The role of Old French narrative and song in the dissemination of chivalric ideals and culture, within France and into Europe, has long been acknowledged. ‘Imagining French Narrative and Song, c.1100– c.1350’ explores these works at three levels. First, how were these works imagined at the time of their creation? Second, how were they re-imagined, translated, and adapted during their cultural diffusion? And last, how are we, as modern scholars and interpreters, to imagine these works, as literature, as performance, and as music?

This event aims to explore the processes of creation, translation, adaptation, and interpretation in Old French narrative and song, including underexplored musical aspects, and other closely related literary, musicological, and performance elements.