Ateneo - UPO

War and Peace. Hagiographic "origins" of the epic hero

Further informations will be transmitted during the first courses. Hanbookds of Medieval Literature:- A. Vitale-Brovarone, La civiltà letteraria francese nei secoli medievali, in L. Sozzi (dir.), Storia della civiltà letteraria francese, Torino, UTET, 1993, vol. I, pp. 1-200;- Jacqueline Cerquiglini-Toulet, Le Moyen Âge, in J.-Y. Tadié (éd.), La Littérature française, I. Paris, Folio classiques, 2007 ;- L. Lazzerini, Letteratura medievale in lingua d’oc, Modena, Mucci, 2001 (II ed. 2020).Text editions:- La chanson de saint Alexis, éd. François Zufferey, Paris, Société des Anciens Textes Français / Paillart, 2020;- La chanson de saint Alexis, a c. di Mario Eusebi, Modena, Mucchi, 2001;- La vie de saint Alexis, éd. Maurizio Perugi, Genève, Droz, 2000;- Der altprovenzalische "Boeci", hrsg. Christoph Schwarze, Münster-Westf., Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Forschungen zur romanischen Philologie, 12), 1963;- La chanson de sainte Foy, éd. Valérie Fasseur, Genève, Droz (Texte courant, 20), 2025.

Knowledge: - knowledge of the main phonetic and morphological features of Old Italian, Old French and Old Provençal necessary for reading the texts; - a basic understanding of the key periods and developments in medieval Romance literary history; - a basic understanding of the development of narrative and lyric genres in French and Provençal literature; - a basic understanding of the texts studied in class. Skills: - the ability to tackle the reading of a medieval Romance text; - the ability to identify the specific metrical, linguistic, stylistic and thematic features of a medieval Romance text. Transversal skills: - the ability to structure a personal argument based on topics covered in class and studied independently; - the refinement of skills in presenting the topics covered in class and studied independently. For an advanced level. Knowledge: - in-depth knowledge of the main phonetic and morphological features of Old Italian, Old French and Old Provençal necessary for reading the texts; - in-depth and reflective knowledge of the key periods and developments in medieval Romance literary history; - in-depth knowledge of the development of French and Provençal narrative and lyric genres; - knowledge of and familiarity with the texts examined in class. Skills: - the ability to approach the reading of a medieval Romance text with confidence; - the ability to identify and comment on the specific features with confidence.

Basic knowledge provided by secondary school and the early years of university studies. The course is intended as a continuation of the Romance Philology A module, which students must therefore have attended or attend concurrently. It is not necessary to have already passed the exam for that module.

Lectures and seminars, individual study.

Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or Special Educational Needs (SEN) may request dedicated services and tools by contacting the Career Development and Student Services Staff and by consulting the dedicated page on the University website: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentidisabilie-dsa. Once they have contacted the University Staff, students with disabilities, SLD, or SEN must then get in touch with the course teacher to arrange the exam modalities at least 15 days before the exam date; some of these arrangements must be approved in advance by the teacher.

The final assessment consists of an oral exam lasting 30 minutes ca, during which the knowledge listed under the course objectives and learning outcomes will be evaluated. The exam is divided into three sections: 1. Assessment of literary history knowledge, acquired through individual study of the assigned textbook; 2. Assessment of basic linguistic and metrical knowledge, through the reading and translation of one or more excerpts discussed in class; 3. Assessment of the student’s ability to develop a broader literary argument, starting from the commentary on a passage studied in class and the analysis of an academic article agreed upon with the instructor. Each of the three sections will contribute one-third to the final grade. Honors ("cum laude") will be awarded based on the depth, insight, and originality of the student’s responses. Students will also be required to prepare a short written report (2 pages) to explore one of the course topics. Submission of this report is a prerequisite for taking the oral exam.

Epic poetry has always been the foundational literary genre for a given literature: nothing before Homer, everything after Homer. The Romance Middle Ages offers a fascinating field of study, as epic narrative runs parallel to hagiographic narrative from the very era of the earliest literary texts. The lives of saints—both male and female—share striking formal similarities with archaic epic texts, and not only in terms of form; indeed, the epic hero is sometimes portrayed with the attributes of a saint, or often a martyr. While hypotheses regarding the composition of these texts remain difficult to formulate, we know for certain that their circulation—through the copying of manuscripts—often took place within monastic settings for both genres; yet, the performance of these texts extended well beyond the confines of the cloister.
This year’s specialized course will involve an anthological reading of passages from four early masterpieces: Boecis, Sainte Foi, Alexis, and the Chanson de Roland. We will examine their language, meter, formulaic style, and content. The course will be a journey spanning the clamorous public squares where minstrels sang and the silence of the monastic scriptorium.
The course will be conducted partly as a seminar. Each student may choose a topic—drawn from the bibliography—to research independently and present to the class.

Al fine di raggiungere le conoscenze, competenze e abilità corrispondenti al livello base, alla studentessa/allo studente si chiede di dimostrare di:- (conoscenze e comprensione): aver acquisito le conoscenze di fondamentali relative ai testi e agli argomenti trattati durante il corso, nonché a quelli demandati allo studio autonomo della bibliografia;- (capacità di applicare le conoscenze e la comprensione): saper riconoscere un fenomeno linguistico o un fatto letterario studiato e collocarlo all’interno produzione linguistico-letteraria romanza medievale;- (autonomia di giudizio): saper discutere temi e argomenti trattati a lezione o studiati in autonomia;- (abilità comunicative): saper esporre in lingua italiana e dimostrando di padroneggiare il linguaggio della disciplina le conoscenze acquisite nel corso e studiate in autonomia;- (capacità di apprendimento): saper utilizzare gli strumenti metodologici forniti a lezione o predisposti per lo studio autonomo.Per il conseguimento di un livello avanzato, la studentessa/lo studente deve dimostrare di:- (conoscenze e comprensione): conoscere in profondità e con precisione tutti i testi egli argomenti trattati a lezione o demandati allo studio autonomo;- (capacità di applicare le conoscenze e la comprensione): saper collocare in un ampio contesto storico-culturale i fenomeni linguistico-letterari oggetto di studio;- (autonomia di giudizio): saper discutere in autonomia temi e argomenti linguistico-letterari, nonché le posizioni critiche esposte dal docente o studiate in autonomia;- (abilità comunicative): organizzare con coerenza e organicità la presentazione dell’argomento richiesto, dimostrando capacità di sintesi e padronanza della terminologia appropriata, anche specialistica;- (capacità di apprendimento): saper istituire autonomamente collegamenti.Tali risultati di apprendimento sono coerenti con quanto previsto nella SUA del Corso di Studio.