From the dawn of the early modern period around 1400 until the eighteenth century, Latin was still the European language and its influence extended as far as Asia and the Americas. At the same time, the production of Latin writing exploded thanks to book printing and new literary and cultural dynamics. Latin also entered into a complex interplay with the rising vernacular languages. This Handbook gives an accessible survey of the main genres, contexts, and regions of Neo-Latin, as we have come to call Latin writing composed in the wake of Petrarch (1304-74). Its emphasis is on the period of Neo-Latin's greatest cultural relevance, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Its chapters, written by specialists in the field, present individual methodologies and focuses while retaining an introductory character. The Handbook will be valuable to all readers wanting to orientate themselves in the immense ocean of Neo-Latin literature and culture. It will be particularly helpful for those working on early modern languages and literatures as well as to classicists working on the culture of ancient Rome, its early modern reception and the shifting characteristics of post-classical Latin language and literature. Political, social, cultural and intellectual historians will find much relevant material in the Handbook, and it will provide a rich range of material to scholars researching the history of their respective geographical areas of interest.

Notes on ContributorsAbbreviationsIntroduction, Sarah Knight and Stefan TilgPart I. Language and Genre1 Classical Latin-Mediaeval Latin-Neo-Latin, Keith Sidwell2 Neo-Latin's Interplay with Other Languages, Demmy Verbeke3 Lyric Poetry, Victoria Moul4 Narrative Poetry, Florian Schaffenrath5 Epigram and Occasional Poetry, David Money6 Comedy, Stefan Tilg7 Tragedy, Gary Grund8 Oratory, Marc Van Der Poel9 Political Advice, Erik de Bom10 Historiography, Patrick Baker11 Letters, Jan Papy12 Fiction, Mark T. Riley13 Satire, Ingrid De SmetPart II. Cultural Contexts14 School, Robert Black15 University, Sarah Knight16 Philosophy, Guido Giglioni17 Science and Medicine, Brian Ogilvie18 Contacts with the Arab World, Dag Nikolaus Hasse19 Biblical Humanism, Andrew Taylor20 Catholicism, Jason Harris21 Protestantism, Irena Backus22 Political Action, Marc Laureys23 Gender, Diana Robin24 Social Status, Fran?oise WaquetPart III. Countries and Regions25 Italy, David Marsh26 France, Paul White27 British Isles, Estelle Haan28 German-Speaking Countries, Robert Seidel29 Iberian Peninsula, Alejandro Coroleu and Catarina Fouto30 Low Countries, Dirk Sacr?31 Scandinavia, Peter Zeeberg and Annika Str?m32 East-Central Europe, Cristina Neagu33 Colonial Spanish America and Brazil, Andrew Laird34 North America, Jean-Fran?ois Cottier, Haijo Westra, and John Gallucci35 Asia, No?l GolversGeneral References, Sarah Knight and Stefan Tilg