GRMN 246 - Heroes Minstrels Knights:Epics and Lyrics of the Middle Ages

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

May be counted as a General Requirement Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only. Brevart. All readings and lectures in English. In this course we will read medieval works of international literary importance, such as the Arthurian novels of Hartman von Aue Erec and Iwein, the German Song of the Nibelungs and the Old French Song of Roland as examples of heroic literature, and the tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde by Gottfried von Strasburg. We will also read two Spielmannsepen which have as their central theme the international motif of the bridal quest, namely Sankt Oswald and Koenig Rother, and compare these works with the Nibelungenlied and Tristan, which themselves also involve the bridal quest as one of their principal structural elements. There is, however, a major and critical distinction between the traditional happy ending of the bridal quest epics and that of The Nibelungs and of Tristan and Isolde, for those two German works culminate in the total destruction and disintegration of entire peoples and values, or with the utter misery of the ideal couple. With our readings of the love poems of the French Troubadours and those of their German counterparts, the Minnesaenger, our final genre of medieval literature, we will not only discuss the ubiquitous and timeless love theme in all its variations, but also the socio-political implications of such poetry.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.