Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.
January 2024
Candidate
It’s twelfth-century France, and on the battlefield, knights are fighting in deadly earnest—but around the fireside, courtly men and ladies can read about knightly deeds of arms and feats of love in safety and comfort. And today, we still can as well! This course explores two Arthurian romances of the master-romancer, Chretien de Troyes. In “Yvain, Knight of the Lion,” held by many to be Chretien’s masterpiece, Yvain learns that rash attempts at heroism sometimes have unexpected and disastrous consequences—but then again, sometimes earn the friendship of a heroic, feline beast. The story of “Cliges” (what medievalist Derek Pearsall calls Chretien’s most “lavishly plotted” romance) follows, first, the career of a knight, Alexander, and then years later, that of his son, Cliges—two men whose choices in both love and war prove that history doesn’t always repeat itself.
Required Texts
Required: Any translation of Chretien’s romances. Recommended: Chretien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, translated by W. W. Comfort (available in print, digital, and audio format)
This is a candidate for January 2024 which means it will only run if there is enough interest. Token holders can vote on candidate modules.
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Days and Times
Meeting Wednesdays & Fridays at 10:00 AM Eastern for eight 1-hour sessions on January 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26