Questions of Spanish literature during the Middle Ages

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Alvaro Ceballos Viro

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course attempts to present a representative and coherent overview of mediaeval Spanish literature. The initial sessions will provide a general overview: the various genres which were cultivated, the metre, phonetics and spelling of the Castilian dialect, the political context on the peninsula, etc. We will then address a body of work which enables us not only to illustrate the various aspects of mediaeval literature, but also to discover the mediaeval era in all its facets: the political, social, religious, sexual, linguistic, etc. order of the time. This will be achieved through texts which question this order, either through parody, satire, negation, or straightforward commentary.
We will read, for example, a Castilian Dance of Death, which looks at the different social classes. We will have to become familiar with the Galician-Portuguese dialect to read several 'cantigas de escarnio' (songs of derision), whose satire is often ruthless. We will also discover the crazy 'Coplas de disparates' by Juan del Encina, in the 'fatrasie' style. But above all we will devote most of the sessions to the Libro de buen amor by Juan Ruiz, the archpriest of Hita, written between 1330 and 1343 which contains a good number of burlesque episodes and parodies of Goliardic inspiration. These examples often have their roots in the theme of the world turned upside down, whose anthropological appearance and semantic dimensions are complex, ancient and certainly go beyond the Iberian domain. If time allows, we will also take a look at a few pages from La Celestina (Tragicomedia de Calixto y Melibea), a lengthy dialogue from the late Middle Ages which can be read as a parody of courtly love.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

• An in-depth knowledge of literary genres from the Middle Ages on the Iberian peninsula as well as their thematic and formal characteristics.

• An understanding of the political, geographic, dialectal and cultural complexity of the Iberian peninsula in the Middle Ages.

• A philological sensitivity to the status of a mediaeval text and the difficulties in communicating this.

• Skills in diachronic linguistics required to read mediaeval texts in the Castilian dialect (helped of course by commented editions and dictionaries).

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Level B2 or preferable C1 in Spanish - written and oral comprehension.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

See http://cipl82.philo.ulg.ac.be/horaires

Recommended or required readings

Studies are expected to purchase a Spanish commented edition of the Libro de buen amor before the start of the term. The rest of the required reading will be collated into a portfolio and be available on eCampus before the start of the course.

Assessment methods and criteria

Written exam.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

This course is given mainly in Spanish. Explanations may be given in French, particularly with regards to terminology. Assessed exercises may be written in French. French translations of the required reading may aid with understanding but are no substitute for reading the original Castilian.

Contacts

Álvaro CEBALLOS VIRO Département de Langues et Littératures Romanes Place Cockerill, 3/5 - Bât. A2 4000 Liège - Belgique E-mail: a.ceballosviro@ulg.ac.be Tlf.: +32 (0) 4366 5389

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