Intensive study of medieval French romance, centering around one author, or text, or group of texts. The first half of term will be dedicated to close reading. In the second half of term, students will present papers on specific aspects which may take into account also additional texts. This course is entirely dedicated to Chrétien de Troyes, aiming in particular at analyzing his concepts of love, marriage, chivalry and courtesy, and his contribution to the development and further evolution of the genre of romance.