Project description
Bilingualism as a phenomenon of the Renaissance
Classical bilingualism, which gained popularity during the Renaissance and was championed by authors such as Erasmus (1466-1536), played a significant role in shaping Europe’s cultural identities. This was evident through the Republic of Letters, where the practice of switching between Latin and Greek became a daily occurrence, especially after Manuel Chrysoloras began teaching Greek in Florence in 1397. The ERC-funded ERASMOS project challenges the conventional belief that Latin-Greek bilingualism was primarily an ancient phenomenon. It will create a comprehensive heatmap of European humanism by cataloguing classical bilingual sources from the extended 15th century in a database. Digital tools will be developed to analyse literary multilingualism and study classical bilingualism.
Objective
ERASMOS hypothesizes that, in contrast to the tenet, the great age of Latin-Greek bilingualism, especially in its written form, is not to be situated in antiquity. Instead, classical bilingualism flourished in the Renaissance, a pivotal period in canonizing classics. After 1397, when M. Chrysoloras started teaching Greek in Florence, classical bilingualism developed into an authorial ideal championed by writers like Erasmus (d.1536). This ideal pervaded countless genres, far beyond classical standards. It turned into a common practice shaping Europe’s cultural identities across the Republic of Letters, where Latin-Greek code-switching occurred on a daily basis.
ERASMOS opens a new research avenue on Renaissance classical bilingualism in its own right, which offers broader opportunities. The project has 3 main aims. (1) It inventories classical bilingual sources from the long 15th century (1397–1536) in a database, in order to create a new detailed heatmap of European humanism. (2) It develops digital tools for the analysis of literary multilingualism, leading to a new form of digital humanities-assisted close-reading. Most notably, the novel “tongueprint” tool will allow us to automatically calculate the linguistic make-up of texts. This tongueprint aims to further integrate multilingualism into Neo-Latin studies by cross-fertilizing the field with historical sociolinguistics. (3) ERASMOS analyzes through DH-assisted close-reading the forms and functions of classical bilingualism, in comparison to its ancient pendant, thus testing the core project hypothesis.
ERASMOS, in sum, brings cultural-historical and digital-conceptual innovation. The tools developed will benefit humanities studies more broadly and will help us save a key part of European cultural history from oblivion. The project promises major advances in the study of Europe’s classical bilingualism, which connected the continent’s brightest minds in an age that fell prey to divisive ideological forces.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3000 LEUVEN
Belgium
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