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January 24, 2019

1. The concept of Medieval Europe and its Literature

Discussion

• The concept of European Literature and of Romance Studies
• Genres in the Middle Ages
• Literary production in France - Italy - Iberian Peninsula
• Curtius’ reading

• Comments and reactions to The Name of the Rose:

  1. Look for information about the political situation in Italy and Europe in the XIV century
  2. Umberto Eco, Il nome de la rosa (1980)
  3. Plot
  4. Characters: choose a character and analyse it
  5. What was the monastic culture? and the Religious orders (Benedictins, Franciscans…)
  6. Why William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk are Franciscan?
  7. Make a list and description of all deaths and murders
  8. How is represented the sentiment of guilty in the film (give examples)
  9. The fear of heresy (examples)
  10. The role and meaning of Salvatore
  11. Theological meaning of the laughter and Aristotle’s Second Poetics
  12. Role of the library and the “finis Africae”
  13. Choose your prefered episode and share it with your fellows.

Studies:

• Ernst Robert Curtius. “European Literature.” In: European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 1-16.

Extra reading:

• Jacques Le Goff, Medieval Civilization, Trans. by Julia Barrow, Blackwell: Oxford UK & Cambridge USA, 1988, pp. 255-324.

Film:

• The Name of the Rose, dir. by Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986.