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Latin
or, the Empire of a Sign
Series: Verso World History
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Latin
$4499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book is ideal for readers interested in language history, cultural studies, education, and the history of Western civilization. Scholars, students, and anyone fascinated by the enduring influence and social dynamics of Latin will find it compelling.
Acclaimed cultural history of Latin's rise and fall
Acclaimed cultural history of Latin’s rise and fall
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Though not without its rivals, Latin stood at the apex of Western culture from the Renaissance until relatively recently. Françoise Waquet offers an enthralling, original history of the language's uses, its detractors and defenders, and the social hierarchies its practitioners inscribed.
Granted a new lease of life by the Humanists and the Catholic Church, Latin was the form in which generations of schoolchildren were taught to read, millions of people worshipped, and an international community of scholars communicated with one another. It conveyed sacredness, but also obscenity; learning, as well as pedantry; science, but also trickery and mumbo-jumbo. Few individuals, even among the clergy or the most learned scholars, have ever managed to speak it with any degree of correctness or fluency, let alone elegance.
Why, despite rationalist criticisms that Latin was inaccessible to the great majority of people, and inconvenient and time-consuming for the rest, did it maintain such a strong presence—some would say a tyranny—for so long?
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Though not without its rivals, Latin stood at the apex of Western culture from the Renaissance until relatively recently. Françoise Waquet offers an enthralling, original history of the language's uses, its detractors and defenders, and the social hierarchies its practitioners inscribed. Granted a new lease of life by the Humanists and the Catholic Church, Latin was the form in which...Paperback$4499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
A splendid and original work, praised for its lively and fascinating survey of Latin's place in Western culture over four centuries. Reviewers highlight its rich research, eloquent prose, and Waquet's generous scholarship. The book is described as a delightful and detailed history, covering both the sacred and the profane uses of Latin. Noted publications include the London Review of Books, Independent, New Criterion, and the Guardian.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781804290491
Publisher: Verso Books
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 February 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Verso Books
Contributors:
- Translated by John Howe
Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 24.0mm
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 408g
Pages: 368
About the Author
Françoise Waquet is director of research emeritus at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Latin, or the Empire of a Sign is the opening volume in a highly praised sequence of books on the social worlds of intellectuals, continued most recently with Une histoire émotionnelle du savoir (2019).
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