Latin Course Descriptions
ONLINE ONLY
29 June – 10 July 2026, weekdays: Advanced Latin
13 – 24 July 2026, weekdays: Beginning Latin
27 July – 7 August, weekdays: Intermediate Latin
Online Latin courses and courses offered throughout the year are listed at the Benedictine Institute link here.
IN PERSON ONLY
10 – 21 August 2026, weekdays
No exams – for interest.
No knowledge of the language is presumed. From the first day, you will tackle real Latin from across the centuries, and begin to express yourself in Latin. We will cover:
- All verb times in the indicative
- The active and passive voice
- Command forms
- All noun and adjective groups and most of their usages.
We use the teaching method of Reginald Foster from the First Latin Experience in his book Ossa Latinitatis Sola and its companion volume Ossa Ostensa Book 1 by Laura Pooley.
ONLINE ONLY
13 – 24 July 2026, weekdays
IN PERSON ONLY
10 – 21 August 2026, weekdays
3 hours daily including a break.
Fee: £395
A fuller description of the course is available here.
Contact Clare, the Registrar at this linked email address.
No exams – for interest.
Students entering this level will be expected to have a solid grasp of the topics covered in Beginning Latin. You will read a variety of original Latin texts, spanning many centuries, and write in Latin. We will cover:
- The meaning and uses of the subjunctive mood
- The forms and natural meanings of the four participles
- Various uses of participles including the ablative absolute.
We use the teaching method of Reginald Foster from the Third Latin Experience in his book Ossa Latinitatis Sola and its companion volume Ossa Ostensa Book 2 by Laura Pooley.
This not-for-credit course is designed for students preparing for the exam following the initial semester of Latin at KU Leuven, and the Latin proficiency exam at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, Rome.
ONLINE ONLY
27 July – 7 August 2026, weekdays
IN PERSON ONLY
10 – 21 August 2026, weekdays
3 hours daily including a break.
Fee: £395
A fuller description of the course is available here.
Contact Clare, the Registrar at this linked email address.
Students will encounter Latin literature written by many authors from every age. During this course students will learn and develop their use and practice with the following elements of the Latin language:
-
- The accusative with the infinitive used in indirect discourse and object sentences,
- The gerund and gerundive and the participle of passive necessity,
- Conditional sentences: if … , then … ,
- The 3% use of the sequence of tenses and modal attraction,
- Verbs of doubting, fearing and prohibiting,
- Oblique complements of verbs and their passive construction,
- Specific usages of the dative, genitive, ablative,
- Overviews of:
- 14 ways to express purpose,
- 10 usages of the relative pronoun,
- Positive and negative commands,
We use the teaching method of Reginald Foster from the Fourth Latin Experience in his book Ossa Latinitatis Sola and its forthcoming companion volume Ossa Ostensa Book 3 by Laura Pooley.
The material presumed for this course is listed above for the First and Third Experiences.
Students wishing more instruction are encouraged to enrol also in Reading Ovid, LA813. A discount is offered when enrolling with us in both courses.
ONLINE ONLY
29 June – 10 July 2026, weekdays
IN PERSON ONLY
10 – 21 August 2026, weekdays
3 hours daily including a break.
Cost: £395
A fuller description of the course is available here.
Contact Clare, the Registrar at this linked email address.
No exams – for interest.
Jonathan Day
The Metamorphoses is widely hailed as Ovid’s greatest work, and from its composition in roughly 8 CE to the present day, it has exerted an unparalleled influence on art, music, and culture. Its 15 books cover over 250 mythic narratives.
Our goal will be to read selections from the Metamorphoses slowly and carefully, seeking a deep understanding of the language and an appreciation of Ovid’s poetic rhythms.
We will work in seminar format, teaching and learning from one another. Texts will be provided. Ovid’s Latin is fairly advanced, so participants should have at least completed the Intermediate (Third Experience) program before joining this seminar. It can be taken in conjunction with the Advanced (Fourth Experience) program.
IN PERSON ONLY
10 – 21 August 2026, weekdays
We’ll meet for two hours daily, including a short break.
Fee: £200
Discount fee £175 when this reading course is taken in combination with LA711 Advanced Latin.
A fuller description of the course is available here.
Contact Clare, the Registrar at this linked email address.
FAQs: Frequently asked questions about the summer session
A listing of our courses for the summer of 2025 here.
© James Leachman, O.S.B., page updated by DM on 8 December 2025.