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The Knight, the Lady, and the King: Courtly Love and Chivalry in Medieval French Romance

TBD

Spring 2007
Course Description

Romantic love, as we know it, is not a universal in the human condition. It is a historical construct that first came into being, in the West, in medieval France. The same is true for the notion of knightly honor and chivalry. This course will focus on the structure and functioning of the new cultural entities and on the "romances" in which they flourished. Medieval romance, the dominant narrative genre of the time, predates and leads up to our modern novel. We shall scrutinize the relationship of literature to historical reality (the mindset of a feudal-aristocratic and classical-Christian culture, attitudes toward women, etc.) and the workings of the literature itself, with special attention to the creation of myth (the Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times) and the relevance of such books to the reader of today. Students will learn to analyze texts in a more sophisticated way, using modern critical approaches.

So much of French culture received its impetus and was, to an extent, shaped by the Middle Ages. Gallantry and chivalry, a penchant for the grand passion, courtesy and the importance of form in manners, recognition and cultivation of subtle class differentiation, a problematic view of marriage, a secular response to Christianity, and adulation of the work of art – these traits often ascribed to the French are all to be found in medieval literature.

The reading list will include Lais by Marie de France, the first works treating Tristan and Isolt (by Beroul and Thomas) and early works treating Lancelot, Guinevere, and King Arthur (by Chrétien de Troyes and in The Death of King Arthur). We shall also read a comic work that critiques and satirizes courtly love and the chivalry of the courts: Reynard the Fox. The penchant for critique and satire is also inherent in French culture over the centuries.

Enhancement activities will include visits to appropriate museums and some of the medieval churches and castles located in Paris, such as Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Château de Vincennes, and the Musée de Cluny. Course materials will also be supplemented by an excursion to Troyes, a medieval town not far from Paris, and the Mont-Saint-Michel. A guest speaker will help relate the literature to medieval history.

Course Meetings

The course will meet once weekly for three hours (excluding outside activities and guest lectures). In addition, a number of lectures in the PRC lecture series will take place outside of class—attendance will be mandatory for students enrolled in the course—and the guest lecture directly related to course material will take place in class.

Course Requirements

Evaluation of students’ mastery of material and assimilation of the guest lecture, reading materials, and on-site visits will take place via active evaluation of daily classroom discussion and a final major paper/research project due at the end of the term.

The grading will based on performance under numbers 1 and 2:

UF Policies

All students are required to comply with UF standards of academic honesty and ethical conduct, as embodied in the Student Honor Code. Violations of this commitment may result in disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the University. See the following website for further information: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/academic.php.

Students with disabilities requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office for documentation.

Tentative Schedule
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Contact Information

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William Calin, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

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Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

William Calin
Graduate Research Professor of French

236 Dauer Hall
P.O. Box 115565
Gainesville, Florida 32611-5565
Phone: (352) 273-3768

wcalin@ufl.edu