DSMA18 Reading and Interpretation of Historical Sources - The Intermediate Period

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Jarmila Bednaříková, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jarmila Bednaříková, CSc.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
!(OBOR(DST) && TYP_STUDIA(B))
Knowledge of at least one classical source language.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
In the seminar, primarily late ancient sources that were not translated into Czech yet will be read and interpreted. The reading will thus complement and expand the subject matter of the lectures and will provide an insight into contemporary thinking.
Learning outcomes
The student:
- will deepen his/her knowledge of Latin/ancient Greek;
- will learn to work not only with common sources for Late Antiquity, such as the works of historians and chronicles, but also with special sorts of sources, such as codes of law and leges novellae, the protocols of church councils, letters of the emperors and church dignitaries, panegyrics, inscriptions etc.;
- based on reading and interpretation will draw independent conclusions regarding various issues of late ancient development.
Syllabus
  • 1) Reading of excerpts from the work of Ammianus Marcellinus.
  • 2) Reading of excerpts from the work of Paulus Orosius.
  • 3) Reading of excerpts from the work of the historian Zosimus.
  • 4) Reading of excerpts from the edition Chronica minora I-III.
  • 5) Reading of excerpts from the compilations Codex Theodosianus and Iustinianus and the leges novellae pertinent to these.
  • 6) Getting acquainted with the late ancient panegyrics.
  • 7) Getting acquainted with verses of a selected poet (e. g. Claudius Claudianus, Ausonius, Dracontius, Merobaudes).
  • 8) Getting acquainted with late ancient inscriptions pertaining to important personalities.
  • 9) Getting acquainted with the correspondence from this period – part I (e. g. the epistles of the pope Leo I, the bishop Aurelius Augustinnus, the bishop Avitus of Vienna, Sidonius Apollinaris, Valentinianus III, Galla Placidia etc.).
  • 10) Getting acquainted with the correspondence from this period – part II
  • 11) Getting acquainted with the protocols of church councils from the edition of Mansi.
  • 12) Getting acquainted with the work of the historian Priscus or John of Antioch.
  • 13) Getting acquainted with excerpts from the "barbarian" codes of law with high contain of Roman law.
Literature
    required literature
  • BEDNAŘÍKOVÁ, Jarmila. Priskos, Hunové a Siung-nu (Priscus, Huns and Hsiung-nu). In Epea pteroenta. I. Praha: Host, 2009, 12 pp. ISBN 978-80-7294-320-3. info
  • BARNES, Timothy D. Ammianus Marcellinus and the representation of historical reality. 1st publ. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998, xiv, 290 s. ISBN 0-8014-3526-9. info
    recommended literature
  • IORDANIS Romana et Getica. Ed. Th. Mommsen. Berlin: Weidmann, 1882. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi, tomus V, pars prior.
  • JORDANES. Gótské dějiny. Římské dějiny. Přel. Stanislav Doležal. Praha: Argo 2012.
  • SVENNUNG, J. Jordanes und Scandia: kritisch-exegetische Studien. Stockholm 1968.
  • Philological and historical commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXVIII. Edited by J. den Boeft - Jan Willem Drijvers - D. den Hengst - H. C. Teitler. Leiden: Brill, 2011, xiii, 364. ISBN 9789004215993. info
  • The late Roman world and its historianinterpreting Ammianus Marcellinus. Edited by Jan Willem Drijvers - David Hunt. New York: Routledge, 1999, xii, 243 p. ISBN 041520271X. info
  • JURSOVÁ, Jana. Dílo Paula Orosia Historiarum adversum paganos libri VII a změny v nazírání pozdně antických autorů na tzv. barbary. Edited by Josef Češka. 1989, 138 s. info
  • ROSEN, Klaus. Ammianus Marcellinus. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgemeinschaft, 1982, vii, 237. ISBN 3534063732. info
  • SZIDAT, Joachim. Historischer Kommentar zu Ammianus Marcellinus Buch XX-XXI. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1981, 102 stran. ISBN 3515034749. info
  • KORKMAN, Marit. The people of Hermanaric Jordanes, Getica 116. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1975, 89 s. ISBN 9514102312. info
  • VOGT, Joseph. Ammianus Marcellinus als erzählender Geschichtsschreiber der Spätzeit. Mainz: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, 1963. info
Teaching methods
Seminary reading and interpretation of selected texts in the team. Individually assigned tasks regarding translation and interpretation of minor parts of the text.
Assessment methods
Written test based on the texts that were read.
Translation of a shorter excerpt from a source with interpretation.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every other week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/DSMA18