Confabulationes Tironum Litterariorum (Cologne, 1525)

The humanist Hermann Schotten, or Hermannus Schottennius Hessus (c. 1503-1546), student, schoolmaster, and university lecturer in Cologne, was the author of a number of works on humanist pedagogy. His 'Confabulationes tironum litterariorum' of 1525, a collection of Latin dialogues designed to help schoolboys master Classical Latin conversation, was written in admiring imitation of the colloquies of Erasmus. But Schotten had his own distinctive style: a natural ear for dialogue, and a sympathetic understanding of the schoolboy world. As a result, he produced one of the liveliest pedagogical works of the century and a vivid and valuable cultural document of life in the early modern metropolis of Cologne. This critical edition of the 'Confabulationes', the first since the sixteenth century, makes this one-time best-seller available and comprehensible to modern readers. It presents the Latin text, a full English translation, and extensive notes on the language and on Schotten's many literary and cultural allusions, accompanied by a detailed investigation of the early printing history of the collection.

Author: Peter Macardle
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 11/01/2009
Pages: 616
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.57lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 1.26d
ISBN13: 9780719081859
ISBN10: 0719081858
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Collections | European | General
- Literary Criticism | European | German
- Foreign Language Study | Latin

About the Author

Peter Macardle is Lecturer in German in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Durham University