For researchers working with medieval European materials, knowledge of Medieval French is a valuable skill, though very few universities offer formal training in the language. Now in its second year, the CHASE Medieval French training course has filled this gap, equipping PGR students from a range of backgrounds with the skills necessary to read, understand, and work with francophone materials from throughout Europe, while introducing them to a range of different kinds of texts — from wills and charters to romances and histories. While the course offers some initial linguistic and palaeographical training, it is also driven by the participants’ research interests and questions, helping them to develop professional skills in presenting their work, peer reviewing translations, and engaging in interdisciplinary collaboration. It has allowed students from history, literature, archaeology, art history, and numerous other fields to discover new materials and share ideas, while gaining insight into different approaches to texts. Participants have reported that the course has helped to shape their doctoral projects and given them the confidence to work with new materials, and the 2020-21 cohort went on to present at the CHASE Encounters conference, discussing how the course helped them form a scholarly community during the Covid pandemic.
The documents used in the training program can be found below:
Tips and Tricks (Session 2)[2]