FREN3611: Speaking of Love in Medieval France: Stories, Songs, and Letters

How did people talk about love in the Middle Ages? What songs did they sing about it? What stories did they tell? How did it define the self? In this course, we will study troubadour songs, short tales, romances, and letters composed in twelfth-century France and Anglo-Norman England. We will examine their historical context: the patronage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her family, the broader context of medieval court life, and the erudite circles that formed during the rise of the Parisian schools. Because what people say is determined by the language, motifs, and forms that they have available to them, we will discuss the transmission of ideas about love and the interpretation of exemplary figures (Tristan and Iseut, Lancelot and Guinevere). We will also consider the literary form of these texts in relation to their meaning. But at the heart of our inquiry will be the notion of the self. How did "speaking of love" allow medieval writers to cultivate their own subjectivity or individuality? Texts will include troubadour songs, the Lais of Marie de France, the romances of Tristan and Iseut by Thomas of England and Béroul, Chrétien de Troyes's Arthurian romances, and the letters of Abelard and Heloise. We will also study a film about Eleanor of Aquitaine and her family (The Lion in Winter, 1968) and a contemporary opera about a troubadour and his lady, Kaija Saariaho's L'Amour de loin (2000). FREN 3611 and 3711 meet together. Both FREN 3611 and 3711 are taught in English. Reading and writing assignments for FREN 3611 are in modern French. FREN 3611 may count towards the major or minor in French Studies. Reading and writing assignments for FREN 3711 are in English. FREN 3711 does not count towards the major or minor in French Studies. prereq: FREN 3015

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