French Literature (former French Literature I)

(in French)

The course focuses on the medieval period and in part of the 16^th century. Extracts from different kinds of poetry such as epic poetry, roman, short poems, and Renaissance sonnets are read both in the original and in modern French translations. Emphasis is given to the subject matter of medieval poetry especially the fin' amor, i.e. the troubadours' conception of love. This conception describes the relation between lovers using the feudal vocabulary (with the woman in the place of the feudal lord and the man in that of its vassal). At the same time, this relation is always placed outside the wedlock.

The course runs in parallel with the course “French Civilization” which studies France from the point of view of political history. This one studies the literature of the same period. The two courses are conceived as a unit that aims to familiarize those who take them with French medieval history and culture.

Danier Bergez (εκδ.), Précis de littérature française, 3d ed. Paris 2009

Michel Zinc, Littérature française du Moyen Âge, Paris 1997