The Großes Latinum

In short

“Großes Latinum” (“great Latinum”) means two things: informally, it often refers to the regular Latinum under the agreement of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK). In Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein, however, it is a separate level above the Latinum, with more demanding texts by Cicero, Livy or Tacitus.

Two meanings

When people say “Großes Latinum”, they usually mean the Latinum as opposed to the Kleines Latinum. The University of Duisburg-Essen in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, uses it that way, where the official name is simply “Latinum”.

Some states, however, award a Großes Latinum as a separate level above the Latinum. So if a university or an employer asks for the Großes Latinum, it is worth clarifying first which one is meant.

Where it is a separate level

Baden-Württemberg: exam at the regional council (Regierungspräsidium) on Cicero’s philosophical and rhetorical writings; the Latinum there is examined on Cicero’s speeches.
Saxony-Anhalt: texts by Tacitus, Livy and Cicero; in writing about 180 words in 180 minutes as for the Latinum, only the level of the text is higher.
Hamburg: a “more demanding text by Cicero”.
Schleswig-Holstein: Tacitus.
Bremen: at school after at least seven years of Latin, two of them in the qualification phase of the upper school.
Lower Saxony also awards the Großes Latinum.

The exact rules are available from the state’s school authority or examination office and may change.

What degree programmes require

Examination regulations usually require “the Latinum”, for example for Classical Archaeology, for Theology or for teacher training in some subjects; for ordination in Protestant theology, the Graecum (Greek) and Hebraicum (Hebrew) as well. They rarely ask explicitly for a “Großes” Latinum above the Latinum. Medicine no longer requires a Latinum, but a course in medical terminology. What counts is always your own university’s examination regulations.

The way there

Latinum or Großes Latinum: both start with the same foundations – forms, syntax and vocabulary – followed by a lot of reading. Disce ludens practises the foundations up to reading Caesar, with graded hints. Cicero, Livy or Tacitus you then read in a course or through targeted reading. The app is in German: exercises, hints and meanings are German, as in the original.

Try it

A real exercise from Disce ludens:

Disce ludens II · Lesson 5 · The relative pronoun, card 11

Amici, ________ visitavi, aegroti sunt.

Fill in the relative pronoun.

What Disce ludens does – and what it doesn’t

What Disce ludens does

Secures the foundations on which all reading builds.
Also practises advanced topics such as relative pronouns, the subjunctive and participles in Disce ludens II.
Helps you brush up when it has been a long time since you studied Latin at school.

What it doesn’t do

No reading of Cicero, Livy or Tacitus.
No preparation for a specific state exam.
No certificate: the Großes Latinum is only awarded through school or an exam.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Großes Latinum?

Informally, the regular Latinum as opposed to the Kleines Latinum. In Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein it is also a separate level above the Latinum.

What is the difference between the Latinum and the Großes Latinum?

Where the Großes Latinum is a separate level, more difficult texts are examined: in Baden-Württemberg Cicero’s philosophical and rhetorical writings instead of his speeches, in Saxony-Anhalt Tacitus, Livy and Cicero. In Saxony-Anhalt the length and duration of the exam are the same as for the Latinum.

Do I need the Großes Latinum for my degree?

Usually “the Latinum” is required, rarely a level above it explicitly. What counts is your own university’s examination regulations.

Do you need a Latinum for medicine?

No. The licensing regulations for doctors (Approbationsordnung) provide for a practical course in medical terminology instead.