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Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin
NameMedieval Latin
FamilycolorIndo-European
RegionMost of western Europe
StatesNumerous small states
NationMost states
ScriptLatin alphabet
Extinctreplaced by Renaissance Latin
Fam2Italic
Imagesize250px
ImagecaptionCarmina Cantabrigiensia, Medieval Latin manuscript
MapcaptionEurope, 1000 AD
Fam3Latino-Faliscan
Fam4Latin
Linglistlat-med

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Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors, medieval Latin should not be confused with Ecclesiastical Latin. There is no real consensus on the exact boundary where Late Latin ends and medieval Latin begins. Some scholarly surveys begin with the rise of early Ecclesiastical Latin in the middle of the 4th century, others around the year 500 AD, and still others with the replacement of written Late Latin by written Romance languages starting around the year 900 (see under Late Latin).


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