ROMANCE PHILOLOGY II - PRACTICE

An introduction to Marco Polo, "Devisement du Monde" / "Milione".
The "Milione" is the most important medieval text, written in the vernacular, that deals with the history and culture of the Asian world, "discovered" by the Westerners after the traumatic appearance of the Mongol armies into Europe around the middle of the XIII century; it is also a fascinating case of conscious reflection on the difference between "our" culture and that of the "Others". The course aims to offer an introduction to this text and its themes and problems, through the direct reading of the revision in ancient French that circulated in France since the beginning of the 14th century.

Knowledge:
- basic information on medieval travel literature, the Mongol empire and Yuan China;
- information on the manuscript tradition of the "Devisement".
Skills:
- acquisition and refinement of an anthropological reflection on cultural diversity;
- reinforcement of skills in direct reading (translating) the Old French.

Language skills (ancient French) acquired in the course of "Romance Philology I".

Commented reading of chapters of the "Devisement du monde".

The texts of the original version and the old French one of the "Devisement", in digital format, will be provided by the Professor at the beginning of the course on the Moodle web platform.
They are an integral part of the exam:
Marina Montesano, "Marco Polo", Rome, Salerno ed., 2017;
essays in digital format made available on the Moodle platform.

The exam consists of two parts;
- verification of the ability to read the MS fr. 2810 (see "Exercises of Romance Philology II");
- texts and topics covered during the lessons.

The course will consist of commented readings of chapters of the "Devisement", conducted according to the traditional forms of textual analysis.

Italian

oral