French Literature Reviews - 2026
Thirty Years of Research in Medieval Languages and Literatures
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
The journal Perspectives médiévales announces the publication of its jubilee issue:
Thirty Years of Research in Medieval Languages and Literatures
Published in March 2005, this issue spans 502 pages.
It can be ordered from the treasurer of the Société de Langues et de Littératures Médiévales d'Oc et d'Oïl: Gérard Gros - 7 rue Maurice Berteaux - 95260 Beaumont-sur-Oise, by sending a check for 23 euros plus shipping costs (3.62 euros for France; 2.47 euros for Europe and Africa; 4.12 euros for America and Asia). Checks should be made payable to SLLMOO.
Below are the preface and the table of contents:
Preface:
"The Société de Langues et de Littératures Médiévales d'Oc et d'Oïl was officially established on March 9, 1970, through the initiative of Jean-Charles Payen, Joël Grisward, and Jean Dufournet. Pierre Le Gentil served as its first president. Its journal, Perspectives médiévales, was launched a few years later in 1975 – thirty years ago.
To mark this milestone, it was decided to publish an overview of the past thirty years of research within our disciplines. For the new millennium, a few journals, such as the Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, adopted a similar approach across all fields of medieval studies; however, this limited the coverage of language and literature to a fifteen-page in-quarto article. It seemed to us that, regardless of the quality of such syntheses, it would be far more useful to go beyond a mere overview and explore in detail the major areas of linguistics and literary analysis, ranging from philology (traditional and otherwise) to narratological, anthropological, and even psychoanalytical approaches. This allows researchers—particularly young scholars embarking on a thesis who may feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of publications—to gain a comprehensive perspective while accurately assessing the contributions of the various disciplines that constitute the humanities. Alongside the deepening of reflections on literary genres and forms (such as the chanson de geste, Arthurian romance, lyric poetry, and theater), which have been pursued since the 19th century, and the growing body of research on prolific authors like Christine de Pizan, we have also devoted attention to highly fruitful themes and issues, such as the marvelous, the relationship between text and image, and research inspired by neighboring disciplines. Incorporating these adjacent fields is no longer optional; indeed, they represent the most significant factor in the renewal of our studies and methods since the 1970s, which thus hold a twofold significance for us.
This volume, conceived primarily as both a witness and a guide, will have achieved its purpose if it becomes an essential reference point for all those—young or old, literary scholars or non-specialists, medievalists as well as scholars of other periods of our literature—who wish to delve deeper into the fascinating labyrinth of the texts to which we have dedicated our work. On behalf of all the members of SLLMOO, we thank the authors for willingly contributing their expertise to these syntheses."
Dominique Boutet, President of the Société de Langues et de Littératures Médiévales d'Oc et d'Oïl.
Jean-René Valette, General Secretary.
Table of Contents:
Dominique Boutet and Jean-René Valette, "Preface", p. 5
Nelly Andrieux-Reix, "New Aspects of Research in Medieval French", p. 9
Emmanuèle Baumgartner, "Medieval Romance: Poetic and Narratological Approaches", p. 39
Jean-Pierre Bordier, "Theater", p. 59
Pascale Bourgain, "Latin and the Vernacular", p. 87.
Dominique Boutet, "The Indo-European Perspective and Medieval Studies", p. 99.
Jacqueline Cerquiglini, "Poetry of the 14th and 15th Centuries: A Review of the Past Thirty Years", p. 115
Francis Dubost and Jean-René Valette, "The Medieval Marvelous: A Synthesis of Recent Research", p. 127
Joëlle Ducos, "History of Science", p. 153
Liliane Dulac, "Current State of Scholarship on Christine de Pizan", p. 167
Élisabeth Gaucher, "Historiography", p. 191
Gérard Gouiran, "Occitan Studies", p. 213
Gérard Gros, "Medieval Lyricism (12th–13th Centuries): Courtly and Religious Poetry", p. 221
Laurence Harf-Lancner, "The Dialogue Between Text and Image", p. 239
Danièle James-Raoul, "Medieval Stylistics", p. 265
Claude Lecouteux, "Mytho-Folklore Studies", p. 285
Sylvie Lefèvre, "Humanism, Pre-Humanism, and Humanists: A Singular Plural", p. 303
Alexandre Leupin, "Medievalism and Psychoanalysis", p. 319
Philippe Ménard, "Thirty Years of Arthurian Studies", p. 337
Francine Mora, "The Reception of Antiquity in the Middle Ages", p. 367
Michel Stanesco, "European Medieval Literature: The Challenges of Comparatism", p. 383
Armand Strubel, "Allegorical Literature", p. 421
François Suard, "What's New? The Chanson de Geste", p. 433
Jean-Jacques Vincensini, "Medieval Studies and Anthropology", p. 447
Friedrich Wolfzettel, "French Literature of the Middle Ages: Sociological Perspectives (1970–2000)", p. 469
This jubilee issue of the journal Perspectives médiévales, published by the Société de Langues et de Littératures Médiévales d'Oc et d'Oïl, surveys thirty years of research within its disciplines. Conceived as both a witness and a guide, the volume explores major areas of linguistics and literary analysis ranging from traditional philology to narratological, anthropological, and psychoanalytical approaches. It addresses the deepening of reflections on literary genres and forms such as the chanson de geste, Arthurian romance, lyric poetry, and theater, alongside growing research on prolific authors like Christine de Pizan and themes like the marvelous and text-image relationships.
The publication is designed to help researchers gain a comprehensive perspective while assessing the contributions of the various disciplines that constitute the humanities. It covers diverse topics including Latin and the vernacular, the Indo-European perspective, the history of science, historiography, Occitan studies, mytho-folklore studies, humanism, the reception of antiquity, comparatism, allegorical literature, and sociological perspectives. Readers interested in the history of medieval scholarship and the evolution of literary analysis in French medieval studies may find this volume relevant.