This volume addresses the idea of the Baroque in European literature in Latin. With contributions by scholars from various disciplines and countries, and by looking at a range of texts from across Europe, the volume offers case studies to deepen scholarly understanding of this important literary phenomenon and inspire future research.

A key aim of the volume is to address the distinctiveness of these texts by interrogating the usefulness and specificity of the term ‘Baroque’, especially in relation to the classical rules it transgresses to produce effects of grandeur, richness, and exuberance in a range of secular and sacred arts (e.g. music, architecture, painting), as well as various forms of literature (e.g. prose, poetry, drama). The contributors consider how and why Latin writing mutated from earlier humanist paradigms, thus exploring how ideas of ‘early modern’ and ‘Baroque’ are related, and examine the interplay of the theory and practice of the ‘Baroque’, including its debts to and deviations from ancient models, and its limits and limitations.