Medieval Spanish Epic

A study of the medieval Spanish epic poems and narratives. This seminar will move through a series of topics or events and texts from the 10th to the 15th centuries, exploring the relation between heroic narratives and history. Four medieval cycles (Castilain Counts, Cid, Carolingian, and anti-Carolingian) based on oral traditions will be studied and compared with their ballad congeners printed in the 16th century. We will examine the different contexts and channels in which historical epic narratives were produced, consumed and transmitted.