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2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
FREN3460 The Art of Romance: Love, Marriage and Gender in Medieval France
20 creditsClass Size: 12
Module manager: Dr Rosalind Brown-Grant
Email: R.Brown-Grant@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2017/18
Pre-requisite qualifications
Normally Level 2 French or equivalent (Elective students to be considered case by case)Module replaces
FREN3250 Representations of Women in the French Middle AgesThis module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
Without medieval romance, the modern novel, with its fictions of subjectivity, erotic desire and the clash between individual and society, would simply not exist. - What then caused this literary genre to first take shape in twelfth-century France? - How did medieval romance go on to evolve over the next three centuries? - How did these medieval texts deal with issues such as the formation of male and female roles, the competing attractions of adultery and marriage, and the need to reconcile individual desire with societal constraints? This module aims to address these issues through detailed study of a variety of romances specially chosen to represent key moments in the development of the genre: - from the adulterous tragic fiction of Tristan et Iseut (12th c.), to Chrétien de Troyes' seminal romance of marriage, Erec et Enide (12th c.), - from the gender-bending narrative of a cross-dressing heroine in the Roman de Silence (13th c.), to the realist interrogation of woman's true place in romance in Christine de Pizan's Livre du duc des vrais amans (early 15th c.), - and, finally, to Antoine de la Sale's parodic debunking of the illusions of romance in his Petit Jehan de Saintré (mid 15th c.)Objectives
On completion of this module, students should have received an in-depth introduction to the study of medieval French romance texts, having analysed in detail five works which cover the period from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries.Students should have examined how works in this literary genre deal with key issues in medieval culture such as:
a) the formation and prescription of male and female roles in both a sexual and social context,
b) medieval discourses on adultery and marriage,
c) the question of how individuals were expected to reconcile personal desires with societal contraints
d) how the evolution of the genre over time affects the discussion of these issues in works from different periods.
Specific skills which students should have acquired include:
a) ability to undertake detailed literary analysis
b) individual and collaborative research
c) oral and written presentation
d) enhanced knowledge and use of a high academic register (French being the medium of instruction and of half of the assessment)
e) enhanced reading knowledge of Old French (12th and 13th century) and Middle French (14th and 15th century).
Skills outcomes
Specific skills which students should have acquired include:
a) ability to undertake detailed literary analysis
b) individual and collaborative research
c) oral and written presentation
d) enhanced knowledge and use of a high academic register (French being the medium of instruction and of half of the assessment)
e) enhanced reading knowledge of Old French (12th and 13th c.) and Middle French (14th and 15th c.).
Syllabus
Using a combination of both lectures and seminars, this module aims to examine how medieval French romance texts from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries examined issues such as the formation of the subject, erotic desire, and the clash between individual and society.
It will introduce students to a variety of texts, from Chritien de Troyes's seminal romance of marriage (Erec et Enide, 12th c.), to the adulterous fiction of Tristan et Yseut (12th c.), from the gender-bending narrative of a cross-dressing heroine in the Roman de Silence (13th c.), to the realist interrogation of woman's true place in romance in Christine de Pizan's Livre du duc des vrais amants (early 15th c.), and finally, to Antoine de la Sale's parodic debunking of the illusions of romantic love in his Jehan de Saintri (mid 15th c.).
Five introductory sessions on the generic conventions and language of medieval romance (comprising both lectures and hands-on seminars featuring a computer-assisted language-learning programme) will be followed by three sessions devoted to discussion of each of the five texts (one lecture plus two student-led seminars per text).
Assessment will be by a combination of essay and exam.
The resources held in both the Brotherton and Edward Boyle libraries of primary and secondary sources are extremely rich already and this module makes no new demands on them. Similarly, the computer-assisted language-learning programme for the study of Old and Middle French is already available on-line to students in the Electronic Resource and Information Centre (ERIC).
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Consultation | 2 | 0.50 | 1.00 |
| Lecture | 7 | 1.00 | 7.00 |
| Seminar | 3 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Private study hours | 179.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 21.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
- Regular student-led discussions with opportunity to write discussions up as practice essays;- individual tutorials to discuss progress on research projects submitted as formal assessment;
- fully interactive exam revision session at end of teaching.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 3,000 word research project, written in French based on issues arising from the module, but on texts ideally not covered in the course, to be devised by the student in consultation with the tutor and submitted before Easter | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr 00 mins | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 23/02/2017
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