Critical analysis of Medieval Texts : Ancient French [ LROM1230 ]

An anthology of texts, in syllabus form, together with a manual on medieval French grammar and a history of French medieval literature. Other written documents, illustrations and sound recordings  (in PDF, JPEG and Mp3) will be put on iCampus as the course progresses.

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The course focuses on a series of texts extracts from the 12th and 13th centuries representative of four literary genres, namely the novel, the epic, lyric poetry and the short story. Each of the selected extracts will be analysed in detail both from a linguistic perspective (lexis, morphology, syntax, phonetics) as well as a literary and stylistic perspective. There will be special emphasis on phenomena involving the  literary technique of each of the genres, particularly the formulaic style of the Chansons de Geste, the technique of 'conjointure' or  'interlinking' characteristic of romance literature, the aesthetics of brevity for stories and fables.

By the end of the course, students will have acquired linguistic and literary skills which will enable them to :
- understand and recognise the main linguistic characteristics of 12th and 13th century French  (lexis, morphology, syntax, phonetics)
- translate into modern French all the extracts from the different texts analysed in class
- carry out literary analysis of the texts in the syllabus, particularly the extracts analysed in class
- place the texts and the authors in the syllabus in the context of their production.
 

Oral exam on the texts covered in class. Students must be able to translate into modern French and place the texts in their literary contexts. A good performative reading of the text would be highly appreciated.

Lectures with a variety of teaching material: reading of extracts, Key-Note,  multimedia material and practical work sessions

After a general introduction to the linguistic characteristics of Old French, the lectures will mainly focus on the explanation and literary analysis of the selected extracts. The practical exercise sessions will be mainly devoted to linguistic analysis.

The bibliography will be available in the syllabus and on iCampus.

The exercise sessions are taken by Mrs Florence Ninitte