This assignment focuses on the unique medieval romance Aucassin and Nicolette (discussed in class on 10/20)

The story has been called one of the comic masterpieces of medieval literature and follows a fairly unusual format in that it alternates verse and prose–the old French refers to it as a "cantefable" or a song-story. 

Assignment:  

Your assignment is to use the text to explore one aspect of medieval culture (one quality or characteristic) that interests you. You can think about ways in which the text confirms and supports our analysis of this characteristic. Example:  medieval perspectives on beauty.

Because, in many respects, this text is a parody of both serious medieval epic and romance, you could also explore how it seems to contradict some of our conclusions. For example: you can think about the relationship between form and meaning (i.e., what is implied vs what is said); about the relationship between "fact" or "reality" and fiction (i.e., courtly love or chivalry); about the relationships between Christians and Muslims; or about the relationships between men and women (gender).

Format:  Your essay should be four to five pages in length, double-spaced, have a creative title, and be in MLA or Chicago format.  Whichever format you select, make sure it is the latest edition.  For help with formatting papers, please see the UofL Writing Center website and Purdue OWL (on-line writing lab).  Your paper should also have a separate “Works Cited” page.

A good essay will do the following: