Amy Ogden / French

I propose to use the Boots Mead Fellowship to provide students in my Spring 2012 class on “The Culture of Love in the Middle Ages” with experiences that will enrich their understanding of medieval France.

FREN 4585The Culture of Love in the Middle Ages

French culture of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries—like that of the twenty-first—was obsessed with love.  This course will examine definitions and uses of love in religious literature, music, poetry, art and romances.  What is the relationship, for medieval artists, between the love of God and the love of human beings?  What is the role of art in promoting and producing love?  To what ends did medieval artists depict and sing about desire and affection?  A series of required fieldtrips will complement our readings by providing contact with medieval cultural artifacts and continuing traditions whose origins date back to the Middle Ages.

Budget

monastic life:  438.00Monastery Visit: UTS Charter (6 hours @ $73.00/hr)

book arts:  500.00Calligraphy workshop w. local calligrapher

music:*  657.00UTS Charter Service (9 hours @ $73.00/hr)

1000.00Anonymous 4 Concert tickets for 20 students

culinary culture: 450.00Workshop on medieval food (+ dinner!)

3045.00Total

* Anonymous 4 is in the process of setting their Spring 2012 tour schedule, so exact dates and locations are not yet available.  If they are not performing near Charlottesville in Spring 2012, I will locate another early music concert within a reasonable distance (Washington, D.C., or closer).

Note: these field trips will be supplemented by free excursions to study the medieval manuscripts in UVA’s Special Collections (Small Library) and the small, but still impressive medieval collection of the UVA Art Museum.