC — 87 BC), public

officer, tragic dramatist

o Lucius Pomponius Bononiensis (2nd century BC), comic dramatist, satirist

o Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd century BC), historiano Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (2nd century BC), historiano Manius Manilius (2nd century BC), public officer, juristo Lucius Coelius Antipater (2nd century BC), jurist, historiano Publius Sempronius Asellio (158 BC — after 91 BC), military

officer, historiano Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus (2nd century BC), juristo Lucius Afranius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), comic dramatisto Titus Albucius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), oratoro Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BC — after 78 BC), juristo Quintus Lutatius Catulus (2nd & 1st centuries BC), public officer,

poeto Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus (154 BC — 74 BC), philologisto Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historiano Valerius Antias (2nd & 1st centuries BC), historiano Lucius Cornelius Sisenna (121 BC — 67 BC), soldier, historiano Quintus Cornificius (2nd & 1st centuries BC), rhetorician

1st century BC

Pali : Tipitaka Latin:

o Cicero : Catiline Orations, Pro Caelio, Dream of Scipioo Julius Caesar : Gallic Warso Virgil : Eclogues, Georgics and Aeneido Lucretius : On the Nature of Thingso Livy : Ab Urbe Condita (History of Rome)

See also: Pahlavi literature, centuries in poetry: 1st, 2nd and 3rd1st century AD

Chinese: Ban Gu: Book of Han (Hànshū) Greek:

o Plutarch : Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romanso Josephus : The Jewish War, Antiquities of the Jews, Against Apiono The books of the New Testament

Latin: see Classical Latin o Tacitus : Germaniao Ovid : Metamorphoseso Pliny the Elder : Natural Historyo Petronius : Satyricono Seneca the Younger : Phaedra, Dialogues

2nd century

Sanskrit: Aśvagho aṣ : Buddhacharita (Acts of the Buddha)

Pahlavi: o Yadegar-e Zariran (Memorial of Zarēr)o Visperad o Drakht-i Asurig (The Babylonian Tree)

Greek: o Arrian : Anabasis Alexandrio Marcus Aurelius : Meditationso Epictetus and Arrian: Enchiridiono Ptolemy : Almagesto Athenaeus : The Banquet of the Learnedo Pausanias : Description of Greece

Latin: see Classical Latin o Apuleius : The Golden Asso Lucius Ampelius: Liber Memorialiso Suetonius : Lives of the Twelve Caesars

3rd century

Avestan: Khordeh Avesta (Zoroastrian prayer book) Pahlavi: Mani: Shabuhragan (Manichaean holy book) Chinese: Chen Shou: Records of Three Kingdoms (Sānguó Zhì) Greek: Plotinus: Enneads Latin: see Late Latin

o Distichs of Cato Hebrew: Mishnah

Late AntiquitySee also: 4th century in poetry, 5th century in poetry

4th century

Latin: see Late Latin o Augustine of Hippo : Confessions, On Christian Doctrineo Apicius (a.k.a. De re coquinaria, On the Subject of Cooking)o Pervigilium Veneris (Vigil of Venus)

Syriac: Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian Hebrew: Gemara

5th century

Chinese: Fan Ye: Book of the Later Han (Hòuhànshū) Sanskrit: Kālidāsa (speculated): The Recognition of Śakuntalā, The Cloud

Messenger Pahlavi:

o Matigan-i Hazar Datistan (The Thousand Laws of the Magistan)o Frahang-i Oim-evak (Pahlavi-Avestan dictionary)

Latin: see Late Latin o Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus : De Re Militario Augustine of Hippo : The City of Godo Paulus Orosius : Seven Books of History Against the Pagans

o Jerome : Vulgateo Prudentius : Psychomachiao Consentius 's grammaro Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite : Celestial Hierarchy, Mystical

Theology

6th century

Latin: Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae (The Consolation of Philosophy) 524 AD, widely considered to be the last work of classical philosophy.[20][21]

Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of the Florentine Renaissance in the late 15th century). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in-between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre.

Contents

1 Languages 2 Anonymity 3 Types of writing

o 3.1 Religious o 3.2 Secular o 3.3 Women's literature o 3.4 Allegory

4 Notable literature of the period 5 Specific articles

o 5.1 By region or language o 5.2 By genre o 5.3 By period

6 References 7 External links

Languages

Since Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church, which dominated Western and Central Europe, and since the Church was virtually the only source of education, Latin was a common language for Medieval writings, even in some parts of Europe that were never Romanized. However, in Eastern Europe, the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church made Greek and Old Church Slavonic the dominant written languages.

The common people continued to use their respective vernaculars. A few examples, such as the Old English Beowulf, the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, the Medieval Greek Digenis Acritas, the Old East Slavic Tale of Igor's Campaign, and the Old French Chanson de Roland, are well known to

this day. Although the extant versions of these epics are generally considered the works of individual (but anonymous) poets, there is no doubt that they are based on their peoples' older oral traditions. Celtic traditions have survived in the lais of Marie de France, the Mabinogion and the Arthurian cycles.

Anonymity

A notable amount of medieval literature is anonymous. This is not only due to the lack of documents from a period, but also due to an interpretation of the author's role that differs considerably from the romantic interpretation of the term in use today. Medieval authors often deeply respected the classical writers and the Church Fathers and tended to re-tell and embellish stories they had heard or read rather than invent new stories. And even when they did, they often claimed to be handing down something from an auctor instead. From this point of view, the names of the individual authors seemed much less important, and therefore many important works were never attributed to any specific person.

Types of writing

Religious

Theological works were the dominant form of literature typically found in libraries during the Middle Ages. Catholic clerics were the intellectual center of society in the Middle Ages, and it is their literature that was produced in the greatest quantity.

Countless hymns survive from this time period (both liturgical and paraliturgical). The liturgy itself was not in fixed form, and numerous competing missals set out individual conceptions of the order of the mass. Religious scholars such as Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, and Pierre Abélard wrote lengthy theological and philosophical treatises, often attempting to reconcile the teachings of the Greek and Roman pagan authors with the doctrines of the Church. Hagiographies, or "lives of the saints", were also frequently written, as an encouragement to the devout and a warning to others.

The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine reached such popularity that, in its time, it was reportedly read more often than the Bible. Francis of Assisi was a prolific poet, and his Franciscan followers frequently wrote poetry themselves as an expression of their piety. Dies Irae and Stabat Mater are two of the most powerful Latin poems on religious subjects. Goliardic poetry (four-line stanzas of satiric verse) was an art form used by some clerics to express dissent. The only widespread religious writing that was not produced by clerics were the mystery plays: growing out of simple tableaux re-enactments of a single Biblical scene, each mystery play became its village's expression of the key events in the Bible. The text of these plays was often controlled by local guilds, and mystery plays would be performed regularly on set feast-days, often lasting all day long and into the night.

During the Middle Ages, the Jewish population of Europe also produced a number of outstanding writers. Maimonides, born in Cordoba, Spain, and Rashi, born in Troyes, France, are two of the best-known and most influential of these Jewish authors.

Secular

The first page of Beowulf

Secular literature in this period was not produced in equal quantity as religious literature, but much has survived and we possess today a rich corpus. The subject of "courtly love" became important in the 11th century, especially in the Romance languages (in the French, Spanish, Galician-Portuguese, Catalan, Provençal languages, most notably) and Greek, where the traveling singers—troubadours—made a living from their songs. The writings of the troubadours are often associated with unrequited longing, but this is not entirely accurate (see aubade, for instance). In Germany, the Minnesänger continued the tradition of the troubadours.

In addition to epic poems in the Germanic tradition (e.g. Beowulf and Nibelungenlied), epic poems in the tradition of the chanson de geste (e.g. The Song of Roland and Digenis Acritas which deal with the Matter of France and the Acritic songs respectively) and courtly romances in the tradition of the roman courtois, which deal with the Matter of Britain and the Matter of Rome, achieved great and lasting popularity. The roman courtois is distinguished from the chanson de geste not only by its subject matter, but also by its emphasis on love and chivalry rather than acts of war.

Political poetry was written also, especially towards the end of this period, and the goliardic form saw use by secular writers as well as clerics. Travel literature was highly popular in the Middle Ages, as fantastic accounts of far-off lands (frequently embellished or entirely false) entertained a society that, in most cases, limited people to the area in which they were born. (But note the importance of pilgrimages, especially to Santiago de Compostela, in medieval times, also witnessed by the prominence of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales).

The most prominent authors of Jewish secular poetry in the Middle Ages were Solomon ibn Gabirol and Yehuda Halevi, both of whom were also renowned religious poets.

Women's literature

While it is true that women in the medieval period were never accorded full equality with men (although some sects, such as the Cathars, afforded women greater status and rights), some women were able to use their skill with the written word to gain renown. Religious writing was the easiest avenue—women who would later be canonized as saints frequently published their reflections, revelations, and prayers. Much of what is known about women in the Middle Ages is known from the works of nuns such as Clare of Assisi, Bridget of Sweden, and Catherine of Siena.

Frequently, however, the religious perspectives of women were held to be unorthodox by those in power, and the mystical visions of such authors as Julian of Norwich and Hildegard of Bingen provide insight into a part of the medieval experience less comfortable for the institutions that ruled Europe at the time. Women wrote influential texts in the secular realm as well—reflections on courtly love and society by Marie de France and Christine de Pizan continue to be studied for their glimpses of medieval society.

AllegoryMain article: Allegory in the Middle Ages

While medieval literature makes use of many literary devices, allegory is so prominent in this period as to deserve special mention. Much of medieval literature relied on allegory to convey the morals the author had in mind while writing—representations of abstract qualities, events, and institutions are thick in much of the literature of this time. Probably the earliest and most influential allegory is the Psychomachia (Battle of Souls) by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius. Other important examples include the Romance of the Rose, Everyman, Piers Plowman, Roman de Fauvel, and The Divine Comedy.

Notable literature of the period

Estimated medieval output of manuscripts in terms of copies[1]

Alexiad , Anna Comnena Beowulf , anonymous Anglo-Saxon author Caedmon's Hymn Cantigas de Santa Maria , Galician authors The Book of the City of Ladies , Christine de Pizan Book of the Civilized Man , Daniel of Beccles The Book of Good Love , Juan Ruiz The Book of Margery Kempe , Margery Kempe

Brut , Layamon Brut , Wace The Canterbury Tales , Geoffrey Chaucer The Cloud of Unknowing , anonymous English author Consolation of Philosophy , Boethius David of Sassoun , anonymous Armenian author Decameron , Giovanni Boccaccio The Dialogue , Catherine of Siena Digenis Acritas , anonymous Greek author The Diseases of Women , Trotula of Salerno La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), Dante Alighieri Dukus Horant , the first extended work in Yiddish. Elder Edda , various Icelandic authors Das fließende Licht der Gottheit , Mechthild of Magdeburg Gesta Danorum , Saxo Grammaticus Heimskringla , Snorri Sturluson Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the

English People), the Venerable Bede The Knight in the Panther Skin , Shota Rustaveli The Lais of Marie de France , Marie de France The Letters of Abelard and Heloise Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the

Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), Don Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena

Ludus de Antichristo , anonymous German author Mabinogion , various Welsh authors Metrical Dindshenchas , Irish onomastic poems Il milione (The Travels of Marco Polo), Marco Polo Le Morte d'Arthur , Sir Thomas Malory Nibelungenlied , anonymous German author Njál's saga , anonymous Icelandic author Parzival , Wolfram von Eschenbach Piers Plowman , William Langland Poem of the Cid , anonymous Spanish author Proslogium , Anselm of Canterbury Queste del Saint Graal (The Quest of the Holy Grail), anonymous French

author Revelations of Divine Love , Julian of Norwich Roman de la Rose , Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun Sadko , anonymous Russian author Scivias , Hildegard of Bingen Sic et Non , Abelard Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , anonymous English author The Song of Roland , anonymous French author Spiritual Exercises , Gertrude the Great Summa Theologiae , Thomas Aquinas Táin Bó Cúailnge , anonymous Irish author The Tale of Igor's Campaign , anonymous Russian author Tirant lo Blanc , Joanot Martorell

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville , John Mandeville Tristan , Thomas d'Angleterre Tristan , Béroul Tristan and Isolt , Gottfried von Strassburg Troilus and Criseyde , Geoffrey Chaucer Waltharius Younger Edda , Snorri Sturluson Yvain: The Knight of the Lion , Chrétien de Troyes

Events

Medieval andRenaissance literature

Early Medieval literature

Matter of Rome

Matter of France

Matter of Britain

Byzantine literature

Kannada literature

Medieval literature

Hebrew literature

Persian literature

Arabic literature

Telugu literature

10th century in literature

11th century in literature

12th century in literature

13th century in literature

14th century in literature

European Renaissance literature

15th century in literature

v

t

e

1403 – The Yongle Encyclopedia is commissioned in China.

1454 – Johann Gutenberg prints the Gutenberg Bible. 1476 – William Caxton sets up the first printing press in England, at

Westminster. 1478 – The Ranworth Antiphoner is presented to St Helen's Church,

Ranworth.

New books and first printings of older books

1405 o Christine de Pizan – Le Livre de la Cité des Dames

1410 o Thomas Occleve – The Regement of Princes

1413 o Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York – The Master of Game

1420 o John Lydgate – The Siege of Thebes

1429 o Leone Battista Alberti – Amator

1434 o Treatise on the Barbarian Kingdoms on the Western Oceans

(China). 1436

o The Marvels discovered by the boat bound for the Galaxy (China). 1450

o Reginald Pecock – Represser of over-much weeting [blaming] of the Clergie

1453 o Antoine de la Sale – Petit Jehan de Saintre

1461 o François Villon – Grand Testament

1472 o Johannes de Sacrobosco – De sphaera mundi (written c.1230), the

first printed astronomical book 1473

o Avicenna – The Canon of Medicineo Sir John Fortescue – The Governaunce of England (first published

1714)o Almanach cracoviense ad annum 1474 , a wall calendar, the earliest

known printing in Poland 1475

o Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye , the first book printed in English, by William Caxton in Bruges

1477 o William Caxton prints the first books in England on a printing

press which he set up at Westminster in 1476 Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres , a translation by Earl

Rivers

History of Jason , a translation from the French of Raoul Le Fèvre by Caxton

o Bible in duytsche ("Delft Bible")o First printed edition of The Travels of Marco Polo

1478 o Geoffrey Chaucer – Canterbury Tales

1479 o Rodolphus Agricola – De inventione dialectica

1481 o Mirrour of the Worlde, a translation of 1480 by William Caxton, the

first book printed in England to include woodcut illustrationso The Historie of Reynart the Foxe (first English translation)

1482 o Mosen Diego de Valera – Crónica abreviada de España ("Crónica

Valeriana")o Euclid – Elements (in Latin)

1484 o Aesop's Fables , a translation by William Caxton

1485 o Leon Battista Alberti – De Re Aedificatoria (written 1443–52 and

published posthumously), the first printed work on architectureo Joseph Albo – Sefer ha-Ikkarim (written before 1444)o Sir Thomas Malory – Le Morte d'Arthur

1486 o Dame Juliana Berners – The Boke of Saint Albanso Giovanni Pico della Mirandola – De hominis dignitate

1487 o Niccolò da Correggio – Fabula di Cefalo

1489 o Marsilio Ficino – De vita libri tres (Three Books on Life)

1490 o Joanot Martorell and Martí Joan de Galba – Tirant lo Blanc

1493 o Giuliano Dati – Lettera delle isole novamente trovata, a translation

into verse of a letter from Christopher Columbus to Ferdinand of Spain, regarding Columbus' first exploratory voyage across the Atlantic in 1492

1496 o Isaac Abrabanel – Ma'yene ha-Yeshu'ah

1498 o Polydore Vergil – Adagia

1499 o Thomas of Erfurt (mistakenly ascribed to Duns Scotus) – De Modis

Significandi printed (written in early 14th century)o Niccolò Machiavelli – Discorso sopra le cose di Pisao Fernando de Rojas – Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, better known as

La Celestinao Polydore Vergil – De inventoribus rerum

New drama

1470 – probable date of composition of Mankind

Births

1406 – Matteo Palmieri, Florentine humanist and historian (died 1475) 1413 – Giosafat Barbaro (died 1494) 1453 – Ermolao Barbaro (died 1493) c. 1460 – John Skelton (died 1529), English poet 1485 – Hanibal Lucić, Croatian poet and playwright (died 1553)

Deaths

c. 1426 – John Audelay 1451 – John Lydgate 1454 – Francesco Barbaro 1471 – Sir Thomas Malory 1475 – Matteo Palmieri 1486 – Margareta Clausdotter c. 1490 – Lewys Glyn Cothi 1493 – Ermolao Barbaro (born 1453) 1494 – Giosafat Barbaro (born 1413)

1508

o April 4 - John Lydgate's The Complaint of the Black Knight becomes

the first book printed in Scotland.o The earliest known printed edition of the chivalric romance

Amadis de Gaula, as edited and expanded by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, is published in Castilian at Zaragoza.

o Elia Levita completes writing the Bovo-Bukh.

1510

o April 10 - Henry Cornelius Agrippa pens the dedication of De

occulta philosophia libri tres to Johannes Trithemius.

1513

o Johannes Potken publishes the first Ge'ez text, Psalterium David et

Cantica aliqua, at Rome.

1515

o Paolo Ricci translates Sha'are Orah by Joseph Gikatilla as Portae

lucis.

1519

o Apokopos by Bergadis, the first book in Modern Greek is printed in

Venice.

1530

o Paracelsus finishes writing Paragranum.

1537

o Paracelsus starts to write Astronomia Magna or the whole

Philosophia Sagax of the Great and Little World".

1538

o Paracelsus finishes writing Astronomia Magna or the whole

Philosophia Sagax of the Great and Little World".

1539

o Marie Dentière writes an open letter to Marguerite of Navarre,

sister of the King of France; the Epistre tres utile, or "very useful letter", calls for an expulsion of Catholic clergy from France.

1541

o Elia Levita 's chivalric romance, the Bovo-Bukh, is first printed, the

earliest published secular work in Yiddish.

1551

o An edition of the Book of Common Prayer becomes the first book

printed in Ireland.

1565

o Torquato Tasso enters the service of Cardinal Luigi d'Este at Ferrara.

1567

o October 14 - António Ferreira becomes Desembargador da Casa do

Civel and leaves Coimbra for Lisbon.

1571

o Michel de Montaigne retires from public life and isolates himself in

the tower of the Château de Montaigne.

1572

o English law eliminates actors' companies lacking formal

patronage, by labelling them "vagabonds".

1575

o Sir Philip Sidney meets Penelope Devereaux, the inspiration for his

Astrophel and Stella.

1576

o December - James Burbage builds The Theatre, the first permanent

public playhouse in London, opening the great age of Elizabethan drama.

1590

o A troupe of boy actors, the Children of Paul's, are suppressed

because of their playwright John Lyly's role in the Marprelate controversy.

1596

o Blackfriars Theatre opens in London.

1597

o Ben Jonson is briefly jailed in Marshalsea Prison, after the suppression of his play, The Isle of Dogs.

1598

o September 22 - Ben Jonson kills actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel

and is briefly held in Newgate Prison.o December 28 - The Theatre is dismantled in London.o Thomas Bodley refounds the Bodleian Library at the University of

Oxford.

1599

o Spring/Summer - Globe Theatre built in Southwark, London,

utilising material from The Theatre.o June 4 - Bishops' Ban of 1599: Thomas Middleton's Microcynicon:

Six Snarling Satires and John Marston's Scourge of Villainy are publicly burned as the English ecclesiastical authorities clamp down on published satire.

o Late - War of the Theatres, a satirical controversy, breaks out on the London stage.

New books

1501

o The Book of Margery Kempe (posthumous)o Marko Marulić - Judita

1503

o William Dunbar - The Thrissill and the Rois

1505

o Georges Chastellain - Récollections des merveilles advenues en mon

temps (posthumous)o Stephen Hawes

The Passtyme of Pleasure The Temple of Glass

o Lodovico Lazzarelli - Crater Hermetics (posthumous).

1508

o Johannes Trithemius - De septem secundeis.o William Dunbar - The Goldyn Targe

1509

o Erasmus - In Praise of Folly

1510

o Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo - Las sergas de Esplandiáno Ruiz Paez de Ribera - Florisando

1512

o Henry Medwall - Fulgens and Lucreceo Huldrych Zwingli - De Gestis inter Gallos et Helvetios relatio

1513

o First translation of Virgil's Aeneid into English language (Scots

dialect) by Gavin Douglas

1514-15

o Gian Giorgio Trissino - Sofonisba

1515

o Robert Fabyan - The New Chronicles of England and France

1516

o Henry Cornelius Agrippa

Dialogus de homine (Casale) De triplici ratione cognoscendi Deum

o Marsilio Ficino - De triplici vita.o Thomas More - Utopia.

1517

o Francysk Skaryna 's Bible translation and printing

o Teofilo Folengo 's Baldo, a popular Italian work of comedy.

1518

o Henry Cornelius Agrippa - De originali peccato

1524

o Philippe de Commines - Mémoires (Part 1: Books 1-6); first

publication (Paris)

1525

o Francesco Giorgi - De harmonia mundi totiuso Paracelsus - De septem puncti idolotriae christianae.

1526

o William Tyndale 's New Testament translation

1527

o Hector Boece - Historia Scotorumo Philippe de Commines - Mémoires (Part 2: Books 7-8); first

publication

1528

o Baltissare Castiglione - The Book of the Courtier

1531

o Michael Servetus - De trinitatis erroribus ("On the Errors of the

Trinity")o Henry Cornelius Agrippa - Book One of De occulta philosophia libri

treso Paracelsus - Opus Paramirum (written in St. Gallen).

1532

o Niccolò Machiavelli - The Princeo François Rabelais - Pantagruel

o Feliciano de Silva - Don Florisel de Niquea

1533

o Henry Cornelius Agrippa - Books Two and Three of De occulta

philosophia libri tres

1534

o Martin Luther 's Bible translationo François Rabelais - Gargantuao Polydore Vergil - Historia Anglica

1535

o John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners - Huon of Bordeaux

1536

o John Calvin - Institutes of the Christian Religion (in Latin)o Paracelsus - Die große Wundarzney.

1538

o Hélisenne de Crenne - Les Angoisses douloureuses qui procèdent

d'amours

1539

o Sir Thomas Elyot - The Castel of Helth

1540

o Historia Scotorum of Hector Boece, translated into vernacular Scots

by John Bellenden at the special request of James V of Scotlando The Byrth of Mankynde; the first printed book in English on

obstetrics, and one of the first published in England to include engraved plates.

1541

o George Buchanan

Baptistes Jephtha

o Joachim Sterck van Ringelbergh - Lucubrationes vel potius absolutissima kyklopaideia

1542

o Paul Fagius - Liber Fidei seu Veritatiso Edward Hall - The Union of the Two Noble and Illustrate Famelies of

Lancastre & Yorke

1543

o Nicolaus Copernicus - De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the

Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres)o Andreas Vesalius - De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (On the

Fabric of the Human body in Seven Books)

1544

o Cardinal John Fisher - Psalmi seu precationes (posthumous) in an

anonymous English translation by its sponsor, Queen Katherine Parr

o John Leland - Assertio inclytissimi Arturii regis Britanniae

1545

o Roger Ascham - Toxophiluso Bernard Etxepare - Linguae Vasconum Primitiaeo Sir John Fortescue - De laudibus legum Angliae (written c. 1471)o Queen Katherine Parr - Prayers or Meditations; the first book

published by an English queen under her own name

1546

o Sir John Prise of Brecon - Yn y lhyvyr hwnn (first book in Welsh;

anonymous)o François Rabelais - Le tiers livre

1547

o Gruffudd Hiraethog - Oll synnwyr pen Kembero ygyd (posthumous

collection of Welsh proverbs made by William Salesbury)

o Martynas Mažvydas - The Simple Words of Catechism (first printed book in Lithuanian)

o Queen Katherine Parr - The Lamentation of a Sinnero William Salesbury - A Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe

1549

o Johannes Aal - Johannes der Täufer (St. John Baptist)o The Complaynt of Scotland

1550

o Martin Bucer - De regno Christio The Facetious Nights of Straparola published in Italian. The first

European storybook to contain fairy-tales.

1552

o François Rabelais - Le quart livreo Gerónimo de Santa Fe - Hebræomastix (posthumous)o Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis (Little Book of the

Medicinal Herbs of the Indians), composed in Nahuatl by Martín de la Cruz and translated into Latin by Juan Badiano.

1553

o Francesco Patrizi - La Città felice ("The Happy City")

1554

o anon - Lazarillo de Tormes

1559

o The Elizabethan version of the Book of Common Prayer of the

Church of England, which remains in use until the mid-17th century and becomes the first English Prayer Book in America.

o Jorge de Montemayor - Dianao Pavao Skalić - Encyclopediae seu orbis disciplinarum tam sacrarum

quam profanarum epistemon

1560

o Jacques Grévin - Jules Césaro William Whittingham , Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson - Geneva

Bible

1562

o William Bullein - Bullein's Bulwarke of Defence againste all Sicknes,

Sornes, and Woundes

1563

o John Foxe - Foxe's Book of Martyrs

1564

o John Dee - Monas Hieroglyphica

1565

o Camillo Porzio - La Congiura dei baroni

1567

o Joan Perez de Lazarraga - Silbero, Silbia, Doristeo, and Sirena (MS in

Basque)o Magdeburg Centuries , vols X-XIo William Salesbury - Testament Newydd ein Arglwydd Iesu Christ

(translation of New Testament into Welsh)o Séon Carsuel , Bishop of the Isles - Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh

(translation of Knox's Book of Common Order into Classical Gaelic)

1569

o Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga - La Araucana, part 1

1571

o François de Belleforest - La Pyrénée (or La Pastorale amoureuse)

(the first French "pastoral novel")o Aibidil Gaoidheilge agus Caiticiosma (first printing in Irish)

1572

o Friedrich Risner - Opticae thesauruso Turba Philosophorum

1576

o Jean Boudin - Six livres de la Républiqueo George Pettie - A Petite Palace of Pettie His Pleasureo The Paradise of Dainty Devices, the most popular of the Elizabethan

verse miscellanies

1577

o Richard Eden - The History of Travayle in the West and East Indieso Thomas Hill - The Gardener's Labyrintho Raphael Holinshed - The Chronicles of England, Scotland and

Irelande

1578

o George Best - A True Discourse of the Late Voyages of Discoverie…

under the Conduct of Martin Frobishero John Florio - First Fruitso Jaroš Griemiller - Rosarium philosophorumo Gabriel Harvey - Smithus, vel Musarum lachrymaeo John Lyly - Euphues: the Anatomy of Wit

1579

o Stephen Gosson - The Schoole of Abuseo Thomas Lodge - Honest Excuses

1581

o Barnabe Riche - Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession conteining

verie pleasaunt discourses fit for a peaceable tyme

1582

o George Buchanan - Rerum Scoticarum Historiao Richard Hakluyt - Divers Voyageso John Leland - A learned and true assertion of the original, life, actes,

and death of the most noble, valiant, and renoumed Prince Arthure, King of great Brittaine (posthumous translation)

1583

o Philip Stubbes - The Anatomy of Abuses

1584

o James VI of Scotland - Some Reulis and Cauteliso David Powel - Historie of Cambriao Reginald Scot - The Discovery of Witchcraft

1585

o Miguel de Cervantes - La Galateao William Davies - Y drych Cristianogawl

1586

o John Knox - Historie of the Reformatioun of Religioun within the

Realms of Scotlando John Lyly - Pappe with an hatchet, alias a figge for my Godsonneo George Puttenham (attr.) - The Arte of English Poesieo Luis Barahona de Soto - Primera parte de la Angélica

1588

o Thomas Hariot - A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of

Virginiao Thomas Nashe - The Anatomie of Absurditie

1590

o Thomas Lodge - Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacieo Thomas Nashe - An Almond for a Parrat

1592

o Robert Greene - Greene's Groatsworth of Wito Gabriel Harvey - Foure Letters and certaine Sonnetso Richard Johnson - Nine Worthies of London

1594

o Sir John Davis - The Seamans Secretso Richard Hooker - Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

1595

o Sir Philip Sidney (posthumous) - Defense of Poesy, a.k.a. An

Apologie for Poetrie

1596

o Sir Walter Raleigh - The Discoverie of the Large, Rich and Beautiful

Empyre of Guiana

1597

o Francis Bacon Essays

1598

o John Bodenham - Politeuphuia (Wits' Commonwealth)o King James VI of Scotland - The Trew Law of Free Monarchieso Francis Meres - Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasuryo John Stow - Survey of London

1599

o John Bodenham - Wits' Theater

New drama

1508

o The World and the Child , also known as Mundas et Infans (probable

date of composition)

1531

o Accademia degli Intronati - Gl' Ingannati

1536

o Hans Ackermann - Der Verlorene Sohn

1541

o Giovanni Battista Giraldi - Orbecche

1551

o Marin Držić - Dundo Maroje

1553

o (about 1553) – Gammer Gurton's Needle and Ralph Roister Doister,

the first comedies written in the English languageo António Ferreira - Bristo

1562

o Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville - Gorboduco Jack Juggler - anonymous, sometimes attributed to Nicholas Udall

1566

o George Gascoigne - Supposes

1567

o John Pickering - Horestes

1568

o Ulpian Fulwell - Like Will to Like

1573

o Torquato Tasso - Aminta

1582

o Giovanni Battista Guarini - Il pastor fido

1584

o John Lyly Campaspe Sapho and Phao

o George Peele - The Arraignment of Pariso Robert Wilson - The Three Ladies of London (published)

1588

o George Peele - The Battle of Alcazar (performed)

1589

o The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune - anonymous (published)

1590

o Christopher Marlowe - Tamburlaine (both parts published)o George Peele - Famous Chronicle of King Edward the Firsto Robert Wilson - The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London

(published)

1591

o John Lyly - Endymion (published)o The Troublesome Reign of King John - Anonymous (published)

1592

o Thomas Kyd - The Spanish Tragedy (published)o William Shakespeare - Henry VI, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3o Arden of Faversham - anonymous (previously attributed to

Shakespeare)

1594

o Samuel Daniel - Cleopatrao Robert Greene

Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (published) Orlando Furioso (published)

o Thomas Lodge & Robert Greene - A Looking Glass for London (published)

o Lope de Vega - El maestro de danzar - (The Dancing Master)o George Peele - The Battle of Alcazar (published)o William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet

o Robert Wilson - The Cobbler's Prophecy (published)

1595

o Locrine - Anonymous (published)

1597

o The Isle of Dogs - Thomas Nashe & Ben Jonsono Richard II - William Shakespeare (published)

1598

o Robert Greene - The Scottish Historie of James the Fourth

(published)o Ben Jonson - Every Man in His Humour

1599

o Thomas Dekker - The Shoemaker's Holidayo Thomas Dekker , Henry Chettle, and William Haughton - Patient

Grisselo Ben Jonson - Every Man Out of His Humouro William Shakespeare - Henry V

New poetry

1514

o The Aeneid -Francesco Maria Molzo's translation into Italian, in

consecutive unrhymed verse (forerunner of Blank verse)

1550

o Sir Thomas Wyatt - Pentential Psalms

1557

o Giovanni Battista Giraldi - Ercoleo Tottel's Miscellany

1562

o The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet - Arthur Brooke

1563

o Barnabe Googe - Eclogues, Epitaphs, and Sonnets

1567

o George Turberville - Epitaphs, Epigrams, Songs and Sonnets

1572

o Luís de Camões - Os Lusíadas

1573

o George Gascoigne - A Hundred Sundry Flowers

1575

o Nicholas Breton - A Small Handful of Fragrant Flowerso George Gascoigne - The Posies

1576

o The Paradise of Dainty Devices, the most popular of the Elizabethan

verse miscellanies

1577

o Nicholas Breton - The Works of a Young Wit and A Flourish upon

Fancy

1579

o Edmund Spenser - The Shepherd's Calendar

1582

o Thomas Watson - Hekatompathia or Passionate Century of Love

1590

o Sir Philip Sidney - Arcadiao Edmund Spenser - The Faerie Queene, Books 1-3

1591

o Sir Philip Sidney - Astrophel and Stella (published posthumously)

1592

o Henry Constable - Diana

1593

Michael Drayton - The Shepherd's Garland o Giles Fletcher, the Elder - Licia

1594

o Michael Drayton - Peirs Gaveston

1595

o Thomas Campion - *Poemata

1596

o Sir John Davies - Orchestra, or a Poeme of Dauncingo Michael Drayton - The Civell Warres of Edward the Second and the

Barronso Edmund Spenser - The Faerie Queene, Books 1-6

1597

o Michael Drayton - Englands Heroicall Epistles

1598

o Lope de Vega

La Arcadia La Dragontea

1599

o Sir John Davies

Hymnes of Astraea Nosce Teipsum

o George Peele - The Love of King David and Faire Bethsabe

Births

1503 - Thomas Wyatt 1508 - Primož Trubar, author of the first printed books in the Slovene

language (died 1586) 1510 - Martynas Mažvydas 1511 - Johannes Secundus (died 1535) 1514 - Daniele Barbaro (died 1570) 1515 - Roger Ascham 1517 - Henry Howard 1524 - Luís de Camões (died 1580) 1547 - Miguel de Cervantes (died 1616) 1551 - William Camden 1554 - Philip Sidney 1555 - Lancelot Andrewes 1558 - Robert Greene 1558 - Thomas Kyd 1561 - Luís de Góngora y Argote, Spanish poet (died 1627) 1562 - Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and dramatist (died 1635) 1564 - Henry Chettle, English dramatist (died 1607) 1564 - Christopher Marlowe, English poet and dramatist (died 1593) 1564 - William Shakespeare, English poet and dramatist (died 1616) 1570 - Robert Aytoun 1572 - Ben Jonson, John Donne 1576 - John Marston 1577 - Robert Burton 1581 - Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft 1583 - Philip Massinger 1587 - Joost van den Vondel 1594 - James Howell

Deaths

1502 - Henry Medwall 1513 - Robert Fabyan 1519 - Anna Bülow 1535 - Johannes Secundus (born 1511) 1542 - Thomas Wyatt 1552 - Alexander Barclay 1553 - Hanibal Lucić, Croatian poet and playwright (born c. 1485)

1553 - François Rabelais 1555 - Polydore Vergil 1563 - John Bale 1563 - Martynas Mažvydas 1566 - Marco Girolamo Vida, Italian poet (born 1485?) 1568 - Roger Ascham 1570 - Daniele Barbaro (born 1514) 1577 - George Gascoigne 1586 - Primož Trubar, author of the first printed books in the Slovene

language (born 1508) 1592 - Robert Greene 1593 - Christopher Marlowe 1594 - Thomas Kyd 1595 - Luis Barahona de Soto Renaissance Literature refers to the period in European literature that began in Italy during

the 14th century and spread around Europe through the 17th century. The impact of the Renaissance varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly Catholic or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently compared to areas where the Orthodox Church was dominant as reflecting on its culture, as well as those areas of Europe under Islamic rule.

The creation of the Printing Press by Johannes Gutenberg encouraged authors to write in the local vernacular rather than in Greek or Latin classical languages, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas.

Had nothing occurred to change literature in the 15th century but the Renaissance, the break with medieval approaches would have been clear enough. The 15th century, however, also brought Johann Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press, an innovation (for Europe, at least) that would change literature forever. Texts were no longer precious and expensive to produce—they could be cheaply and rapidly put into the marketplace. Literacy went from the prized possession of the select few to a much broader section of the population (though by no means universal). As a result, much about literature in Europe was radically altered in the two centuries following Gutenberg's unveiling of the printing press in 1455.

William Caxton was the first English printer and published English language texts including Le Morte d'Arthur (a collection of oral tales of the Arthurian Knights which is a forerunner of the novel) and Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. These are an indication of future directions in literature. With the arrival of the printing press a process begins in which folk yarns and legends are collected within a frame story and then mass published.

In the Renaissance, the focus on learning for learning's sake causes an outpouring of literature. Petrarch popularized the sonnet as a poetic form; Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron made romance acceptable in prose as well as poetry; François Rabelais rejuvenates satire with Gargantua and Pantagruel; Michel de Montaigne single-handedly invented the essay and used it to catalog his life and ideas. Perhaps the most controversial and important work of the time period was a treatise printed in Nuremberg, entitled De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium: in it, the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus removed the Earth from its privileged position in the universe, which had far-reaching effects, not only in science, but in literature and its approach to humanity, hierarchy, and truth.