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Ausiàs March and European Poetry

Code: 105844
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics OB 3
English and Catalan Studies OP 3
English and Catalan Studies OP 4
Catalan and Spanish Studies OP 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Francesc Josep Gomez Martin
Email :
francescjosep.gomez@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Josep Pujol Gomez

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

None.

Objectives

This course provides an overview of Catalan poetry from the last quarter of the fourteenth century to the mid fifteenth, with emphasis on concurrent European trends (in French, Italian and Spanish), as well a close reading of a selection of Ausiàs March's works. Analysis of the manuscript chansonniers and observation of critical editions are also important issues.

At the end of the course, students are expected (a) to have a general knowledge of all major developments related to medieval Catalan poetry, and (b) to have acquired a close acquaintance with the many facets of March's oeuvre, so that (c) they are able to comment on any of the poems included in the selection, showing literary acumen and a reasonably good command of medieval Catalan.

Learning outcomes

  1. Write text commentaries from a critical standpoint.
  2. Identify principal and secondary ideas and express them using correct language.
  3. Identify the relationships between literature and history, art and other cultural movements.
  4. Comment on literary texts, using the instruments acquired, with regard to the historical, social and cultural context.
  5. Critically interpret literary works, taking into account the relationships between the different areas within literature and their relationship to humanistic, artistic and social areas.
  6. Produce normatively correct written and oral texts.
  7. Use technological resources (digital and audiovisual) to acquire knowledge and apply it in language and literature.
  8. Produce written work and oral presentations that are effective and framed in the appropriate register.
  9. Gain a greater capacity for reading, interpreting and critically analysing literary and linguistic texts.
  10. Make appropriate use of the knowledge acquired in order to collect data and handle documentary sources in the study of Catalan language and literature.
  11. Respect the opinions, values, behaviour and customs of others.
  12. Plan, organise and carry out work in a team.
  13. Use IT tools and be able to consult specific documentary sources.
  14. Master oral and written expression in Catalan.
  15. Produce work in accordance with academic ethics.
  16. Write original essays, showing mastery of the relevant literature, on medieval authors and works.
  17. Explain the context of medieval Catalan literature and relate works to their historical and cultural context.
  18. Describe and interpret the Western cultural tradition, from the classical period to the late Middle Ages, and recognise features of the Western tradition in a medieval text.
  19. Identify themes and motifs of the classical and medieval European tradition in any of its literary and artistic manifestations.
  20. Recognise themes and motifs of the European tradition in a medieval Catalan text.
  21. Display basic knowledge of medieval Catalan and write versions of medieval texts in modern Catalan.
  22. Discern the sex/gender factor in the configuration of the literary canon.
  23. Identify the main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  24. Develop effective written work and oral presentations and adapted to the appropriate register.
  25. Strengthen the capacity of reading, interpretation and critical analysis of literary texts and language.
  26. Properly apply the knowledge gained to data collection and management of documentary sources application to the study of Catalan language and literature.
  27. Work independently in the synchronic and diachronic study of Catalan language and literature.
  28. Produce written and oral texts with correction rules.
  29. Maintain an attitude of respect for the opinions, values, behaviors and practices of others.
  30. Identify relationships between literature and history, art and other cultural movements.
  31. Comment on literary texts, apply the acquired tools and take into account the historical and sociocultural context.
  32. Critically interpret literary works take into account the relationships between different areas of literature and its relationships with human, artistic and social areas.
  33. Apply the tools and know consult the specific documentary sources.
  34. Use the appropriate terminology in the construction of an academic text and in the transmission of their knowledge.
  35. Make literary predictions and inferences about the content of a text.
  36. Understand the relationship between text and discourse.
  37. Justify by means of appropriate terminology the analysis of data from a linguistic point of view.
  38. Use traditional sources to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.
  39. Use digital tools to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.
  40. Expose knowledge about the history, art and other cultural movements.
  41. Know how to carry out individual or group work applying the theoretical knowledge acquired and facing new challenges and cultural realities.
  42. Characterise literary phenomena taking into account the different levels of analysis.
  43. Demonstrate a basic level, knowledge of medieval Catalan language, and draft versions of modern medieval Catalan texts.
  44. Produce advanced-level critical texts on the main trends, the most significant authors and the most representative works in Catalan literature.
  45. Write original and complex trials, fluent in the relevant literature on authors and works of medieval period.
  46. Know the periods of Medieval and Golden Age literature (16th-17th centuries) in all their genres, trends, tendencies and most representative authors.
  47. Comment on literary texts from different periods.
  48. Determine the stylistic features of the main authors of medieval and golden age literature.
  49. Develop critical texts about the trends, authors and works of poetry and prose of the most significant medieval Catalan literature.
  50. Interpret the Western cultural tradition, from the classical period to the end of the Middle Ages, and recognize a medieval text detail the features of Western tradition.
  51. Recognise the context of advanced medieval Catalan literature and relate works to their historical and cultural context.
  52. Demonstrate an advanced mastery of medieval Catalan and draft versions of complex modern Catalan medieval texts.
  53. Use the techniques of textual criticism and its related disciplines: ecdotics, book history, palaeography and codicology.
  54. "Recognise the historical-literary series from the early Middle Ages to the end of the 17th century, so that continuity can be established between the different literary genres and their projection; for example, traditional lyric poetry in the work of Lope de Vega, or medieval storytelling in Cervantes."
  55. Identify themes and motifs of European classical and medieval tradition in all its literary and artistic events.
  56. Recognise the theatrical forms: religious, pastoral, tragic and the so-called New Comedy.
  57. Identify, at an advanced level, themes and motifs of the classical and medieval European tradition in any of its literary and artistic manifestations.
  58. Recognise the different types of poetry (lyric, narrative, song, Italianate, etc.) and their metrical forms.
  59. Recognise, at an advanced level, themes and motifs of the European tradition in a medieval Catalan text.
  60. Recognise the forms of prose (brachylogy and paremiologic, popular or cultured, fiction (sentimental, chivalrous, pastoral, Moorish, Byzantine, picaresque, etc.) and thought (epistle, chronicle, dialogue, essay, prayer, etc.) and their evolution throughout the two periods.
  61. Identify the main characteristics in the genres of medieval literature and the literature of the Golden Age literature.
  62. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  63. Identifying the relationships of literature with history, art or other cultural movements.
  64. Commenting on literary texts, applying the acquired tools and taking into account the historical and sociocultural context.
  65. Critically interpreting literary works taking into account the relationships between the different areas of literature and its relationships with human, artistic and social areas.
  66. Apply the tools and know consult the documentary sources.
  67. Produce critical texts on the main trends and the most significant authors and works of poetry and prose in Catalan literature.
  68. Write complex original essays, showing mastery of the relevant literature, on medieval authors and works.
  69. Demonstrate basic level, knowledge of Catalan medieval, and modern Catalan to write versions of medieval texts.
  70. Display advanced expertise in medieval Catalan and write versions of complex medieval texts in modern Catalan.
  71. Interpret the Western cultural tradition, from the classical period to the late Middle Ages, and pinpoint features of the Western tradition in a medieval text.

Contents

1. Survey of Medieval European Lyric Poetry

The origins: the aetas ovidiana. The troubadours and fin’amors. The spread of troubadour lyric: Minnesang and Galician-Portuguese poetry. The French tradition: from the trouvères to Alain Chartier. The Italian tradition: from the Scuola Siciliana to Petrarch.

2. Survey of Catalan Lyric Poetry before Ausiàs March

Late troubadour lyric: chansonniers, poetic treatises, and literary contests (consistoris). Courtly poetry from Peter the Great to Peter III (1276–1387). Poets of the reigns of John I and Martin I: Gilabert de Próixida, Andreu Febrer, Melcior de Gualbes. Poets of the reign of Alfonso IV up to 1424: Jordi de Sant Jordi. French influence: new stanzaic forms. Italian influence. Trobar ric and estramps.

3. Other Cultural Contexts

The reading of the auctores: translations and the education of the laity. Scholasticism, preaching, and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. The intellectualization of love discourse.

4. Reading Ausiàs March

Life and works. Literary tradition. Cycles. Other love and moral poems. The Spiritual Canticle and other poems of maturity.

5. Ausiàs March's Legacy

Catalan and European poetry of the fifteenth century. Ausiasmarchism. Printed transmission (1539–1633). Renaissance dissemination and imitatio in Castilian and Catalan. Ausiàs March and the poetic canon.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Oral presentations (flipped class) 11 0.44
Bibliographical research 10.5 0.42
Lectures 25 1
Critical reading 40 1.6
Seminars 10 0.4

Lectures will provide students with the historical context of the best medieval Catalan poets. This course, however, is based on reading practice at the classroom (online if necessary). Such practice will focus on (a) translating the texts into modern Catalan, (b) commenting on their sources, and (c) discussing their interpretation from the viewpoint of comparative literature, women writers included.

The calendar and compulsory readings will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject. In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Exam 40% 3 0.12 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 32, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71
Written commentary on a poem by Ausiàs March 15% 3 0.12 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 43, 44, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71
Written commentary on a post-troubadour poem 15% 3 0.12 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 40, 42, 43, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 55, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 69, 70, 71
Supervised written project with an oral presentation 30% 44.5 1.78 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71

Assessment is continuous.

For any assessment activity, students will receive (via Moodle) prior notice of the date and all relevant information concerning their right to review any assessment item with their teacher.

To opt for reassessment students must have been assessed of at least 2/3 of the overall input, and must have obtained a final mark of minimum 3.5. Reassessment may include a written exam and/or submitting again an essay which had not reached the pass mark (5).

Students who have submitted less than 30% of the course assignments will be considered Not Assessable.

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases. Any work that includes AI-generated passages will be considered a breach of academic integrity and will result in the assignment receiving a grade of 0, with no opportunity to resubmit or recover the assessment.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikisand/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.

One-day assessment

The same reassessment system as for the continuous assessment will apply. On the same day as the written continuous assessment exam, there will be: (a) a written exam (40%); (b) submission and oral presentation of the supervised written project (30%); and (c) submission of two written commentaries on poems agreed in advance with the instructor, including the bibliography consulted (30%).

Bibliography

Badia, Lola (dir.), Literatura medieval, II: Segles XIV-XV (Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana/Ajuntament/Barcino, 2014).

Badia, Lola, Tradició i modernitat als segles XIV i XV: Estudis de cultura literària i lectures d'Ausiàs March (Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, 1993).

Gómez, Francesc J., & Josep Pujol (eds.), Ausiàs March, Per haver d'amor vida (Barcelona: Barcino, 2008).

Riquer, Martí de, Història de la literatura catalana: Part antiga, 3 vols. (Barcelona: Ariel, 1964); 4 vols. (Barcelona: Planeta, 1984).


Bohigas, Pere (ed.), Ausiàs March, Poesies (Barcelona: Barcino, 2000).

Riquer, Martí de (ed.), Andreu Febrer, Poesies (Barcelona: Barcino: 1951).

Riquer, Martí de (ed.), Gilabert de Próixita, Poesies (Barcelona: Barcino, 1954).

Riquer, Martí de, & Lola Badia (eds.), Les poesies de Jordi de Sant Jordi (València: Tres i Quatre, 1984).

Torró, Jaume (ed.), Sis poetes del regnat d'Alfons el Magnànim (Barcelona: Barcino, 2009).


Links

Biblioteca Cervantes / Joan Lluís Vives Virtual: Ausiàs March https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/ausias_march/

Biblioteca Cervantes / Joan Lluís Vives Virtual: https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/rois_de_corella/

Repertorio informatizzato dell'Antica Letteratura Catalana (RIALC): www.rialc.unina.it

www.narpan.net.

Software

None.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed