Unit name | French Literature and the Crusades |
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Unit code | MODLM2012 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Marianne Ailes |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Modern Languages |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, coinciding with the period of the first four major Crusades, there was a great development of vernacular literature in France and the Anglo-Norman realm, literature which was disseminated widely across Europe. We will study eye-witness chronicles of the Third and Fourth crusades along with imaginative literature from the early 12th century on. We will explore the depiction of the 'Saracen' in factual and fictional texts, considering the relationship between the factual and fictional genres. How useful are the chronicles as evidence? What is the status of the 'chansons de geste' of the Crusade Cycle? There will be an opportunity to explore the crusading theme in lyric poetry and as an exotic element in romance. The impact of genre theory and post-colonial theory on our understanding of these texts will be considered.