Zwischen germanischem Hochmittelalter und deutschem Humanismus: Das Wiederaufleben der antiquarischen Tradition im England des 16. Jahrhunderts

In the history of the modern West, the intense doctrinal debate that inflamed Catholic and reformed theologians yielded, among its consequences, a cultural militancy capable of fostering a new discussion be-tween religion and historiographical, political, as well as literary, studies. Thanks to an unprecedented philological endeavour, and to the study of the evolution of Christianity, the Reformation exerted a considerable influence both on the literary perspective and on linguistic reflection, contributing to determining in an ideological sense the definition of that uncertain set of chronological references that the Anglo-American culture describes as Middle Ages (see f.ex. Delogu 1994; Sergi 1998; Pandemiglio 2002). From the turbulent period that followed the rise to the English throne of Elizabeth I Tudor, the reflexes of a rich cultural exchange between the English reformers and German historians and philologists seem to emerge. A leading role in this Anglo-German exchange process was played by the Croatian theologian Matthias Vlačić 'Ilirik', a scholar of international renown, promoter of a new philological accuracy and long en-gaged in the investigation of the oldest phases of the German language and literature.