This course is an introduction to medieval Catalan language and literature. The first semester will consist of a thorough presentation of Catalan grammar with special emphasis on the distinctive morphological, syntactical, and lexical features of medieval usage. We will also examine the relevant political, social, and cultural factors which contributed to the development of Catalan as a literary language from the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries. By the middle of the first semester we will begin literary readings in combination with formal grammatical material. The second semester will shift from an emphasis on grammar to a survey of medieval Catalan literature. We will read a variety of texts from genres as diverse as troubadour lyric, historical narrative, sermon literature, and romance. The texts proposed for study are the following: Cerverí de Girona, selected poems; Ramon Llull, Blanquerna, Pere el Cerimoniós, Crònica; Sant Vicent Ferrer, sermons; Bernat Metge, Lo Somni; Ausias March, selected poems; Jaume Roig, Llibre de les dones; and Joanot Martorell, Tirant lo Blanc. We will analyze these texts from both literary and historical perspectives.