Literature and Society in the Middle Ages
Code: 103368 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2501913 English and French | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2501913 English and French | OT | 4 | 0 |
| 2502533 French Studies | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2502533 French Studies | OT | 4 | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Antoni Rossell Mayo
- Email:
- Antoni.Rossell@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
It is not
Objectives and Contextualisation
The subject offers an introduction to the Romanesque literature of the 11th and 14th centuries, in
the different Romance languages and in the medieval Latin language in which it is
reflects medieval society, and an overview of the intellectuals, the world
aristocratic, the bourgeois world, the church and the people. Topics such as the
plurilingualism, oral tradition and music. Commented readings of the
medieval texts whose translation will be facilitated by the teacher
literary tradition and the cultural context of Latin and Romanesque tradition. The subject
delves into the commentary of medieval literary texts, with the aim of
familiarize the student with the different social classes of medieval society.
The student must make oral and written comments on medieval literary texts
and to know the basic bibliography and the one that the professor has mentioned and commented in the
classes.
Competences
- English and French
- Comparative and multicultural different medieval Romance literature study.
- Establish guidelines for definition of medieval literary genres from oral or written nature.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- French Studies
- Analysing the various medieval romance literatures from a contrastive and multicultural perspective.
- Establish guidelines for definition of medieval literary genres from oral or written nature.
- Knowing the beginning of European literature in medieval romance languages.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
Learning Outcomes
- Analysing oral and written medieval literary documents.
- Analysing romance literatures in their social, religious and political context.
- Analyze medieval oral and written literary documents.
- Arguing about several issues and literary problems for the purpose of different works and the assessment of the results.
- Being able to define the medieval literary genres.
- Being able to perform a comparative analysis of the various multicultural medieval Romance literatures.
- Conceptually analysing a work of the subject matter.
- Critically interpreting literary works taking into account the relationships between the different areas of literature and its relationships with human, artistic and social areas.
- Describing the first medieval linguistic and literary monuments.
- Identifying and analysing texts coming from the European literary tradition.
- Identifying the main ideas of a related text and drawing a diagram.
- Student must be capable of defining the medieval literary genres.
- Students must be capable of carrying out a comparative and multicultural analysis of the various medieval romance literatures.
Content
1. Latin world and Romanesque world, the contemporary divorce of a medieval marriage. Plurilingualism: "Les sermentsdef Strasbourg". Latin and Old French, Occitan, Germanic language, Breton, Welsh. Chronological framework.
Ancient or classical matter. The matter of Brittany. The matter of France
2. Religious world and pagan world: Time and daily life. The liturgical time
and literary time. The monastic field in the creation and dissemination of the literary work. The world
monastic: monks, nuns, scriptoria.
3. History and literature: Alfonso X. The chronicles. Jean de Froissart. The “sirventès”: The
crusade of the Albigensians and Peire Cardenal.
4. Orality in Medieval Literature. Written culture and orality: troubadours and clergy.
Literary repercussions of oral transmission
5. "Performance" and literature: Minstrels and liturgical theater. Music and performance.
6. Medieval music
7. "Courtesy" as an aristocratic ethic: Courteous love and courtesanism. Bernart
of Ventadorn and Chrétien de Troyes. The cavalry
8. Alternative Literary World: Intellectuals in the Middle Ages. The Goliards. The
Universities.
9. Literature and female voice. The "cantigas de amigo". The autobiography.
10. Popular world and aristocratic world: The Fabliaux.
11. Pilgrimages. Santiago of Compostela de Compostela, Sant
Denis and Jerusalem. The Crusades.
12. Aristocracy and medieval mysticism: The Beguines. Hildegard of Bingen. Mysticism and
intellectuality: Rutebeuf. Mysticism and social movements: Catharism.
Methodology
Generally, the learning process will be directed through a number of techniques and activities:
- Masterclass supported by the use of ICT and students’ discussion
- Practice of written and oral production
- Individual and group exercises, both written and oral
- Out of Class assignments: reading of primary and critical sources, writing and bibliographic search.
- Feedback sessions for the correction and assessment of exercises and activities.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Develop a theme of the program and expose it in class | 10 | 0.4 | 7, 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 8, 5, 12, 13, 6 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| The King Alfonso X: medieval society and literature | 10 | 0.4 | 7, 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 8, 5, 12, 13, 6 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Love and litterature | 20 | 0.8 | 7, 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 8, 5, 12, 13, 6 |
Assessment
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE: The competences of this subject will be assessed through written tests, individual and group work, text commentaries and oral presentations.
-Paper submission module: A minimum of two papers will be required in this module. Results will value 45% of the final mark.
-Module for presentations of texts in the classroom: 25%.
-Module of written tests: 30%.
At the time of each assessment task, students will be informed through Moodle about the procedure and the date of the review of results.
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
ABSENT: Students will be considered absent if they have completed less than 30% of the work assigned during the course and 30% less of the tests. Therefore, if they have done more than 30% of each part, they will be assessed.
REMEDIATION: Students are required to have been awarded marks previously in a set of activities that score at least 2/3 of the total mark. Only students with an average mark equal or higher than 3.5 will be eligible for remediation. Activities such as oral presentations, group work, or those related to daily teaching may not be eligible for remediation.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of thesame subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Total and partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered a FAIL. Plagiarism means deliberately or accidentally using someone else’s work, whether a single sentence or more, as if it were your own. This includes copying sentences or whole paragraphs from digital documents on the Internet and it can have very serious consequences, which is why it is important to follow good academic practices and to reference your work properly.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literary text commentary module | 25% | 20 | 0.8 | 7, 2, 11, 8, 5, 13, 6 |
| Module for presentations of texts in the classroom | 25% | 30 | 1.2 | 7, 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 8, 5, 12, 13, 6 |
| Module of written tests | 30% | 20 | 0.8 | 7, 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 8, 5, 12, 13, 6 |
| Paper submission | 45% | 40 | 1.6 | 7, 3, 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 8, 5, 12, 13, 6 |
Bibliography
Aurell, Martin, La Vielle et l’Épée. Troubadours et politique en Provence au XIII siècle,
Paris, Aubier, 1989.
Badel, Pierre-Yves, Introduction a la vie littéraire du Moyen Age, Bordas, Paris, 1969
Bezzola,Reto , Les origines et la formation de la littérature courtoise en Occident (500-
1200), París, Champion, 1944-1963 (reedició Ginebra: Slatkine, 1984)
Buc, Philippe, L’ambiguïté du livre. Prince, pouvoir et peuple dans les commentaires
de la Bible, Paris, Beauchesne, 1994.
Bumke, Joachim, Höfische Kultur. Literatur und Gesellschaft im hohen Mittelalter,
Múnich, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1986
Foucault, Michel, L’Archéologie du Savoir, Paris, Gallimard, 1969
Valida
García de Cortázar, José Ángel, i Sesma Muñoz,José Ángel ,Historia de la Edad
Media. Una síntesis interpretativa, Madrid, Alianza Universidad, 1997
Hauser, Arnold, Història social de l'art i de la literatura , Barcelona : Edicions 62, 1966
Meneghetti,Maria Luisa, Il pubblico dei trovatori. La ricezione della poesia cortese fino
al XIV secolo, Turín, Einaudi, 19922
Pirot, François, Recherches sur les connaissances littéraires des troubadours occitans
et catalans des XIIe et XIIIe siècles, Barcelona, Real Academia de Buenas Letras,
1972.
Verger, Jacques, Les gens de savoir en Europe à la fin du Moyen Âge, Paris, PUF,
1997.