Memorial University of Newfoundland

History 2330/MST 2002

Medieval Europe 1050-1500

Winter 2006 Instructor: Dr. Lindsay Bryan

History 2330/MST 2002 Medieval Europe 1050-1500

Slot 4: 11:00-11:50, M/W/F Instructor: Dr. Lindsay Bryan Office: A4006 Office hours: Mondays 3:30-4:30; Tuesdays 10:00-12:00 (tentative), or by appointment . I am in my office a lot, and you may knock on my door anytime it is open. Telephone: 737-7524 Email: [email protected]

This course introduces the High and Late Middle Ages, covering the period c. 1050-c.1500. It has two objectives. The more important one is to introduce you to the historian’s craft. Rather than memorizing lists of dates or kings, you will learn what kinds of materials historians use to learn about the past, and you will learn how to do this yourself, drawing conclusions based on available evidence and reasoned argument. These skills will stand you in good stead in subsequent courses in history and other disciplines. The second objective is to learn about the period itself. It was a time when many of our most important institutions took shape: parliaments and legal systems, for example, and the university itself.

Marks: Participation: Short paper: Long paper: Examination:

20% 15% 35% 30%

Textbooks (required): William Kelleher Storey and Towser Jones, Writing History: A Guide for Students, Canadian Edition. If you have Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, this will do. Judith Bennett and Warren Hollister, Medieval Europe: A Short History, 10th ed. Patrick Geary, Readings in Medieval History, 3rd ed.

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Participation: You will notice that 20% is allotted for Participation. These marks are earned at ten regular discussion classes, during which readings from the book of primary sources will be discussed in small groups. You are not expected to know all there is to know about these readings before you come to class, although you are expected to have done the assigned reading and be prepared to talk about it. You will find that the material becomes easier to understand when you talk it over with your classmates. Most people enjoy these classes. Written assignments: There are two assignments in this course. The first, a short document study (3-5 pages; 7501250 words), lets you employ the same tools historians use to learn about the past. You will read a particular document excerpt from your book of primary source readings (one of the three selections in the section entitled “Church and Society in the 14th and 15th Centuries”) and from it find out everything you can about the society which produced it. We will discuss what this means in class. The document study is due on January 30. The second assignment is a more conventional longer research essay (1012 pages; 2500-3000 words, not counting notes and bibliography). You have a choice of subject; I would advise that you select your topic early, and consult with me about the feasibility of your choice early on (I will make appointments available for everybody). The paper is due on March 13. No papers will be accepted after the last class, April 7. For both papers, proper footnotes in the style given in your writing guide are required. Papers which use APA style of citation will not be graded. Please hand in your rough notes with the paper. Internet sources: Opinions vary about Internet sources. My own feeling is that they are highly variable, and you are better off keeping their use to an absolute minimum. My experience has been that students tend to find Internet sources that are no better than encyclopedia articles, which are generally unacceptable as sources for university-level papers. Students also can spend long hours searching out sites that are not particularly good, when they might have spent their time much more productively in the library. It is also far too easy to plagiarize accidentally from the Internet (and you will get caught!). Where the Internet is useful is in making available many primary source materials; many of these are on universitybased websites (a good one for us is the Medieval Sourcebook at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html. The library has information about such resources. Consult me before using any Internet sources, please. Late papers: Only dire emergencies constitute an appropriate reason for missing deadlines. In the absence of extensions granted for such emergencies, late penalty is 2% per weekday. Talk to me if you have a problem. No papers will be accepted after the date of the last class.

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Plagiarism Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's work. It is an academic offence which is viewed with the utmost seriousness. Plagiarism can happen accidentally, when a student takes notes carelessly, not noting sources or quotations. It can also happen deliberately, when quoting or paraphrasing passages (or lifting ideas) from books or articles without proper reference. It is plagiarism to submit a bought paper, or one downloaded (whole or in part) from the Internet.

The assignment receives a grade of zero. Again, this is an extremely serious transgression (a theft like any other), and one which is easily avoided. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, please ask. The writing guides are helpful on paraphrasing.

Schedule N.B. We will make every effort to follow this schedule, although changes may have to be made because of unforeseen circumstances like snow! I try to build in some spare classes to accommodate such disruptions. Readings: Those marked “B & H” are from your textbook and are generally meant to complement or supplement lectures. It is a good idea to read these selections in preparation for the lectures. Those marked “G” are the required readings for discussions. Some discussions also have required readings from B & H or other sources. In case anyone has the ninth edition of the textbook, I have included the relevant page numbers as “H & B”

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Week 1, January 9-13: Introductions Recap of the Early Middle Ages (c.500-c.1050) Reading: B & H 215-225 (H & B 217-227) Discussion 1: Europe in the eleventh century: church and state What is the basis for the conflict between church and state in the late eleventh century? Upon what did the pope base his claims of supremacy? Was a conflict such as the Investiture Contest inevitable? How much is attributable to the personalities involved? How was the conflict resolved? Reading: B & H pp. 240-246 ( H & B, pp. 242-248) G, pp. 608-635, plus Dictatus Papae (handout) Additional reading: Tierney, Crisis of Church and State John W. Baldwin, The Government of Philip Augustus Michael Clanchy, England and Its Rulers

Week 2, January 16-20: Lectures: The church: the papacy, bishops, priests; monasticism. Religion in daily life: priest and people Reading: B & H 186-214; 163-4 (H & B, pp. 188-216, 167-168) Discussion 2: Politics in the Middle Ages: power, intrigue, webs of allegiance Is it fair to say that the seeds of modern nation states can be seen in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? Why or why not? What kinds of things determine such developments? What constitutes a nation? How was power constructed? Who held it, and how did they get it and keep it? Reading: G, pp. 386-392; 776-797 Additional reading: M. Bloch, Feudal Society H. Berman, Law and Revolution

Week 3, January 23-27: Lectures: Education and culture The arts (great film on architecture) Reading: B & H 289-320 (H & B, pp. 292-322) Discussion 3: Medieval religion: theory and practice Was the Christian Church the “one rational institution” of the Middle Ages, as one historian has claimed? What are the characteristics of medieval religion? What can we know of how laypeople experienced their religion? What did the church say about women? About war? Question to keep in mind after the discussion: How did the theory and practice of medieval Christianity change over time? Reading: G, pp. 443-492; 328-359. Additional reading: R. Swanson, Religion and Devotion in Europe, c. 1215-c. 1515 Various articles in Robert L. Benson and Constable, eds., Renaissance 4

and Renewal in the Twelfth Century R. Southern, The Making of the Middle Ages G.R. Owst, Literature and Pulpit in Medieval England

Document study due January 30 Week 4, January 30-February 3: Lectures: Knighthood and chivalry Courtly culture. Discussion of second assignment Reading: B & H 180-184; 292-298 (H & B pp. 182-186; 294-300) Discussion 4: Intellectual life What were the concerns of intellectuals in the High Middle Ages? How do they differ from the interests of modern intellectuals? Who went to universities, and why? What was the scholastic method? Was the “Twelfth-Century Renaissance” a true “rebirth”? What did it owe to the past? Reading: G, pp. 493-523 Additional reading: John Baldwin, The Scholastic Culture of the Middle Ages Various articles in Robert L. Benson and Constable, eds., Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century C. Morris, The Discovery of the Individual Carolyn Walker Bynum, “Did the Twelfth Century Discover the Individual?”, in Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages, 82-109. J. Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God D. Knowles, The Evolution of Medieval Thought G. Leff, Paris and Oxford Universities in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries C. Brooke, The Twelfth-Century Renaissance B. Radice, ed. and trans., The Letters of Abelard and HeloVse

Week 5, February 6-10: Lecture: War, Crusades Reading: B & H 225-238; 321-324; 346-351 (H & B, pp. 227-237; 323-324; 346-351) Discussion 5: Christian kingship (continued on next page) How did a man be a king in the Middle Ages? What were considered virtues particularly applicable to kings? Who decided such standards? How close did reality come to ideal? How are the kings you have read about alike or different? Reading: G, pp. 393-406; 686-704 Additional reading: John of Salisbury, Policraticus Christine de Pisan, The Book of the Body Politic 5

------. The Treasure of the City of Ladies H. Berman, Law and Revolution

Week 6, February 13-17: Lectures: Law and justice Heresy Reading: B & H 192-194; 207-213; 235-238 (H & B, pp. 195-196; 210-213; 236-237; 344) G 801-802

No classes Monday, February 20 or Wednesday, February 22 Week 7, February 24: Lectures: Economy, industry, trade Reading: B & H 156-179; 325-335 (H & B pp. 160-161; 171-176; 326-335)

Week 8, February 27- March 3: Lectures Marriage, family, and gender Life on the manor Reading: Judith Bennett, A Medieval Life Discussion 6: Knights, chivalry, and war What is a knight, and how does someone get to be one? What are the obligations and privileges of knighthood? Where does the notion of chivalry come from, and how is it manifested? How do such ideas fit into the realities of medieval war? (N.B. We will divide up the readings for this discussion.) Reading: Raymond Lull, The Book on the Order of Chivalry, pp. 305-344 (on reserve) G, pp. 386-442; 716-741 Additional reading: Richard Barber, The Knight and Chivalry Maurice Keen, Chivalry Georges Duby, trans., William Marshal Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars J. Keegan, The Face of Battle, pp. 78-116 on Agincourt J. Sumption, The Hundred Years War: Trial by Battle K. de Vries, Medieval Military Technology

Week 9, March 6-10: Lectures: The fourteenth century: church and state The Great Famine; the Black Death 6

Reading: B & H pp. 323-335; 346-365 (H & B, pp. 323; 326-335; 346-366) Discussion 7: Heresy What was heresy in the High Middle Ages? Who defined it, and why? What kinds of things determined how and why heresy would be combatted? How was the problem addressed? Were there lasting effects of the battle against heterodoxy? Reading: G, pp. 524-544; 742-757 Additional Reading: R.I. Moore, The Birth of Popular Heresy P. Biller and A. Hudson, eds., Heresy and Literacy, 1000-1530 S. McSheffrey, Gender and Heresy

Essay due March 13 Week 10, March 13-17: Lectures: The growth of intolerance The Hundred Years’ War and Joan of Arc Reading: B & H 323-335; 346-365 (H & B pp. 326-335; 346-366) Discussion 8: Peasant life before the Black Death What are the characteristics of peasant life? Are they constant over space and over time? Given what you have learned about peasants, does anything in the life of Cecilia Penefader surprise you? Is the peasant’s life one long round of slogging, or is there relief from labour? Reading: Bennett, A Medieval Life G, pp. 761-3 Additional reading: J.A. Raftis, Pathways to Medieval Peasants J. Bennett, Women in the Medieval English Countryside

Week 11, March 20-24: Lectures: Marginalized people TBA Reading: B & H 174-177; 186-187; 212-214; 235-238 (H & B pp. 176-179; 188-189; 203; 212-215; 216; 237-239); G 802-812 Discussion 9: An Italian businessman Italy led Europe in devising banking systems and mercantilism. Which aspects of this businessman’s life seem medieval to you, and which modern? What roles do marriage and family play in his life? What kind of Christian is he? Reading: G, pp. 836-851 Additional reading: M.M. Postan, The Medieval Economy and Society C. Platt, The English Medieval Town

Week 12, March 27-31: Lectures: Towns, gilds Reading: as for Week 7 7

Discussion 10: Women and religion What options were available to medieval women? How did some of them end up in religious life, and what kinds of opportunities were there for them in religion? What was the attitude of the church towards religious women? Do you think that women practised a different kind of religion from that practised by men? Reading: G, pp. 567-599; 742-757; 815-823 Additional reading: The Letters of Abelard and HeloVse The Showings of Julian of Norwich E. Petroff, Medieval Women’s Visionary Literature B. Newman, Sister of Wisdom C. Atkinson, Mystic and Pilgrim: The Book and the World of Margery Kempe. S. McSheffrey, Gender and Heresy J. Murray, “Thinking About Gender: The Diversity of Medieval Perspectives”, in Jennifer Carpenter and Sally-Beth MacLean, eds., Power of the Weak: Studies on Medieval Women C. Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast. Week 13, April 3-7: Catch-up and review

T he image on the front cover is King Arthur in combat, by Robert de B arron. L’Estoire de Merlin, fourteenth century. Bibliothèque N ationale, Paris, France. T he B ridgeman Art Library. Ed141983 Sr 95 F. 173. Scanned from the cover of Rodney Castleden, King Arthur: The Truth behind the Legend (London: Routledge, 2000). T he image on p. 8 is from the Luttrell Psalter, 1320 x 1340, British Library Add. M S 42130, f.171.

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