Comparative Romance Languages and Literatures
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The aim of the course is to enable master students deepen their training in Romance languages and literatures in medieval Europe, accessing from a comparative perspective their works, authors, contexts and genres through the most advanced tools of philology; it will thus give the opportunity to measure the broad horizon within which the literary tradition has to be framed.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course the participants will know extensively the production, circulation and reception dynamics of medieval literary works in Romance Europe; they will also master the most up-to-date methods of historical linguistics and textual criticism, applied to the manuscript and print tradition of texts.
Furthermore, the students will be able to translate or paraphrase accurately works written in different Romance languages, to relate them to each other and to analyze them autonomously, both from a linguistic and from a literary point of view, in light of the most recent developments of criticism; they will also be able to place them in the context in which they were created and to reconstruct their textual and paratextual history, with particular attention to codicological and decorative data.
In addition, students will sharpen their skill to evaluate scientific bibliography independently, observing the development of the critical discussion, and will enhance the ability to expose clearly and properly their knowledge
Furthermore, the students will be able to translate or paraphrase accurately works written in different Romance languages, to relate them to each other and to analyze them autonomously, both from a linguistic and from a literary point of view, in light of the most recent developments of criticism; they will also be able to place them in the context in which they were created and to reconstruct their textual and paratextual history, with particular attention to codicological and decorative data.
In addition, students will sharpen their skill to evaluate scientific bibliography independently, observing the development of the critical discussion, and will enhance the ability to expose clearly and properly their knowledge
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course, entitled «Vie maestre: itineraries and texts in the medieval Romance literary space», consists of the following three parts, which will be tackled in sequence. A) Routes and vectors in medieval Romània ; B) Viatorial texts and manuscripts in transit; C) Literary cartographies: theories and practices, from paper to digital. The examination provides 9 CFU; those who wish to acquire only 6 CFU will prepare only parts A and B. Part A will cover the most important itineraries - sacred and profane, terrestrial and maritime - that innervated the medieval Romance space (and the Italian peninsula at its centre) favouring the long-distance transmission of texts and books, with the resulting contact phenomena. Part B will examine, also in terms of manuscript diffusion, both the various textual genres that were gradually associated with these itineraries (from pilgrims' guides, to portulans, to diplomatic reports) and the acquisition of the same paths within art writing, between direct experience and bookish fascination, from the chansons de geste to Petrarch. Part C will compare this framework with the most recent theoretical acquisitions of literary geography, and with the printed and digital tools that have resulted from them, giving particular attention to the Italian area in the Romance context.
Prerequisites for admission
The course presupposes the competences in comparative historical grammar of the Romance languages, in history of medieval Romance literatures and text criticism which are provided by the courses of Romance Philology (basic and advanced) of the three-year degree. Students of the degree programme European and extra European languages and literatures who intend to follow it can contact the teacher for some additional bibliography.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures; translation, commentary and critical discussion of texts; direct, even autonomous, examination of digital reproductions of documents by students, medieval manuscripts and prints, with their decorative apparatus, made available through the course website on the Ariel online educational platform (https://lsacchillnc.ariel.ctu.unimi.it); since both materials are complex subjects of study, written in different languages, attendance is strongly recommended.
Teaching Resources
Part A
Students will combine their notes with: Paul Zumthor, «La misura del mondo. La rappresentazione dello spazio nel Medio Evo», Bologna, il Mulino, 1995, pp. 163-178 (La strada), 179-194 (Pellegrini e crociati), 289-307 (Raccontare il viaggio); Michel Sot, «Pellegrinaggio», in Jacques Le Goff, Jean-Claude Schmitt (a c. di), «Dizionario dell'Occidente medievale», II, Torino, Einaudi, 2003, pp. 885-898; Marianne O'Doherty, Felicitas Schmieder, «Introduction», in Ead. (ed. by), «Travels and Mobilities in the Middle Ages: From the Atlantic to the Black Sea», Turnhout, Brepols, 2015, pp. IX-XLIII; E J. Mylod, «Routes to Salvation: Travelling through the Holy Land, 1187-1291», in Alison L. Gascoigne, Leonie V. Hicks, Marianne O'Doherty (ed. by), «Journeying along Medieval Routes in Europe and the Middle East», Turnhout, Brepols, 2016, pp. 51- 85; Jean Charles Ducène, «Routes in Southern Italy in the Geographical Works of al-Idrīsī», ivi, pp. 143-166.
Non-attending students will add to the above: Franco Cardini, «I viaggi di religione, d'ambasceria e di mercatura», in Id., «Gerusalemme d'oro, di rame, di luce: pellegrini, crociati, sognatori d'Oriente fra XI e XV secolo», Milano, il Saggiatore, 1991, pp. 44-121.
Part B
At the beginning of the unit students will be provided with a booklet with excerpts from the works to be translated and commented in class and further materials. The examination of the texts should be accompanied by the following essays: Silvia Albesano, «Sulle "routes d'Italie". Itinerari italiani nelle 'chansons de geste'», «Medioevo romanzo» XXIII f. ii (maggio-agosto 1999), pp. 184-209;
Daniel K. Connolly, «Copying Maps by Matthew Paris: Itineraries Fit for a King», in Palmira Brummet, «The 'Book' of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700», Leiden, Brill, 2009, pp. 159-204; Francesco Stella, «Spazio geografico e spazio poetico nel Petrarca latino: Europa e Italia dall' "Itinerarium" alle "Epistole metriche"», in «Incontri triestini di Filologia classica» 6 (2006), pp. 89-94. Further bibliography may be indicated later.
Non-attending students will refer to Laura Minervini, «La letteratura di viaggio», in Costanzo di Girolamo, «La letteratura romanza medievale», Bologna, il Mulino, 1994, pp. 297-308.
Part C
Students will combine their notes with: Carlo Dionisotti, «Geografia e storia della letteratura italiana», Torino, Einaudi, 1967, pp. 25-54; Sandro Maxia, «Letteratura e spazio. Introduzione», in «Moderna» IX.1 (2007), pp. 9-17; Tania Rossetto, «Theorizing maps with literature», in «Progress in Human Geography» 38.4 (2014), pp. 513-530. Further bibliography may be indicated later.
Students will combine their notes with: Paul Zumthor, «La misura del mondo. La rappresentazione dello spazio nel Medio Evo», Bologna, il Mulino, 1995, pp. 163-178 (La strada), 179-194 (Pellegrini e crociati), 289-307 (Raccontare il viaggio); Michel Sot, «Pellegrinaggio», in Jacques Le Goff, Jean-Claude Schmitt (a c. di), «Dizionario dell'Occidente medievale», II, Torino, Einaudi, 2003, pp. 885-898; Marianne O'Doherty, Felicitas Schmieder, «Introduction», in Ead. (ed. by), «Travels and Mobilities in the Middle Ages: From the Atlantic to the Black Sea», Turnhout, Brepols, 2015, pp. IX-XLIII; E J. Mylod, «Routes to Salvation: Travelling through the Holy Land, 1187-1291», in Alison L. Gascoigne, Leonie V. Hicks, Marianne O'Doherty (ed. by), «Journeying along Medieval Routes in Europe and the Middle East», Turnhout, Brepols, 2016, pp. 51- 85; Jean Charles Ducène, «Routes in Southern Italy in the Geographical Works of al-Idrīsī», ivi, pp. 143-166.
Non-attending students will add to the above: Franco Cardini, «I viaggi di religione, d'ambasceria e di mercatura», in Id., «Gerusalemme d'oro, di rame, di luce: pellegrini, crociati, sognatori d'Oriente fra XI e XV secolo», Milano, il Saggiatore, 1991, pp. 44-121.
Part B
At the beginning of the unit students will be provided with a booklet with excerpts from the works to be translated and commented in class and further materials. The examination of the texts should be accompanied by the following essays: Silvia Albesano, «Sulle "routes d'Italie". Itinerari italiani nelle 'chansons de geste'», «Medioevo romanzo» XXIII f. ii (maggio-agosto 1999), pp. 184-209;
Daniel K. Connolly, «Copying Maps by Matthew Paris: Itineraries Fit for a King», in Palmira Brummet, «The 'Book' of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700», Leiden, Brill, 2009, pp. 159-204; Francesco Stella, «Spazio geografico e spazio poetico nel Petrarca latino: Europa e Italia dall' "Itinerarium" alle "Epistole metriche"», in «Incontri triestini di Filologia classica» 6 (2006), pp. 89-94. Further bibliography may be indicated later.
Non-attending students will refer to Laura Minervini, «La letteratura di viaggio», in Costanzo di Girolamo, «La letteratura romanza medievale», Bologna, il Mulino, 1994, pp. 297-308.
Part C
Students will combine their notes with: Carlo Dionisotti, «Geografia e storia della letteratura italiana», Torino, Einaudi, 1967, pp. 25-54; Sandro Maxia, «Letteratura e spazio. Introduzione», in «Moderna» IX.1 (2007), pp. 9-17; Tania Rossetto, «Theorizing maps with literature», in «Progress in Human Geography» 38.4 (2014), pp. 513-530. Further bibliography may be indicated later.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam is individual, and includes questions asked by the teacher, interactions between the teacher and student, and the translation and commentary of one or more excerpts from the works read during the lectures. The interview has a variable duration depending on the number of parts taken by the student; it aims to verify the knowledge relating to the historical-cultural context, the history of the works and their manuscript and printed tradition, as well as the ability to translate (or paraphrase) and comment on the texts read, as well as the ability to expose, the precision in the use of specific terminology, the capacity for critical and personal reflection on the proposed themes. Marks are out of 30, and the student has the right to refuse the proposed mark (in this case it will be verbalized as «withdrawn»).
International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher early. The assessment procedures for students with disabilities and / or with DSA must be discussed with the teacher, in agreement with the competent Office.
International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher early. The assessment procedures for students with disabilities and / or with DSA must be discussed with the teacher, in agreement with the competent Office.
Unita' didattica A
L-FIL-LET/09 - ROMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-FIL-LET/09 - ROMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-FIL-LET/09 - ROMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
By appointment only, wednesday 10.00-13.00
Teams class "Ricevimento Luca Sacchi"