Bellum Grammaticale and the Rise of European Literature

The now-forgotten genre of the bellum grammaticale flourished in the sixteenth- and seventeenth centuries as a means of satirizing outmoded cultural institutions and promoting new methods of instruction. In light of works written in Renaissance Italy ancien régime France and baroque Germany (Andrea Guarna's Bellum Grammaticale [1511] Antoine Furetière's Nouvelle allégorique [1658] and Justus Georg Schottelius' Horrendum Bellum Grammaticale [1673]) this study explores early modern representations of language as war. While often playful in form and intent the texts examined address serious issues of enduring relevance: the relationship between tradition and innovation the power of language to divide and unite peoples and canon-formation. Moreover the author contends the language wars illuminate the shift from a Latin-based understanding of learning to the acceptance of vernacular erudition and the emergence of national literature.