17 Facts About Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages.

Medieval Latin functioned as the main medium of scholarly exchange, as the liturgical language of the Church, and as the working language of science, literature, law, and administration.

Medieval Latin represented a continuation of Classical Latin and Late Latin, with enhancements for new concepts as well as for the increasing integration of Christianity.

Ecclesiastical Latin refers specifically to the form that has been used by the Roman Catholic Church, whereas Medieval Latin refers to all of the forms of Latin used in the Middle Ages.

Medieval Latin would be replaced by educated humanist Renaissance Latin which then developed into New Latin.

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Medieval Latin had an enlarged vocabulary, which freely borrowed from other sources.

Medieval Latin was spread to areas such as Ireland and Germany, where Romance languages were not spoken, and which had never known Roman rule.

Works written in those lands where Latin was a learned language, having no relation to the local vernacular, influenced the vocabulary and syntax of medieval Latin.

Influence of Vulgar Latin was apparent in the syntax of some medieval Latin writers, although Classical Latin continued to be held in high esteem and studied as models for literary compositions.

Whereas Latin had no definite or indefinite articles, medieval writers sometimes used forms of unus as an indefinite article, and forms of ille as a definite article or even quidam as something like an article.

The accusative and infinitive construction in classical Medieval Latin was often replaced by a subordinate clause introduced by quod or quia.

Medieval Latin had ceased to be a living language and was instead a scholarly language of the minority of educated men in medieval Europe, used in official documents more than for everyday communication.

Also, many undistinguished scholars had limited education in "proper" Medieval Latin, or had been influenced in their writings by Vulgar Medieval Latin.

Corpus of medieval Latin literature encompasses a wide range of texts, including such diverse works as sermons, hymns, hagiographical texts, travel literature, histories, epics, and lyric poetry.

Many medieval Latin works have been published in the series Patrologia Latina, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum and Corpus Christianorum.

Medieval Latin was separated from Classical Latin around 800 and at this time was no longer considered part of the everyday language.

One of Medieval Latin's purposes, writing, was still in practice; the main uses being charters for property transactions and to keep track of the pleadings given in court.