Premodern Spain: Warriors, Women, and Diversity

Course Description:
This course will cover from 1000-1500 in premodern Spain. Through a selection of literary texts, chronicles, and legal works, students will have a chance to see the ideological and social development of the peninsula through the eyes of those who witnessed it. The texts have been carefully selected to demonstrate the depiction and role of women, Muslims, Jews, conversos (recent Jewish converts to Christianity), nobles, knights, and kings during the time period, giving a better insight into the way written media shaped the views and ideals of those who lived then, as well as our current understanding of the era. The aim of this approach is to better grasp the interplay between ideas and writing from multiple perspectives. Based on in-class commentary and analysis of primary sources and other pertinent materials, we shall focus on the following themes: heroes and villains; the description of women; marginalized groups (e.g., Muslims); and the power of entertainment as a moral, persuasive, and educational tool. Through these thematic axes, students will be able to better understand the development of history and ideas, as well as the diversity of perspectives and people from the Middle Ages.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the course, the student will:

· Understand the general outline of premodern Spanish history;

• Learn to read and interpret primary literary, historical, and legal works that helped shaped ideology and thought;

• Be able to analyze the impact of a multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-lingual community in shaping the era;

• Have the ability to contextualize the social and political challenges that were shaped by the most prominent texts and ideas;

• Gain insights into the social, religious, and ethical values that contributed to the diversity of thought.

Course Contents:
Session 1: Course Description and Introduction to Materials (Monday, June 30th)
Review syllabus
Introduction to The Lay of the Cid (pg. vii-xiv)
Readings: The Lay of the Cid, 1919. Ed. and trans. by R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon (Berkeley, CA: Semicentennial Publications of the University of California).
https://archive.org/details/layofcidtranslat0000rsel/page/n9/mode/2up
*Read the introduction to the edition in the link above: pg. vii-xiv;
O’Callaghan: “Chapter 8: Alfonso VI, the Taifas, and the Almoravids” (pg. 193-214)
*NB: If you wish to read the Cid in Spanish, the university library has several editions by: (1) Montaner Frutos and Rico, (2) Ian, and (3) Smith.

Session 2: The Cid (Tueday, July 1st)
Discussion of The Cid and the time period
Readings: The Cid (pg. 1-29; read until completing “Cantar XLIV”).
*We will also watch and discuss some of a movie about The Cid
(https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ug60v)

Session 3: The Cid (Wednesday, July 2nd)

Discussion of The Cid and the time period
Readings: The Cid (pg. 30-63; stop at “Cantar XCVI”); Reilley: “Chapter 4:
Christian Reconquista and African Empire, 1009-1157” (pg. 90-103)
*We will also watch and discuss some of a movie about The Cid
(https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ug60v)

Session 4: The Cid (Thursday, July 3rd)
Discussion of The Cid and the time period; students will choose their presentation topics and the parameters will also be given.
Readings: The Cid (pg. 63-130, complete work)
*We will also watch and discuss some of a movie about The Cid
(https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ug60v)

Session 5: The Cid (Friday, July 4th)
Discussion of The Cid and the time period; begin discussion of the ballads
Readings: Ballads in Wright: “Ximena’s Complaint” (pg. 64) and “Rodrigo and Fernando” (pg. 66)
*We will also watch and discuss some of a movie about The Cid
(https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ug60v)

Session 6: The ballads (Monday, July 7th)
Discussion of the ballads and the time period
Readings: MacKay: “Chapter 2: Society and the Frontier, c. 1000-1212” (pg.
36-57); ballads in Wright: “The Unhappy Wife” (pg. 2), “The Husband’s Return
(I and II)” (pg. 35-36); “The Lady and the Shepherd” (pg. 23)
*Questions on presentations

Session 7: Presentations (Tueday, July 8th)
Students will give presentations; discussion of field trip, including introductory information on medieval documents.

Session 8: Field Trip to the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Wednesday, July 9th)
Field trip to the Biblioteca de Catalunya (in Barcelona) to look at and discuss medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. The session is meant to be informative and to give an opportunity to see original documents.

Session 9: Alfonso X of Castile and the Rise of the Spanish Language (Thursday, July 10th)
Discussion of Alfonso X of Castile and the rise of the Spanish language
Readings: O’Callaghan: “Chapter 14: The Great Reconquest” (pg. 333-357)
and “Chapter 15: Alfonso X and the Lure of Empire” (pg. 358-381)
*A discussion about the short-anwser essay

Session 10: Alfonso X and the Siete Partidas; Short-Anwser Essay (Friday, July 11th)
Discussion about Alfonso X and his legal text Siete Partidas
Readings: Prologue to Siete Partidas and selected laws from Burns’ edition and translation, which will be provided; MacKay: “Chapter 5: Constitutional Developments: Kings and Cortes” (pg. 95-117)
*Short-Anwser Essay: Students will be given a series of questions regarding the topics that we have discussed to date. Responses may range from 3-6 sentences. Some of the questions will also give students two options from which to choose.

Session 11: Don Juan Manuel and El conde Lucanor (Monday, July 14th)
Discussion about Don Juan Manuel and his El conde Lucanor 
Readings: “Translators’ Introduction” (pg. 8-41); “11. What Happened to a Dean of Santiago and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo” (pg. 67-71) and “35. What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman” (pg. 137-141).
*Link to text: Don Juan Manuel, 1977. The Book of Count Lucanor and Patronio. A Translation of Don Juan Manuel’s “El Conde Lucanor” (Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press).
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/oxford/detail.action?docID=1915809
*NB: If anyone would like to read the text in Spanish, I can provide it in PDF.
Students may also find in the library these editions: Alvar and Palanco (1990), Sotelo (1995), and Serés (2006).

Session 12: Review for Midterm Exam (Tuesday, July 15th)
Discussion and review for the Midterm Exam. Examples will also be provided.

Session 13: Midterm Exam (Wednesday, July 16th)
Midterm Exam

Session 14: Field Trip to Medieval Locations and Jewish Quarters in Barcelona (Thursday, July 17th)
Students will have a chance to see and learn about some historically important medieval sites in Barcelona.

Session 15: Jorge Manrique and the Rise of the Renaissance (Friday, July 18th)
Discussion of the author’s Verses on the Death of his Father, the rise of the Renaissance, and the historical context. Readings: O’Callaghan: “Chapter 22: The Hegemony of the Trastámaras” (pg. 549-577); Edwards: “Chapter 6. Christians, Jews, and Muslims” (pg. 194-240); Jorge Manrique: Read the “Introduction” to Coplas por la muerte de su padre and the opening verses of the text (I-XXV)
* Manrique, Jorge, 2020. Verses on the Death of His Father, ed. and trans. by Alan Steinle.
https://classicalpoets.org/2020/08/02/verses-on-the-death-of-his-father-copl as-por-la-muerte-de-su-padre-by-jorge-manrique/
*NB: The website has both the original in Spanish and a translation into English.

Session 16: Celestina (Monday, July 21st)
Discussion of the Celestina and the historical context. Readings: Introduction to the Celestina (pg. xiii-xxvii) and Act One (pg. 5-39) * Rojas, Fernando de, 2009. Celestina, ed. by Roberto González Echevarría and trans. by Margaret Sayers Peden (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press).

Session 17: Celestina (Tuesday, July 22nd)
Discussion of the Celestina. Readings: Celestina Acts Two-Nine (pg. 40-139)

Session 18: Celestina (Wednesday, July 23rd)
Discussion of the Celestina. Readings: Celestina Acts Ten-Twenty-One (pg. 140-248)

Session 19: Celestina; Review for the Final Exam (Thursday, July 24th)
Discussion of the Celestina; Review for the Final Exam *Students will have the opportunity to ask questions. There will also be example questions and a review of the exam format.

Session 20: Final Exam (Friday, July 25th)
Final Exam