Sulle preposizioni nelle carte latine dell’Italia altomedievale

Abstract

This study investigates the use of simple and complex prepositions in 1,866 early medieval Latin charters from Italy, focusing on both classical and non-classical forms. The research provides a quantitative overview of prepositional usage within a subcorpus of Tuscan charters and a qualitative analysis of the grammaticalization of some under-studied non-classical prepositions, such as recta and rectu/-o “along”, fine/-i “until”, longinquo “far from”, propinquo “close to”, and de sub “from under”. A comparative diachronic approach extends beyond early medieval times to explore previous and later evidence when available. While classical prepositions dominate, non-classical formations, which often reflect the emerging Romance features of the spoken vernacular, occur especially in the less formulaic parts of charters.