Tentative description of a course in medieval Spanish

Medieval Mind: Introduction to Medieval Spanish Literature

This is an introductory course for third or fourth year students. It is tentatively designed to be a guide for two classes per week, each with 75 minutes. The course is organized in a chronological, thematic, generic and contextualized manner.

A web page will be built up, and students are supposed to take an active role. That is, they will explore a certain theme or aspect, find relevant materials and make them available online. Students will have to take two exams (partial and final), and write two papers during the course, which will be made available online. Every oral presentation will be assigned to two students.

Texts:

Poema de Mio Cid, ed. Ian Michael, Castalia

Libro de Alexandre, ed. Jesús Cañas Murillo, Cátedra

Milagros de Nuestra Señora, ed Michael Gerli, Cátedra

Libro de buen amor, ed. Amancio Bolaño e Isla, Porrúa

Romancero, ed. Paloma Díaz-Mas, Crítica

Selections from

Antología de la poesía española: Lírica de tipo tradicional, ed. Dámaso Alonso and José Manuel Blecua

Antología general de la literatura española, tomo I, ed. Ángel del Río

Other materials for the course

Tapes of Jarcha and Romancero viejo.

Films: Common Life in the Middle Ages, Libro de buen amor, La Celestina. Students will go to language lab at their convenience in case that a film is not finished in a class of 75 minutes.

Course Schedule

1. Introduction. Film: Common Life in the Middle Ages.

2. Popular lyric poetry. Jarchas, lírica de tipo tradicional. A suitable amount of short poems will be selected from Antología de la poesía española: Lírica de tipo tradicional, ed. Dámaso Alonso and José Manuel Blecua. Lírica de tipo tradicional. A thematized typology as an approach to the medieval short popular lyric songs. That is, different treatments of love theme (un/faithful love, un/happy love, love tokens, love and violence, love and the magic, etc.), temporal-spatial dimensions in love songs, etc. The color problem in medieval Spanish love songs will be a good starting point to approach these genres in a synthetic manner. Extra material recommended: Bruce Wardropper, "The color problem in Spanish traditional poetry."

3. The poetic mechanism of minimalist genre in global context (at least one line of rhetorical question in some short poems, which is mostly evident in Jarchas, in some Villancicos, and in medieval Chinese jue ju genre). One or two examples of medieval Chinese and Persian parallels will be showed. Modern vocal interpretation of some Jarcha pieces will be listened to in the class. Student oral presentation introducing "A Minimalist Poetics," by Stephen Reckert, in his Beyond Chrysanthemums, pp. 16-65.

4. Epic and Narrative Poetry. Poema de Mio Cid, Cantar primero, verses 1-505. The first canto of the Cid could be used to illustrate the formal and stylistic aspects of Spanish epic (realism, formulism), the treatment of Jewish people in medieval Spanish (Rachel and Vidas), and the representation of the female figure, doña Ximena.

5. Poema de Mio Cid, verses 506-1086. Topics to be discussed: ideological and historical dimensions in the poem (the humiliation of the count of Barcelona), battle description (dynamism and the repetitious), the metonymy nature of the Spanish epic. Student oral presentation, "Some Psycho-dynamics of orality," by Walter Ong, in his Orality and Literacy, chapter 3, pp. 31-77.

6. Libro de Alexandre, stanzas 1292-1414, a battle description of the wars between Darius and Alexander the Great. Students are asked to discuss the analogy and difference between the battle representations in the Mio Cid and in the Alexandre. (Use of epithets, metaphor and metonymy, the learned style versus popular style).

7. Libro de Alexandre. Stanzas 1460-1533, Babilonia as the mundane paradise and the Utopian locus in the imagination of medieval Spain. Medieval descriptio, digressional style. Is there any rich description in the first canto of the Mio Cid? Wedding description in Mio Cid and in the Alexandre. Oral presentation: Thomas Montgomery, "Poema del Cid and the potentialities of metonymy."

8. Gonzalo de Berceo, Milagros de Nuestra Señora. Selection: "Introducción," "XVI: El judezno," "XVIII: Cristo y los judíos de Toledo." Libro de Alexandre, stanzas 2538-2595, "La tienda de Alejandro Magno;" 2101-2116, "Alejandro encierra el pueblo de Magog." Allegory in Berceo and in Alexender's tent. Representation of Jewish people in Berceo and in the Alexandre (Students will recall Rachel and Vidal in the Mio Cid).

9. Milagros de Nuestra Señora, "IX: El clérigo simple." Alexandre, stanzas 37-47, Alexander's learning; stanzas 1201-1234, "un eclipse de la luna." Gonzalo de Berceo, Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos, stanzas 1-45, the education of young Domingo. Education and learned elements in the mester de clerecía. Seven Liberal Arts, Religious education, French Influence. Oral presentation: Isabel Uría, 'El Libro de Alexandre y la Universidad de Palencia." Derek Lomax, "The Lateran reforms and Spanish literature."

10. Poema de Fernán González, stanzas 103-115 (students will be reminded of the Poema del Cid, verses 327-367); stanzas 467-486, "El prodigio espantoso" (Students will be reminded of Alexandre 1201-1234,"un eclispe de la luna" ). The episode of the "mal Arcipreste."

11. Alfonso X, selections from Ángel del Río, Antología general de la literatura española.

12. Don Juan Manuel, El Conde Lucanor, stories 11, 32, 35. Libro de los estados and Libro del Caballero et del escudero, selections from the anthology by Ángel del Río. Extra materials recommended: Jorge Luis Borges, "El brujo postergado," Thomas Montgomery, "Don Juan Manuel's Tale of Don Julián and its Revision by Jorge Luis Borges."

13. Calila et Dimna, "Las liebres y el león;" capítulo XI, "De los cuervos et de los búos." Oral presentation: Américo Castro, "Los españoles como resultado del entrecruce de tres castas de creyentes," "El entrelace de las castas," in his La realidad
histórica de España, chapter two.

14. La doncella Teodor. Selection of Sem Tob, proverbios morales, from the anthology by Ángel del Río.

15. Auto de los reyes magos

16. Parcial exam

17. Film, Libro de buen amor

18. Libro de buen amor, stanzas 1-81, 317-406. Oral presentation: Américo Castro, "El libro de buen amor del Arcipreste de Hita."

19. Libro de buen amor, stanzas 426-575. Referring to the Alexandre and the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca for the portrait of the ideal female beauty.

20. Libro de buen amor, stanzas 653-891

21. Libro de buen amor, stanzas 1067-1172. Slides: Limburg Brothers, Calendar pages from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Spanish "Mozárabe" and "Mudéjar" art. If slides are not availabe, students wil have to find the paintings in library or on Internet.

22. Libro de buen amor, stanzas 1173-1314. Referring to the Alexandre for the reception of Sir Love and the description of his tent.

23. Cancionero de Baena, selections from the anthology by Ángel del Río. Oral presentation: Michael Gerli, "Estudio preliminar" in his Poesía cancioneril castellana, pp. 5-28.

24. Marqués de Santillana, "Las serranillas." Juan Ruiz, Libro de buen amor, "las serranillas," stanzas 950-1042.

25. Jorge Manrique, Coplas por la muerte de su padre. Material recommended: Pedro Salinas, Stephen Gilman, Leo Spitzer, en Historia y crítica de la literatura española: Edad Media, ed. Alan Deyermond, pp. 334-345.

26. "Romances épicos," from Díaz-Mas, Romancero, except that of the legends of the Cerco de Zamora y del Cid. Material recommended: Ramón Menéndez Pidal, "El estilo tradicional del romancero," en Historia y crítica de la literatura española, ed. Alan Deyermond; El Cid, a film by Anthony Mann.

27. "Romances novelescos,"from Díaz-Mas, Romancero, nums. 62-70, , 77, 81-83, 86, 89, 92.

Oral Presentation: Stephen Gilman, "On Romancero as a Poetic Language." CD-ROM (of Díaz-Mas' edition of Romancero) and samples of ballads sung by Joaquín Díaz.

28. Film: La Celestina

29. La Celestina, Acto primero

30. La Celestina, Selection from Ángel del Río, Antología general de la literatura española

31, 32. Vacations, final exam, presentation of final paper, fiesta?