Aims

To initiate ROM 12 students to Middle French (13th - 15th century) by developing knowledge acquired in ROM 1230: following the first two years of study, students should be familiar with the two successive linguistic states of French during the Middle Ages. To present more specific types of Middle French literary productions, drawing special attention to writing techniques.

Main themes

Lecture course. Introduction to the main characteristics of Middle French (13th - 15th century) as compared to Old French, followed by a brief historical survey of the progress in the linguistic states of the language. Reading and commentary of texts representing the different genres, taking into account grammatical and lexical difficulties and focussing more particularly than in ROM 1230 on stylistic facts and the problems linked to the conception and writing of literary works. This slightly different approach is intended to broaden the horizon of problems faced with by students in the study of Medieval texts, and it responds to the emergence, more pronounced than in Old French, of relatively well defined author personalities. Students are encouraged to review texts on their own throughout the year and to enrich the explanations provided with questions. By the end of year, they should be able to prepare the commentary of a given text on their own.

Content and teaching methods

A continuation of "Medieval French Authors I" (ROM 1230), the course is devoted to Middle French (14th - 15th century) approached through texts representing the period. Beyond linguistic and stylistic explanations, emphasis is placed on problems of literary themes and techniques.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Assessment: oral exam on texts covered during the course and their temporal literary context, and on a text not covered in class, prepared by the student.
Course Materials: for the moment, a personal choice of texts (anthologies on the period are often made up of modernised texts), with the support of the works used in ROM 1230.

Other credits in programs