#printedword

This post was written by Natasha Skorupski, a Department of Classics Intern in Archives & Special Collections for the Spring of 2022.

During my internship with the Hillman library and the Classics Department of the University of Pittsburgh I worked in the Archives & Special Collections, looking over Latin manuscripts.  While looking through these I started to wonder about the history of Latin and how the spoken language fell yet the written word continued.  

 (Above)  Evangeliorum quattuor Codex Durmachensis or The Book of Durrow, Olten: Urs Graf; sole distributors in the United States: P.C. Duschnes, New York by  Arturus Aston Luce, 1960 facsimile.  Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Due to that I have found out the following information.  Latin is thought to be derived from ancient Greek and Italic languages.  Italy used to be made up of many different tribes that spoke many different languages, and these languages are called Italic languages today.  The first evidence of Latin is an inscription on a cloak pin that was found from the sixth century BCE.  On the pin it says, “Manius me fhefhaked Numasioi” which translates to “Manius made me [this] for Numerius”.  The first literary records of Latin have been dated back to 250-100 BCE.  The popularity of Latin increased with the rise of Roman political power.  This spread was initially in Italy and then continued to most of Western Europe and parts of coastal Africa.

Latin has been classified into three groups. There is the written Latin, oratorical Latin (public speaking), and colloquial Latin (common speaking) (When Did Latin Die? and Why).  The later Latin saw the greatest variation in its use and continuous divergence from it eventually evolved into Vulgar Latin.  From Vulgar Latin we get the Romance Languages we know today, which include Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian.  

The beginning of the end of the western Roman empire occurred in 395 CE.  It fell for multiple reasons, some of them being military invasions, economic troubles, overreliance on enslaved labor, overexpansion and overspending of the military, political instability and corruption, among others (Andrews).  With this fall came the decline of colloquial and Vulgar Latin.  

There was a small period of resurrection for Latin under the “Roman Emperor” Charlemagne during 768-814AD. At this point in time, Latin was spoken, written, and read predominantly in religious settings as Italian, French and Spanish were rapidly evolving, allowing for a great decline of Latin (When Did Latin Die? and Why). During the mid-14th century, the Black Death Plague occurred.  It killed millions of people, including numerous scholars and professors, creating a negative ripple effect on the entire education system (When Did Latin Die? and Why).

During the 15th and 16th centuries, there was another slight resurgence as people started to read Latin literature from classical authors.  This was the time of the renaissance that spread mostly through Italy, France and later Britain.  With the greater developments in science, Latin terminology was put into place as a way to regulate findings and encourage international research (When Did Latin Die? and Why).

 (Above) Cosmographia Petri Apiani. Antwerp: Veneunt Antuerpiæ Gregorio Bontio sub Scuto Basiliensi .. by  P. & Gemma Apian, 1553. Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Latin was seen as a status symbol at this point—you were seen as educated if you could read and write it.  Though it was no longer spoken, it was used predominantly in literature and religion. Until the 19th century, Latin was a requirement for all that attended college.  College was usually attended by white males of a privileged background (When Did Latin Die? and Why). However, this changed around the mid 1960s when the younger generation decided they also shared the right to higher education.  

Today very few people can read Latin, even fewer can write it, and almost no one speaks it.  However, it is one of the official languages of Vatican City and plays a vital role in Catholicism.  Latin words are all over Catholic scripture and there are many recited terms that come from it (Is Latin a Dead Language? Let's Explore Why?).  

(Above) Inni sacri, per tutto l’anno : à quattro voci pieni, da cantarsi con l’organo e senza ... : opera quarta by G. A Silvani, 1705.  Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.  

A fun fact, Pope Francis is the most influential Latin speaker today with about 40 million followers between his multiple accounts that vary in languages.  One of these accounts posts solely in Latin! With his bio stating “Tuus adventus in paginam publicam Papae Francisci breviloquentis optatissimus est” which roughly translates to “Your arrival to the public page of the Tweeting Pope Francis is most welcome” (Pope Francis).  

Latin words also dominate in modern science as names of medicine, drugs, diseases, body parts, and it is especially used in binomial nomenclature (the system for naming plants and animals). It is also greatly prevalent in the legal field.  Amicus curiae, habeas corpus, and ex post facto being just a few of the more common ones.  A fun fact is the jury comes from the Latin word “jurare” meaning “to swear” (Is Latin a Dead Language? Let's Explore Why?).

Latin is a dead language as it is no longer spoken. However it is not extinct, and still can be encountered more than most people in the world today would expect.

Works Cited 

Andrews, Evan. “8 Reasons Why Rome Fell.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Jan. 2014, https://www.history.com/news/8-reasons-why-rome-fell.

“Is Latin a Dead Language? Let's Explore Why?” The Language Doctors, 14 Mar. 2022, https://thelanguagedoctors.org/is-latin-a-dead-language/.

Pope Francis. “Pope Francis Tweeter Account.” Twitter, Twitter, 23 Apr. 2022, https://twitter.com/pontifex_ln?lang=en.

Printed Word featured artist - Barbara E Byrd

We were honored to host the beautiful work of Babara E Byrd at our “Printed Word” exhibition last Friday. Barbara’s handmade book featured captivating poetry and beautiful collage work. More about Barbara below! 

Printed Word featured artist - Owen Keogh

In his most recent work, Owen examines the translation of digital to print media – and vice versa. Using imagery appropriated from Google Earth, he gives physical form to virtual structures in two and three dimensions using digital inkjet and 3D printing. For the series re: Monument Ave., he examines the six monuments that define Richmond, Virginia’s Monument Avenue, one of two National Historic Landmark districts in the city and the subject of a problematic history since its inception in 1890 with the construction of the Robert E. Lee Monument. Taking an outsider’s perspective, Owen looks at the form of the virtual representations of the monuments as a way to draw connections to their physical sites and history. Through his choice of material and the inclusion of both successful and failed prints, he reveals the temporality of these images and limitations of technology to capture their forms.

Owen Keogh is a New York-based artist working in photography and print-based media. Mining personal and public history to generate conceptual frameworks, his site-specific projects consist of original and appropriated content subjected to meticulous editing, sequencing, and manipulation. In the process, he works toward the rediscovery of the familiar and the formation of identity through mediated images. He deploys various strategies for connecting the work to the places, communities, and events with artist editions, books, and performances.