Ricerc@Sapienza

Some examples from the world of grammar are chosen as an observatory for the attitude to intellectual play in the Middle Ages: from the playful grammar of Virgilio Marone Grammatico (VII century), to poetic enigmas of Aldelmo of Malmesbury and the others grammarian enigmists coming from England and Ireland (VII-VIII centuries), up to Alcuin and Fredugisus of Tours , the Carmen Buranum 71 and the ludic inspiration of Boncompagno da Signa (ca. 1175-after 1240). In the very different historical and cultural circumstances of the long period of time considered, from the silence of the islands schools to the noise of the Bologna studium, the game with the words of the grammarians is never just a question of entertainment but a do to redo, if not the world, at least language.