A treatise on an arbitrary topic, which usually has an educational character, is called a treatise. As a rule, the treatise deals with spiritual, cultural, social and political, moral, scientific or even philosophical questions. In contrast to the essay with which the type of text is related, the purpose is in the foreground and not the aesthetic claim. Tracts are therefore prose. Once the treatise also meant flight and dispositions, today the term pamphlet is more common, also state treaties were designated as tracts.
Term
The term is derived from the Latin noun tractatus, which can be translated with treatise and also discussion. The term has been documented since ancient times, but nowadays it is negatively connotated and, in some cases, is rather devaluing. This is probably due to the fact that such writings had their high in the Middle Ages and had mostly religious-dogmatic character. They should therefore instruct and underwrite the Christian faith and often serve the moral edification.
The negative taste of the word is especially evident in the diminutive, ie the diminutive form. The Traktätchen is the derogatory term for a [religious, moral] edification. The meaning of the Scriptures is weakened by the vernal. In English (tract) or in French (traité) there is such a valuation by the reduction however not.
Characteristics of text location
Short overview: The characteristics of the text location at a glance
The treatise denotes a treatise on any subject. In ancient Greece the focus was on the distribution of philosophical ideas. In the Middle Ages tract literary literature was further developed in that religious themes were the main focus, and Scripture served to instruct their readers morally or religiously.
In the High Middle Ages (11th – 13th century), the content spectrum was gradually expanded, so that not only moral, philosophical or theological questions were at the forefront, but almost every area of knowledge was dealt with in tract literary literature.
Today, tracts are mainly used to spread political or religious ideas and ideologies. As a rule, no scientific claim is made. Rather, it is about presenting a topic comprehensibly and convincingly. Discourses of this kind are rarely distributed in the book trade, but rather distributed in the pedestrian zone.
In addition, tracts are often used when a more closed worldview or dogmatic ideas are to be conveyed. An appellative style often dominates. If a thought is examined rather playfully, which means that it is expandable and thus not completed, most authors put on the essay.
Nevertheless, tracts in the 20th and 21st centuries have become rare, although some examples can be found. Hermann Hesses Tractatus of the Steppenwolf, Ludwig Wittgenstein’s work Tractatus logico-philosophicus, which deals with linguistic philosophy as well as Walter Benjamin’s origin of the German tragedy.
Full texts: Tractatus logico-philosophicus (1921), origin of the German Trauerspiel (1925)
Note: Regarding the genus, ie the grammatical gender, both the male form (the tractate) and the neuter form (the tract) are common.
architectural treatise
The architectural treatise is a graphic or literary treatise, which clarifies architectural problems as well as connections. Mainly in the Renaissance, but also in the Baroque period, the architectural tract was one of the most important media to spread architectural ideas. The invention of book printing also contributed enormously to the circulation of such writings.
Such writings served as practical building instructions in many areas. In particular, the focus was on the five pillars which describe the relationship between the column and the entablature, as well as the architecture of Roman antiquity. Such writings were less marked by text, but were largely based on sketches and illustrated building instructions.
Important architectural tracts are, among others, De architectura libri decem (ca. 30 BC) by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, De re aedificatoria (1485) by Leon Battista Alberti, as well as Sette libri d’architettura (1551) by Sebastiano Serlio and Regole delle cinque ordini d’architettura of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola.
Modern architecture plays a subordinate role, since film and photography also provide a clear overview of international architectural creativity. Nevertheless, in the twentieth century, it was also possible to transfer architectural knowledge or opinions.
Short overview: D