image of Reynard the Fox

Week 12: Reinardus et Ysengrimus.

Background | Background Quiz | Starting Assumptions | Resources | Extras
Vocabulary | Etymology | Grammar | Perseus Dictionary | Perseus Tool

Reading Overview | Reading Quiz: English
| Reading Quiz: Latin
Discussion Questions | Latin Composition | Weekly Checklist


Discussion Questions

 

Please choose 3 of the following questions to answer and send your response in an email to the instructor (laura-gibbs@ou.edu). Each answer should be a solid paragraph (150-250 words for each English discussion question, 500-750 words for the overall assignment).

You should then post your answers to the class Discussion Board. You need to have sent the email and posted your answers by Friday midnight. At some point you will also be posting at least two replies to comments posted by the other students; you may do that at any time during the week, until Monday midnight.


1. Satire of the church. One of the strongest features of the "Reynard" cycle is the way that it satirizes the persons and rituals of the Church. You read several stories this week that contain these satirical elements: Reinardus et Chantecler, Ysengrimus Monachus, and Aegrotante Leone (with the references to the "purple" and cardinal's "scarlet"). What are the aspects of the Church that are made fun of in these stories? What would be the point of using animals to make this kind of satirical attack? Can you think of modern examples of animals used for satirical purposes?

2. Reynard the Fox. What kind of character is Reynard the Fox? What are some characteristics that recur from story to story? Are there some aspects of Reynard's behavior that don't seem to "fit" his character? Make sure you mention each of the stories in which Reynard appears: Reinardus et Chantecler, Reinardus et Tebergus, In Puteo, Pisces, and Aegrotante Leone. Is there any similarity between Reynard and the fox story that we read in the Physiologus?

3. Ysengrimus the Wolf. What kind of character is Ysengrimus the Wolf? What are some characteristics that recur from story to story? Are there some aspects of the wolf's behavior that don't seem to "fit" his character? Make sure you mention each of the stories in which Ysengrimus appears: Ysengrimus et Oves, Ysengrimus Monachus, In Puteo, Pisces, and Aegrotante Leone.

4. And the moral of the story is.... The only story this week which included a moral is the story of the "ailing lion." Can you supply morals for the other stories (English is fine!): Reinardus et Chantecler, Reinardus et Tebergus, Ysengrimus et Oves, Ysengrimus Monachus, In Puteo, and Pisces.

5. Favorite image for the week. Was there one of the images for this week which made a big impression on you? Provide a link to the webpage where that image is found, and give a detailed description of the image. What attracted your attention to this image? What are the details that stick in your mind? Do you think that image fits in well with the words of the text? What makes this image stand out from the other images that we looked at this week?

6. Reflecting on the week. Take a look back at what you wrote as your "starting assumptions" for this week, and look at the starting assumptions of the other students in the class. Did anything you read or studied this week make a big change in your starting assumptions? Did the assignment turn out to be pretty much what you expected? More interesting? Less interesting? What surprised you the most? If you were going to continue with this topic, what kind of research and reading would you want to do? What questions are still left unanswered?

7. Grammar revelations. Did you have a Latin grammar crisis this week? Did you get through it? What did you learn? Is there something you grasped this week that was never really clear to you before? A grammar epiphany? Is there something you are still really struggling with? What do you do when you are having trouble understanding a passage in Latin? Where do you look for help? In general, was the reading this week easier or harder than expected? What are you going to concentrate on in your Latin work in the coming week?

8. Website critique. Pick one of the websites that you visited this week as part of your work for this class (it could be a website about this week's topic, or a website for learning Latin). Provide a link to the site, and a brief desription of its contents. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this website? Who would find this website useful? What did you use this website for? What did you find there? Do you think you will visit this website again?

 


Modern Languages 4970 / MRS 4903: Medieval Latin. Spring 2003 Online Course at the University of Oklahoma. Visit http://www.ou.edu/online/ for more info.
Laura Gibbs, University of Oklahoma - Information Technology © 2003.  laura-gibbs@ou.edu. Last updated: December 29, 2002 7:12 PM