Matthias Erbacher
Education
B.A. in Italian and History, University of Munich (2023); M.St. in Latin and Greek Languages and Literature, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford (2025); State-Examination in Classics, University of Munich (2026)
Year of Matriculation
2026
Contact
Areas of Interest
Renaissance Neoplatonism and Humanism; Neo-Latin and Renaissance literature; ancient rhetoric and humanist pedagogy; history of classical education; Dante and the classical tradition in the Middle Ages; Latin and Greek teaching, prose & verse composition
Profile
Matthias's research focuses on the influence of Neoplatonism and Renaissance Humanism, with particular attention to the intersection of Platonism, ancient rhetoric, and humanist pedagogy in fifteenth-century Florence. His previous work traces the transmission of classical ideas across periods: his undergraduate dissertation examined Macrobius in Dante's Divina Commedia and his M.St. dissertation investigated Greek παιδεία in St John Chrysostom. He is equally drawn to Neo-Latin literature, the history of classical education, and the active teaching of Latin and Greek as living languages, following the methods of the Accademia Vivarium Novum. Before coming to Notre Dame, he studied at Munich, Palermo, Exeter, and Paris, and read for an M.St. in Latin and Greek Languages and Literature at Oxford (Blackfriars Hall).
Recent Scholarly Activity
- Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse Composition, University of Oxford, 2025
- Chancellor's Prize for Latin Prose Composition, University of Oxford, 2025
- Latin and Greek teacher, Oxford Latinitas, 2022–2026