Language of the Catholic Church and Western Civilization
Links are tucked away in the dozens and dozen of posts on this blog. And since sometimes I update old posts months later with related new finds, even if you have read every post here from the beginning, you may find something you hadn't seen in the below new list!
"Church Latin" is the informal, snappier-sounding term for the more scholarly phrase Ecclesiastical Latin, or the occasionally-used Medieval Latin. All of these terms are used to denote something different from "Classical Latin"--the Latin used by, say, Julius Caesar. Church Latin was (and is!) the Latin used by the Catholic Church for two thousand years--thus, where... Continue Reading →
Dear Stella, Could you explain to me what the benefits of reading Latin would be? A blunt way to put this is--what makes learning Latin worth my time? I'm not Catholic, and think learning Latin would be cool. Can you explain to me what the cultural implications were with the importance of Latin? What did... Continue Reading →
I was once a beginning Latin student and teenage Great Books reader: and all because elders of countless generations led me to believe that studying Classical Languages could make me more and better. I had no reason not to believe them...
Starting now, you need to think differently about language than you probably have been. Language is about meaning, not about words.
I found Gwynne's Latin a delightful read. I have a Victorian-era mindset and tastes, and I will always be a huge fan of the Grammar-Translation pedagogy (called 'Drill-and-Kill' by non-fans) that I started my Via Latína with. This book is a direct and concise explanation of the most important rules of Latin, with stern and... Continue Reading →
I'll lead with my current favorite of these gems I've recently uncovered: Love that one! What a shame the study of Latin has fallen out of popularity in the British isles compared to what it once was, and more importantly, may England be Catholic again very soon! Speaking of Latin and the British, here is... Continue Reading →
Did you know that the tune for the Victorian-era Christmas song "Good King Wenceslas" is from a much older song, from the Age of Faith (c. 1300s)? And did you know that the words to that original song are all about Spring?
I just got an interesting e-mail about Latin grammar this morning. I will try to give a short/simple answer...hopefully I will do just enough explaining!
DE MAGISTRO QUI LEGIT IN AERE ET IN AQUA I just found this passage the other day in Charles H. Beeson’s A Primer of Medieval Latin, p.47-48 (in the Public Domain, c. 1925). Beeson excerpted it from the sermons of James of Vitry, cardinal bishop of Tusculum (died 1240). (It is just the kind of... Continue Reading →
As promised on the post for the original project: I have now collected the last year's-worth of TLM Gospels that I had been coloring by case throughout the year, and have now arranged them, starting naturally with the Sundays of Advent, in chronological order--and turned them into a PDF! Note: This first version of this... Continue Reading →
Every Christian needs to have this one memorized! Color-coded version to help with your translation here.
Learn Church Latin 