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Late Latin

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

Portrait of Edward Gibbon, a famous historian, painted by Henry Walton.

Late Latin is the name scholars use for the form of written Latin used during late antiquity. This period lasted from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, and even into the 7th century in the Iberian Peninsula. Late Latin sits between the time of Classical Latin and Medieval Latin, though scholars do not all agree exactly when Classical Latin ended or when Medieval Latin began.

Unlike the spoken form of Latin, called Vulgar Latin, Late Latin was mainly written. Vulgar Latin later evolved into the Romance languages, such as French, Spanish, and Italian. Late Latin used some words and ways of speaking from Vulgar Latin, but it still kept many classical features. Some writers used a more literary style, while others wrote in a way that sounded more like everyday speech, called the vernacular. This makes Late Latin useful for learning about how spoken language was changing, even though it was not exactly how people spoke.

Late Latin developed because the Roman Empire was growing and taking in many people who did not speak Latin. Also, the rise of Christianity created differences in Roman society. There was a need for a standard language to help people from different backgrounds and far apart regions communicate. Late Latin mixed Classical Latin, Christian Latin, and the many dialects of Vulgar Latin to create a new, more universal way of speaking and writing.

The linguist Antoine Meillet described Latin during this time as becoming simpler while still keeping its basic appearance. As a kind of lingua franca for the large empire, Latin focused on being easy to understand for everyday use.

Philological constructs

Late and post-classical Latin

The term "Late Latin" is a bit unclear. It started being used by English scholars in the early 1800s to describe Latin writing from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, and it continued to be used even into the 7th century in Spain.

Imperial Latin

Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel, in his book History of Roman Literature, first talked about "Imperial Latin" as a way to describe Latin writing from the 2nd to the 6th centuries. This term was used in English literature until around 1903.

St. Gildas, one of a number of Late Latin writers to promulgate an excidium or ruina Britanniae because of moral turpitude

Christian, patristic, Vulgate and ancient Latin

Main articles: Ecclesiastical Latin, Vulgate, Vetus Latina, Patrologia Latina, and Patristics

Low Latin

"Low Latin" is a loose term that can mean any Latin from Late Latin through the Renaissance, depending on who uses it. It started being used in 1678 by Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, in the title of a book called Glossarium Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis. The words media (middle) and infima (low) have caused some confusion about what the term really means.

Edward Gibbon, English historian who espoused the concept of a decline of the Roman Empire resulting in its fall

Some think media et infima Latinitas refers to one period, the Middle Ages, while others think it refers to two separate periods. The term "Low Latin" has been used in different ways, sometimes mixing up Late Latin, Vulgar Latin, and Medieval Latin. It has also been linked to ideas about society and religion, which has made it less popular with modern scholars.

As Teuffel's idea of the Golden Age and Silver Age is widely accepted, the list of authors usually starts after the Silver Age ended. Teuffel said the Silver Age ended in 138 CE with the death of Hadrian. His next period covers the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, which is often called Late Antiquity.

Cyprian

Starting in 1877, English literary historians have included the years between the end of the Silver Age and the start of Teuffel's next period in Silver Latin. This means the Silver Age ends around 180 CE with the death of the last of the five good emperors. Other events, like the end of the Nervan–Antonine dynasty in 192 CE, are also used. A round date of 200 CE is often chosen to avoid overlap.

The shift from Late Latin to Medieval Latin is not easy to pin down. Some say Medieval Latin started around 200 CE and includes late antiquity. Others say Late Latin ended in the early 6th century with the death of Boethius, after the Goths took over Italy.

Constantine the Great

Some believe Latin continued as a lingua franca until the Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne. By 813 CE, church leaders decided to preach in a language the people could understand, which was the beginning of Romance languages. By 900 CE, Late Latin was no longer used widely.

Through the death of Boethius

Images

A beautiful 14th-century painting by Simone Martini showing Saint Augustine, an important figure in Christian history.
Portrait of Decimus Magnus Ausonius, a Roman poet and official from the late 4th century.

Related articles

Medieval Latin
Vulgar Latin
Lingua franca
Late antiquity
Iberian Peninsula
Classical Latin

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Late Latin, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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