Description

---

The long eighteenth century is often seen as the age 'when Europe spoke French'. After all, many of the leading figures of the Enlightenment were French and even a good number of authors in other countries chose this language to reach an audience beyond the borders of their homeland. Latin may have served a similar purpose in the Renaissance, but by the eighteenth century its importance quickly declined. This view is simplistic and misleading and this volume seeks to refute it. The essays presented in this book demonstrate Latin continued to play a highly important role during the long eighteenth century, both within Europe and in interactions between the 'West' and the rest of the world. It sheds light on the reasons why Latin remained a key factor in eighteenth-century culture, as well as the contexts in which it was used. In so doing, this volume makes a significant contribution to current debates on the nature of the Enlightenment and its place in global history.

About the Author

---

Floris Verhaart is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Warwick. His research comprises the history of early modern Europe, as well as Neo-Latin Studies. His publications include Classical Learning in Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic (1690-1750): Beyond the Ancients and the Moderns (Oxford, 2020).Laurence Brockliss is emeritus professor of early modern French History at the University of Oxford whose principal area of research is the Republic of Letters and the Enlightenment. His books in the field include French Higher Education in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Oxford, 1987) and Calvet's Web: Enlightenment and the Republic of Letters in Eighteenth-Century France (Oxford, 2002).