Critical analysis of Medieval Texts : Middle French [ LROM1330 ]

Course Materials: An anthology of medieval French literature, an Old French grammar, and a history of medieval French literature. Supplementary documents containing text, images and sound-recordings (PDF, JPEG et Mp3) will be made available on iCampus in the course of the semester.

To have had an introduction to Old French  (12th - 13th centuries).

The course focuses on a series of texts and extracts from the 14th and 15th centuries representative of different literary genres and different techniques of writing : prose, poetry, dérimage (converting verse into prose), lyric insertion, translation and the prosimetrum).  There will be special emphasis on thematic and stylistic analysis of the texts as well as the emergence of strong authorial figures such as Guillaume de Machaut and François Villon.

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 which mark the transition between Old French (12th and 13th centuries) and Middle French  (14th and 15th centuries)
- translate into modern French, using linguistic tools, a short extract in Middle French which has not been translated or analysed previously 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.
 

The oral exam evaluates students' linguistic and literary skills in dealing with predetermined authors and texts. Students will also be asked to translate a passage that has not been seen in class.

Lectures with a variety of teaching material: reading of extracts, Key-Note,  multimedia material

After a general introduction on the main innovations in the language of the 14^th and 15^th centuries, the lectures will focus on the explanation and the literary analysis of the selected extracts. Students will be required to make their own translation of the text which will then form the subject of an in-depth analysis in class.

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

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