One-day Latin course at Exeter Cathedral

A one-day introduction to Latin will presented by Latin teacher and author, George Sharpley at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 23rd January.

One of the brightest lights of our emergence from the so-called dark ages in the first millennium is the introduction of Latin in the cathedrals of Europe. From this grew schools and universities, most of which have long since parted with their founders.

Latin was the lingua franca of medieval Europe. Monks and churchmen were trained to write Latin in order to produce the religious, administrative and legal texts required of the time. And when the day job was done they turned to the Latin of a previous era.

The great classical writings of Cicero, Virgil and Ovid reflected values of a quite different world; but they were too good to ignore. Stories of mischievous gods and whimsical goddesses were accepted as allegories. So how fitting for Latin to be presented again in these wonderful settings! Not only were churches responsible for teaching classical literature, they also preserved the books in their historic libraries.

On this day-course adult beginners will explore

     •  the Latin language itself
     •  the Latin roots of English words
     •  the historical and social context
     •  and hear Latin read aloud

The Latin poet Virgil, for instance, was regarded as very very special. Come and find out why, in a wonderfully resonant venue to inspire your day.

Limited places: book soon to reserve a place
The LATIN QVARTER
www.lingua.co.uk/latin
latin@lingua.co.uk
Tel: 01452 731113