List of European literatures

European literature refers to the literature of Europe.

European literatures, like European languages, are parts of a common heritage. Greek, Latin, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic, Celtic, and Romance languages are all members of the Indo-European family.^[1]

European literature includes literature in many languages; among the most important of the modern written works are those in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Czech and Russian and works by the Scandinavians and Irish.

Important classical and medieval traditions are those in Latin, Ancient Greek, Old Bulgarian, Old Norse, Medieval French and the Italian Tuscan dialect of the renaissance.

The common literary heritage is essentially that originating in ancient Greece and Rome. It was preserved, transformed, and spread by Christianity and thus transmitted to the vernacular languages of the European Continent.^[2] ^[3] To the present day, this body of writing displays a unity in its main features that sets it apart from the literatures of the rest of the world.^[4]^[5]

In colloquial speech, European literature often is used as a synonym for Western literature.^[6]

European literature is a part of world literature.

European literature in the Classical period

Ancient Greek literature

Latin Literature

European literature in the Romance languages

Catalan literature

French literature

Galician literature

Italian literature

Portuguese literature

Romanian literature

Spanish literature

Literature in other Romance languages

European literature in the Germanic languages

Anglic literature

Dutch literature

Germanic literature

North Germanic literature

Literature in other Germanic languages

European literature in the Slavic languages

Belarusian literature

Czech and Slovak literatures

Polish literature

Russian literature

Ukrainian literature

Literature in the South Slavic languages

Western

Eastern

European literature in the Celtic languages

European literature in the Finno-Ugric languages

European literature in other languages

References

^ "Western literature". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
^ "Western literature". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
^ José Orlandis (1993). A Short History of the Catholic Church. Four Courts Press. pp. preface.
^ Travers, Martin (2006). "European Literature from Romanticism to Postmodernism". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
^ Gaskell, Philip (1999). Landmarks in European Literature. Edinburgh University Press. pp. preface.
^ "Western literature". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2014.