Gli 'oratores' come intellettuali urbani

Since Jacques Le Goff's book on ‘les intellectuels’, there has been much debate about the impact of the urban environment on the emergence of new pedagogical models. Following reflection on the birth of the studia, researchers have identified the teaching of the ars dictaminis (more socially inclusive and less clerical) as a further element of novelty. Scholars agree that all these changes took place in the early decades of the 12th century. Within this historiographical framework, I focus on a Latin term that is particularly indicative of the nature of intellectuals: 'orator'. I will then specify the moments, places, and ways in which the word underwent a semantic change from ‘prayer’ to ‘professional speaker’.