Romance Philology (advanced)
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
This course aims to further students' knowledge of the historical-comparative study of Romance languages and literatures and to introduce them to the guiding principles of textual criticism, its application to medieval texts in the Romance vernaculars and their manuscript tradition.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: At the end of the course, students will have a detailed knowledge of the Romance literature of the Middle Ages, set against their literary and historical background. Students will learn the principles of textual criticism, with a focus on the manuscript traditions of the texts written in the Romance languages of the Middle Ages. Students will also learn the historical grammar of the texts studied in the course. They will achieve a wider awareness of the importance of the philological study of the texts and of the tools of textual criticism.
Skills: Students will become skilled in the interpretation of the literary works in their formal aspects, content and broader historical and cultural context. Students will be able to paraphrase Old Italian texts or to translate texts in other Romance languages. They will be able to understand and use secondary literature and the different methodological perspectives it implies. Students will be able to comment on and expand upon the texts and the specific topics covered in the course, using Romance Philology's technical terms.
Skills: Students will become skilled in the interpretation of the literary works in their formal aspects, content and broader historical and cultural context. Students will be able to paraphrase Old Italian texts or to translate texts in other Romance languages. They will be able to understand and use secondary literature and the different methodological perspectives it implies. Students will be able to comment on and expand upon the texts and the specific topics covered in the course, using Romance Philology's technical terms.
Lesson period: First 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
First semester
Course syllabus
"The Troubadours' European success: patterns of intertextuality"
Troubadours' poetry was widely performed and read all over Medieval Romance Europe, and was repeatedly imitated. Evidence of this success is supported by the several cases where French, Italian or Iberic authors - not even within lyric poems - refer to precise Troubadours' texts. These intertextual connections perform different ideological and literary functions, and may be realized in various ways: allusive references, re-use of metric and melodic schemas, quotations, translations and even parody. The course will analyze some significant cases of this kind of intertextuality, also reflecting on the dynamics of textual transmission. The course in divided into to sections, that will be developed sequentially:
Section A (40 hours, 6 ECTS): during the lessons of this part of the course, a first group of texts impliying intertextual relationships will be analyzed. Another focus will be the main features of textual philology applied to Medieval Romance text, and its contributions to the wider discussion about scientific editorial methods.
Section B (20 hour, 3 ECTS): during the lessons of this part of the course, a second group of texts implying intertextual relationships will be studied, also making use of seminar work on digital reproductions of manuscripts; specific attention will be given to the provençal text we read in Dante's "Purgatorio" and its textual sources. The analysis will be supported by a deepening dedicated to the morphological and syntactic structures of medieval Occitan and to a presentation of its main phonetic features in historical perspective, with attention to the diatopic features that we can recognise in the texts read in class.
The course is aimed at all the students who are interested in the subject "Romance Philology", whatever the first letter of their surname is. Students that will take a 9 ECTS exam will attend sections A and B; students that will take a 6 ECTS exam will attend only section A.
Troubadours' poetry was widely performed and read all over Medieval Romance Europe, and was repeatedly imitated. Evidence of this success is supported by the several cases where French, Italian or Iberic authors - not even within lyric poems - refer to precise Troubadours' texts. These intertextual connections perform different ideological and literary functions, and may be realized in various ways: allusive references, re-use of metric and melodic schemas, quotations, translations and even parody. The course will analyze some significant cases of this kind of intertextuality, also reflecting on the dynamics of textual transmission. The course in divided into to sections, that will be developed sequentially:
Section A (40 hours, 6 ECTS): during the lessons of this part of the course, a first group of texts impliying intertextual relationships will be analyzed. Another focus will be the main features of textual philology applied to Medieval Romance text, and its contributions to the wider discussion about scientific editorial methods.
Section B (20 hour, 3 ECTS): during the lessons of this part of the course, a second group of texts implying intertextual relationships will be studied, also making use of seminar work on digital reproductions of manuscripts; specific attention will be given to the provençal text we read in Dante's "Purgatorio" and its textual sources. The analysis will be supported by a deepening dedicated to the morphological and syntactic structures of medieval Occitan and to a presentation of its main phonetic features in historical perspective, with attention to the diatopic features that we can recognise in the texts read in class.
The course is aimed at all the students who are interested in the subject "Romance Philology", whatever the first letter of their surname is. Students that will take a 9 ECTS exam will attend sections A and B; students that will take a 6 ECTS exam will attend only section A.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is intended for students who have already taken the exam in "Romance Philology"; having passed the exam in the basic course is a prerequisite for taking the exam in "Romance Philology (advanced)".
Teaching methods
The course consists of 30 lectures of 2 hours each. Lectures rely also on e-learning material (texts, images of manuscripts, maps, addresses of online dictionaries and databases) uploaded on the MyAriel website of the course. The lectures offer an integrated presentation of all the topics described above: for this reason, attendance is strongly recommended.
Teaching Resources
Section A:
1) Personal class notes.
2) Before classes start, the teacher will publish on the MyAriel site of the course two booklets containing respectively:
- the texts that will be read, translated and commented during the lessons;
- some excerpts from critical editions of Medieval Romance texts that are relevant for historic and/or methodological reasons.
3) Lino Leonardi, "Filologia romanza". "1. Critica del testo", Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2022.
4) A reading list of essays that will be published during the lessons in the MyAriel site.
Reference should be made to the detailed and definitive programme that will be published in the MyAriel site of the course at the end of the lessons of Section A.
Section B:
1) Personal class notes.
2) The booklet published in the MyAriel site will also include the texts that will be read, translated and commented during the lessons of this section.
3) Costanzo Di Girolamo, Charmaine Lee, "Avviamento alla filologia provenzale", Roma, Carocci Editore, 2015 (or the previous editions, including the first one: Roma, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1996), pp. 19-94; when self-studying, students can make use of the glossary printed at the end of this book.
4) A reading list of essays that will be published during the lessons in the MyAriel site.
Reference should be made to the detailed and definitive programme that will be published in the MyAriel site of the course at the end of the lessons of Section A.
Non-attending students will find a specific bibliography that will replace the personal class notes in the definitive programmes that will be published in the MyAriel site of the course at the end of the lessons of each section. Anyway, students who are not able to attend the course are invited to contact the teacher to receive further information.
Erasmus incoming students with linguistic difficulties with the Italian language may contact the teacher to establish a specific study plan.
1) Personal class notes.
2) Before classes start, the teacher will publish on the MyAriel site of the course two booklets containing respectively:
- the texts that will be read, translated and commented during the lessons;
- some excerpts from critical editions of Medieval Romance texts that are relevant for historic and/or methodological reasons.
3) Lino Leonardi, "Filologia romanza". "1. Critica del testo", Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2022.
4) A reading list of essays that will be published during the lessons in the MyAriel site.
Reference should be made to the detailed and definitive programme that will be published in the MyAriel site of the course at the end of the lessons of Section A.
Section B:
1) Personal class notes.
2) The booklet published in the MyAriel site will also include the texts that will be read, translated and commented during the lessons of this section.
3) Costanzo Di Girolamo, Charmaine Lee, "Avviamento alla filologia provenzale", Roma, Carocci Editore, 2015 (or the previous editions, including the first one: Roma, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1996), pp. 19-94; when self-studying, students can make use of the glossary printed at the end of this book.
4) A reading list of essays that will be published during the lessons in the MyAriel site.
Reference should be made to the detailed and definitive programme that will be published in the MyAriel site of the course at the end of the lessons of Section A.
Non-attending students will find a specific bibliography that will replace the personal class notes in the definitive programmes that will be published in the MyAriel site of the course at the end of the lessons of each section. Anyway, students who are not able to attend the course are invited to contact the teacher to receive further information.
Erasmus incoming students with linguistic difficulties with the Italian language may contact the teacher to establish a specific study plan.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The oral exam will be a survey of the topics discussed during the course. It is aimed at assessing the student's knowledge of literary history, textual philology and linguistics. The exam always begins with the translation of one of the passages analysed during the course; it is necessary for any student to be able to provide a sensible translation in order to pass the exam.
Marks are out of 30. The minimum grade in order to pass the exam is 18/30.
The exam mode for SLD students and/or for students with other disabilities will have to be agreed with the teacher in accordance with the Office in charge.
Marks are out of 30. The minimum grade in order to pass the exam is 18/30.
The exam mode for SLD students and/or for students with other disabilities will have to be agreed with the teacher in accordance with the Office in charge.
L-FIL-LET/09 - ROMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Resconi Stefano
course currently not available
Course currently not available
Lesson period
First semester
L-FIL-LET/09 - ROMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
Tuesday, h. 15.00-18.00; please, anticipate your presence by e-mail
Professor's office: Via Festa del Perdono 7, Sezione di Modernistica (right side of the courtyard after accessing from the main entrance), 1st floor