An introduction to the study of medieval Latin versification

An Introduction to Norberg’s Introduction

a AN INTRODUCTION TO DAG NORBERG’S INTRODUCTION For nearly forty years, English-speakers who have wished to study classical meter have relied upon such fine staples as Latin Metre: An Introduction by D. S. Raven and The Meters of Greek and Latin Poetry by James W. Halporn , Martin Ostwald, and Thomas G. Rosenmeyer.1 Of approximately the same vintage, Dag Norberg’s Introduction à l’étude de la versification latine médiévale (An Introduction to the Study of Medieval Latin Versification) has also stood the test of time exceptionally well in the more than four decades since . It remains the fundamental starting point for anyone who has questions or seeks information about Medieval Latin metrics. Furthermore, in contrast to the two volumes just mentioned, the Introduction has no real competition in any other language. Amazingly, the book has never before been translated from French into another language and indeed has not been reprinted since its first publication in Stockholm. With the appearance of this translation into English, Norberg’s Introduction will be given an extended lease on life and will be made accessible to an expanded readership. Every library with a reference collection on medieval studies will want to have a copy of this translation, as will most students and scholars who work with Medieval Latin literature, others who delve into medieval music, and many who have an interest in poetry in Romance languages of the Middle Ages. It holds major significance for both Latinists and Romance philologists who hope to gain an understanding of Latin metrics in ix . The original publishing data for Raven’s book was London: Faber & Faber, ; for the reprint, London: Bristol Classical Press, an imprint of Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd, ; for Halporn, Ostwald, and Rosenmeyer’s book, Indianapolis and New York: Bobbs Merrill, ; for the revised edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, , and for the most recent reprint: Indianapolis: Hackett, . the post-classical period. Linguists, aspiring editors, and lovers of medieval literature will find it indispensable for the data and insights it provides about the history, pronunciation, and accentuation of post-classical Latin. It continues to have particular relevance to the debates that have taken place over the past two decades about the relationship between the early Romance languages and Latin, and about the question of pinpointing the time when Medieval Latin became distinct from the spoken languages that grew out of Vulgar Latin.2 Finally, anyone—and by no means only musicologists—who desires to explore the intricate interactions between text and music in the Middle Ages would be well advised to consult it. The reasons for the longevity of Norberg’s Introduction are not hard to see. It offers clear guidance and many well-chosen examples, drawn from a wide range of texts from late antiquity and the Middle Ages, in a very readable style. A book for both novices and specialists, it can be perused easily from cover to cover, but it can also serve as a reference work. The central theme of the book is the transition from quantitative to accentual Latin poetry. Although such a topic could seem dry and restricted, Norberg’s Introduction is lively, fascinating, and broad in implications. Furthermore, its terminology and symbolic system, although they have not gone uncontested, have become by far the most common for describing Medieval Latin rhythmic poetry.3 Although metrics can seem very abstract, the work of Dag Norberg was not at all detached from the rest of his life’s work as a scholar and exercised a catalytic influence upon many students and colleagues. Norberg lived from  July  to  October .4 From  to  he first studied and then x / Introduction . See Roger Wright, Late Latin and Early Romance in Spain and Carolingian France, ARCA  (Liverpool: Francis Cairns, ), – (“The Evidence of ‘Rhythmic’ Poetry”) and – (“Popular Verse?”). Information on Wright’s subsequent work in this area can be found in the text and bibliography of his most recent book, A Sociophilological Study of Late Latin, Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy  (Turnhout: Brepols, ). . For an overview of the different symbolic systems that have been devised, see Edoardo D’Angelo, “Sui sistemi di descrizione strutturale della versificazione ritmica mediolatina,” in Satura. Collectanea philologica Italo Gallo ab amicis discipulisque dicata, ed. Giancarlo Abbamonte , Andrea Rescigno, Angelo [Rossi], and Ruggero Rossi ([Naples]: Arte Tipografica, ), –. The most elaborate alternative to Norberg’s system was the one proposed by Dieter Schaller, “Bauformeln für akzentrhythmische Verse und Strophen,” Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch  (): –. . For...