essay

In the creative essay writing form, I looked to explore the relevancy of rugby throughout all of Occitania. Known as the sport of the people, as opposed to a sport of the bourgeois, rugby has remained a large part of this southern French culture. I talked with Frank Schisano, a rugby player who became a self-made wine maker, and explored how one could even make that seemingly incompatible transition, yet I found a few parallels by which the occupations are approached and sustained.

The purpose of my presentation is to identify characteristics of troubadour and trobaritz poetry that could have evolved or been integrated into Disney princess culture.  Some of the characteristics present in trobaritz poetry include physical and sexual attraction and fina amor, or courtly love.  There exists an ongoing debate over whether Disney princess culture is progressive in the feminist eye, but it is not conclusive by any means because evidence used to support both sides is largely anecdotal and subjective.  Examining gender dynamics of courtly love through historical lens provides

Admittedly, in writing a creative, informal essay, I did not really adhere to any strict methodology. I mainly just wanted to relate my changing attitudes towards the seminar, while also providing a lightly analytical critique of some of our readings. In comparison with some of the more directly analytical projects my peers have created, I was at first a little wary of taking such a free-form approach—after all, I still wanted to demonstrate how much I had learned.

For my project, I wanted to explore how exactly the Occitan language experienced its decline since the time of the troubadours up until modern times. I looked at several secondary sources that examined the place of Occitan in France throughout history, and in addition, I looked at legislature, particularly the French Constitution to find France’s stance on language in the country. I started out by looking into the current status of Occitan in France alongside the presence of Occitan in medieval Europe after the time of the troubadours and Cathars.

Normal Springtime                                                                                           Bertran de Born's Springtime
                       
 
Bertran de Born: 
was a minor nobleman, though he had his own castle that he used for protection during war times
fortunes depended on his success in war
was a spokesman for the noble mercenaries
disliked times of peace because he would usually be poor
loved war since mercenaries paid him during this time

If you are trying to learn about medieval Occitania in Languedoc-Roussillon, a visitor will be drawn to the old castles, cultural institutions like Cirdoc or the various mediatheques, but also to the various regional museums. As an American with some experience in museum programs and management, a lot of the museums we visited struck me as very similar. For our purpose, I will focus on the Centre du Sculpture Romane in Cabestany, the Centre du Chateau des Lastours, and the Musee Archeologique du Narbonne.
 

Statement of intent: I hope to explore the material grounding of lineage and honor in Betran de Born's canos "B'em platz lo gais temps de pascor" in this project.Thicker than Water:Bertran de Born’s Quest for Rebirth in “Be’m platz lo gais temps de pascor”To reach the castle at Quéribus, tourists climb a craggy, sandy path that weaves steeply up the mountainside. From outside, the castle looms darkly down at the viewer; from inside, it corners the inhabitant with its angled walls.

In his fourth Cantiga de Santa Maria, Alfonso narrates the conversion of a Jewish mother and son to Christianity after the father attempts to burn the son alive for receiving communion from the Virgin Mary. Mary acts as a guide towards the vera vía of Christianity by giving the Jewish boy communion; although she still acts as a powerful domna, she is much less sexualized and physically idealized than the domnas of previous troubadours. She presents an image that Alfonso describes as "resplendent" as she cradles her son in her arms.

While the vida of la Comtessa de Dia does not say much, we know from her forthright cansos that she was a strong woman who believed in the female right to declare her love. She often sung of romantic longing and sensuous desire, "reclaiming and reconverting the role of love's marytr" (Bruckner et. al. xxx). La Comtessa de Dia is, in fact, the most famous and influential trobairitz of her time. A feminist and revolutionary, she assumes the typical male role in the song; she demands the power in the relationship.

In my creative project, I set out to show that the troubadours of today were not all that different than the troubadours of the Occitan. While the troubadours of the Occitan varied greatly in their styles, rhetoric, and topics I found that, for the most part, they adhere to three main guidelines.