The Neo-Latin Epigram

The epigram is certainly one of the most intriguing, while at the same time most elusive, genres of Neo-Latin literature. From the end of the fifteenth century, almost every humanist writer who regarded himself a true ‘poeta’ had composed a respectable number of epigrams. Given our sense of poetical aesthetics, be it idealistic, post-idealistic, modern or post-modern, the epigrammatic genre is difficult to understand. Because of its close ties with the historical and social context, it does not fit any of these aesthetic approaches. By presenting various epigram writers, collections and subgenres from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, this volume offers a first step towards a better understanding of some of the features of humanist epigram literature.

Contributions by: Karl A.E. Enenkel, Stephan Busch, Marc D. Lauxtermann, Jan Bloemendal, Donatella Coppini, David Rijser, Susanna De Beer, Christoph Pieper, Han Lamers, Maarten Jansen, Tobias Leuker, Juliette A. Groenland, Johannes Jansen, Moniek van Oosterhout, Ingrid D. Rowland.