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The ‘Institut de latin Beatus Rhenanus’ (ILBR) is a department that brings together teachers and researchers of Latin language/literature and Roman civilization from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Strasbourg.  In 1998, the department took on the name ‘Beatus Rhenanus’, in honor of the Alsatian humanist (1485-1547) who was one of the most outstanding  scholars of his time and friend of the ‘Prince of the Humanists’, Erasmus of Rotterdam. The author of several works in Latin, Beatus Rhenanus worked enthusiastically on the editing of ancient texts, both classical and Christian, and helped to develop philological methodology. Thanks to regular contact with the great scholars of his generation he transformed the region of Alsace into a humanist centre of utmost importance in the very heart of Europe. By placing itself under the patronage of this illustrious scholar the ‘Institut de Latin’ at the University of Strasbourg wished to underscore its anchoring in the humanist tradition, its European (and, more broadly, international) ambitions as well as its embracing of all forms of Latin literature.

The ‘Institut de latin Beatus Rhenanus’ has six employed teachers/researchers assisted by an ATER and PhD students. All work together to train students in Latin, both within the context of studies undertaken in the department of Classics and Modern Languages of the Faculty of Arts, as well as for all other students of the University wishing to discover or deepen their knowledge of Latin language and literature.

In addition to Latin instruction at all levels, we offer courses in Latin literature and Roman civilization that incorporate all aspects of Latin culture from the Classical Period through to Late Antiquity and up to Latin literature of the Renaissance period. The diverse specialties of the institute’s teachers/researchers allows students to discover and work with Latin texts dating from antiquity to the Renaissance. For Master and Doctoral degrees, the following can be considered as the institute’s strong points: Classical, Late Antiquity and Christian religious literature, literature from the imperial period (poetry, rhetoric and history) and Rhine-area humanism.

Our teaching is based on the research conducted by the institute’s teachers/researchers. The majority of this research fits into the framework of the so-called ‘Analyse des Rhétoriques Religieuses de l’Antiquité’ (C.A.R.R.A.), one of the three research units of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Strasbourg (UR 3094).

With regard to both teaching and research, the ‘Institut de latin Beatus Rhenanus’ maintains formal relations with several overseas universities, and in particular with the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), the Università Federico II di Napoli (Italy), the Université Laval de Québec (Canada) and the University of Tunis (Tunisia).