RLS202 Reading Seminar (Caesar)

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: k (colloquium). Other types of completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Daniela Urbanová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Daniela Urbanová, Ph.D.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
( RLS101 Latin Grammar I || LJ101 Latin Grammar I ) && ! LJ202 Reading Seminar (Caesar)
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
The main objective of the course is to enhance the students ability to read and translate Caesar's Commentarii de bello Gallico (excerpts from the book 1 and 6) and to enable them to acquire the translation habits necessary for a independent translation from Latin to the mother tongue. The course is accompanied by a support course in the elf "Cetba Caesar" https://elf.phil.muni.cz/23-24/course/view.php?id=7897
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course student:
- will be able to place the text of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War in the historical and literary context
- will master the acquired vocabulary of the read Latin text in order to adequately translate the text without the use of a dictionary;
- will be able to choose the corresponding non-literal means in the native language for the Latin structures and phrases;
- will be able to identify and explain the grammatical features present in the text in correspondence to the course Latin Grammar I and II.
Syllabus
  • 1: Caesar's life and work, introduction to the Roman military, interpretation of the cultural and historical context.
  • 2: Caes. Gall. I 1;
  • 3: Caes. Gall. VI 11-14;
  • 4–6: Caes. Gall. VI 15-28;
  • 7–8: Caes. Gall. VI 1-11;
  • 6–13. Caes. Gall. VI 29-44;
  • 13. Caes. Gall. I 24–27,1; I 28–29.
  • All reading classes will include:
  • Primary grammatical analysis of the text.
  • Repetition or explanation of grammatical phenomena most frequently used by Caesar: the absolute ablative, the accusative with the infinitive construction, temporal subordinate clauses, indirect speech, etc.
  • Practising an adequate Czech translation of a Latin original: the difference between a literal translation and a satisfactory translation.
  • Intuitive translation from the point of view of the grammar of hitherto unknown conjunctions and constructions.
  • The search for appropriate expressive means in the Czech language for individual Latin constructions and conjunctions.
Literature
    required literature
  • CAESAR, C. Iulius. Commentarii rerum gestarum. Vol. 1: Bellum Gallicum. Edidit Alfred Klotz. Přetisk 4. vyd. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1957. info
    not specified
  • A companion to Julius Caesar. Edited by Miriam T. Griffin. 1st pub. Malden: Willey-Blackwell, 2009, xix, 512. ISBN 9781405149235. info
  • CAESAR, Gaius Iulius. Zápisky o válce galské. Translated by Jan Kalivoda. Praha: Naše vojsko, 2009, 245 s. ISBN 9788020610508. info
  • CANFORA, Luciano. Gaius Iulius Caesar : demokratický diktátor. Translated by Petr Kyloušek. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2007, 445 s. ISBN 9788070219010. info
  • MAURACH, Gregor. Caesar der Geschichtsschreiber. Kommentar für Schule und Studium. Münster: Aschendorff, 2003. ISBN 3-402-02166-8. info
  • ROTHENBURG, Karl-Heinz von. Caesaris, e commentariis de bello Gallico, Bellum Helveticum. Edited by Gaius Iulius Caesar, Illustrated by Faber. 1. Aufl. Stuttgart: Ernst Klett Verlag, 1997, 72 s. ISBN 3-12-667200-0. info
  • NOVOTNÝ, František. Základní latinská mluvnice. 2. vyd., 1. vyd. v H & H. Praha: H & H, 1992, 297 s. ISBN 80-85467-91-7. info
  • DOBESCH, Gerhard and Wolfgang WENK. Caesar: Kommentarband. 1st ed. Wien: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1988. ISBN 3-209-00741-1. info
  • CAESAR, Gaius Iulius. Válečné paměti : o válce gallské, o válce občanské, alexandrijské, africké a hispánské. Translated by Ivan Bureš. 1. soubor. vyd. Praha: Svoboda, 1972, 634 s. URL info
  • HORNIG, Georg. C. Iulius Caesar: Commentarii belli Gallici. Erläuterungen zu Buch V-VIII, Teil B: Lehrerkommentar. 2nd ed. Frankfurt am Main: Diesterweg, 1969. ISBN 3-425-04325-0. info
  • HORNIG, Georg. C. Iulius Caesar: Commentarii belli Gallici. Erläuterungen zu Buch I-IV, Teil B: Lehrerkommentar. 2nd ed. Frankfurt am Main: Diesterweg, 1968. info
  • ADCOCK, Frank, E. Caesar as Man of Letters. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 1956, ix, 114. info
Teaching methods
The course is realized as a seminar. Students are required to translate and grammatically analyze particular chapters in advance at home with the use of a dictionary. The other requirement is regular attendance and active participation in lessons. During the lessons, the text is translated as group work, and the grammar is explained. There is a support course for this subject with all the materials in elf: https://elf.phil.muni.cz/23-24/course/view.php?id=7897
Assessment methods
Requirements for obtaining the credit: oral translation of a short passage of the text; regular attendance and active participation in seminars.
Completion of the course colloquium - compulsory reading: the first and the sixth book.
Completion of the course credit course - compulsory reading: the sixth book and the parts of the first book translated during the seminars.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Information on completion of the course: Zápočet si volí studenti vedlejšího studijního plánu (minor), kolokvium studenti jednooborového nebo hlavního studijního plánu (completus, maior).
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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