Course Syllabus

Course Information

  • Instructor: David M. Perry
  • Class Times: Tuesday 1:20-2:45 and Thursday 2:15-3:35
  • Class Location: Old Main 01
  • Office: 601B Holland Hall
  • Office Phone: (507) 646-3534
  • Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 4-5 P.M.
  • Email: perry@stolaf.edu

Course Description

This course will provide a broad survey of the history of Western Europe during the Central and Later Middle Ages, approximately 1000-1500 C.E. Our primary aim will be to study this period through its documents and other source material, looking both at the contents of the sources and the contexts in which they were produced. We will focus on several themes and follow them throughout the duration of the semester. These include the development of the institution of the Catholic Church and the Papacy, the Church's interactions with secular powers, the development of cities and new networks of trade, the crises of the later Middle Ages and the transition into the Early Modern world. We will develop ideas about how men and women of all social standings lived their lives, and how historians have come to study those lives. Our focus on historical sources will also lead to discussions about the challenges of working with different types of evidence.

Required Texts

The following texts should be purchased immediately at the St. Olaf Bookstore

  1. C. W. Hollister and J. M. Bennett, Medieval Europe: A Short History, 9th edition (henceforth Bennett) - note the NINTH edition. Do not buy the wrong one.
  2. Readings in Medieval History, ed. P. Geary (henceforth Geary)

Additional readings may be added either online or in handouts. ALL READINGS MUST BE BROUGHT TO CLASS ON THE DAY THEY ARE DUE. ALL ONLINE READINGS MUST BE PRINTED OUT AND BROUGHT TO CLASS.

Course Requirements and Assignments

  • Informal Writing Assignments (1% each - 10%)
    • There are 12 informal writing assignments during the course of the semester. These will vary in format, and you usually will get no more than one day's warning as to the exact nature of the assignment. In general, you will be asked to react to the readings or planned activities in writing and produce a paragraph or two of well-written thoughtful prose. When we have debates planned, you will write-up your debate preparation and turn it in during that class. As we near the class, your precise assignment will be posted on the web page for that class.
    • These are graded at 1% of your final grade each, to a total of 10% (so you can skip two).
    • These serve as a basis for discussion, hence, NO LATE INFORMAL ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
    • They will be graded on an "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory) basis. The qualifications for "S" will vary by assignment, but will include demonstrating a certain amount of thought and care in your writing.
  • Formal Writing Assignments (10% each - 40%)
    • There are 4 papers due at various points in the semester. Precise topics will be announced when their due dates approach. Each paper must be approximately 750 words long. The assignments must be word-processed and you should pay careful attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation. These assignments are due on February 22, March 10, April 12, and May 5. Papers turned in late will be accepted, but the grade will be lowered by one FULL LETTER per day. Papers are considered late once class begins (give or take a few minutes).
  • Examinations
    • Midterm Examination (10%): This will be a take-home exam with short-answer questions and identifications. Due in my mailbox on Thursday, March 17 by 2:15 P.M.
    • Final Examination (20%): This will also be a take-home exam with short-answer questions and identifications. It will be due on whatever date our final exam is set for.
  • Participation
    • Participation is more than just showing up (that's attendance). It's about doing the reading, being prepared to talk about it, volunteering your input, being involved in your group work, preparing for the debates and other discussions, and generally being an asset to the class as a whole. We will have a variety of ways in which you can participate, but none matter more than being an active member in our small-group and full-class discussions.
    • Your participation is a large percent of your grade. Earn it by showing up prepared to talk. Take initiative. Do not expect to be called upon and ace this section of the class. It is your for the taking.
  • Attendance:
    • Show up. Attendance will be taken every day. There are 25 days of class (plus the day the midterm is due). Attendance is worth 10% of your final grade. You should endeavor not to miss any days of class, but if you miss more then two, you will then lose 1% per day up to a total of 10% for each additional class skipped.
    • Excused absences - severe illness with doctor's note, death in the family, acts of God, or legitimate St. Olaf activities (i.e. the choir tour in the first week of class) will obviously not incur penalties. That said, they will count against the two 'free' absences that everyone gets.
    • The reason for this Attendance policy is that poor attendance generally leads to poor grades. In the highly unlikely event of an excused absence, you are responsible for making sure it does not harm your grade - you must do the reading, get your responses in on time, and get class notes from another student.
    • Finally, being late consistently may be counted as absence. You may get a warning

The Grade

  • 4 Papers (10% each) - 40%
  • Informal Writing Assignments - 10% (1% per entry, 10 entries counted)
  • Midterm Exam - 10%
  • Final Exam - 20%
  • Attendance -10%
  • Participation - 10%

Course Policies

  1. Follow the St. Olaf Code of Student Conduct. If you are unsure about whether something is plagiarism or cheating, ask first.
  2. No assignment, under any circumstances, will be accepted by fax or email.
  3. Students must bring readings to class on the day they are assigned. Print out online materials.
  4. Informal writing assignments will not be accepted late as they exist to stimulate your pre-class thought and to aid in discussion.
  5. Formal writing assignments and examinations are due at the beginning of class. DO NOT EVER SKIP CLASS TO TRY AND FINISH YOUR PAPER. Printing errors and lost data are a fact of the computer age. If you wait until the last minute and encounter technical difficulties, your paper may still be counted as late.
  6. For every day a paper or project is late, you lose one full grade per day (A to B, B to C, etc.). Do not test this system. Turn your work in on time. Stapled. With your name on every page. Typed. Double-spaced. In a reasonable font.

Schedule of readings and assignments

This material is subject to change (and has been intentionally left blank for the latter half of the course). Changes will be posted to the Calendar and Assignments pages.

Phase I - Consolidation and Growth

New States

1. T (8 Feb)  Introductions

2. Th (10 Feb) Ottonians, Normans, and Beyond

  • Reading: Bennett 145-53; SOURCES: Geary - Liuprand of Cremona, A Chronicle of Otto's Reign , p. 600-607.
  • Project - Bayeux Tapestry
  • Informal writing assignment due - 1 - Tapestry assignment

3. T (15 Feb) Feudalism - A concept that counts?

  • Reading: Bennett 141-145; SOURCES: Geary - Fulbert of Chartres, Letter to William of Acquitaine, p. 386; Hugh of Lusignan, Agreement between Lord and Vassal p. 387-392.
  • Informal writing assignment due - 2 - Assessment of Lord and Vassal relationships. What has each promised the other?

Economic Change

4. Th (17 Feb) The Agricultural and Commercial Revolutions

Monastic and Church Reform

5. T (22 Feb) Cluny and the Cistercians

  • Reading: Bennett 188-203, Geary - Cluniac Charters and Charters of the Grossi Family, p. 321-327; Bernard of Clairvaux, p. 350-359.
  • Paper #1 due

Phase II - Results of Consolidation

Militant Christendom

6. Th (24 Feb) Crusades to the East

  • Reading: Bennett 217-241, Geary - Group 1 read: Fulcher of Chartres, Group 2 read Solomon Bar Simson, Group 3 read Ibn Al-Athir, Group 4 read Anna Comnena (pages 407-442). Come to class prepared to present your document to the class.
    • Informal writing assignment due - 3 - Write-up of your preparation. For your document, you need to be able to describe the following. What happened? Who did what to whom? What are the reasons given for the actions? How do you interpret the document's genre, authorial intention, and intended audience?

7. T (1 Mar) Crusades to the North; Crusades within Europe

  • Reading: TBA (handouts in class)

Empire and Papacy

8. Th (3 Mar) Gregorian Reforms and its consequences; Barbarossa

9. T (8 Mar) Debate on Empire vs. Papacy (includes some additional documents to read)

  • Informal writing assignment due - 4 - Write-up of your preparation. Consider the side you are going to take in your debate. Write up the major points you are going to make to defend your side. Write down the questions you wish to ask the other side.

10. Th (10 Mar) Fourth Lateran Council and Papal Monarchy

  • Readings: Geary - The Canons of the Fourth Lateran Council, p. 443-469
    • Everyone is responsible for reading all the canons.
    • Then focus on canons 1-3, 13, 21, and 71. We will discuss those as a class specifically
    • You will also be assigned one or two other canons to read. You will need to write your paper on these canons. You ALSO need to have read the canon for this class meeting, although the paper is not due until the 15th.
  • Paper #2 - Write a 2-3 page paper (about 750 words) that explicates the canons you have been assigned. What problems are the canons meant to solve. What effects, intended or unintended, might the canons have had on the Church?
    • Group 1: Canons 4 and 5
    • Group 2: Canons 6 and 7
    • Group 3: Canon 8, 18, 19
    • Group 4: Canons 14-17
    • Group 5: Canons 23-27
    • Group 6: Canons 50-52
    • Group 7: Canons 67-68

11.T (15 Mar) Universities - theology and law

12. Th (17 Mar) Midterm due

Phase III High Medieval Society and Culture

13. T (29 Mar) Chivalric Literature, Crusade literature, Castles

  • Readings: Bennett, 292-301. Sources TBA.

14. Th (31 Mar) Gothic Architecture

Piety and Learning beyond the University

15. T (5 Apr) Mendicant Orders

  • Reading: Bennett 210-216. Geary, p. 470-474 (rule of St. Francis). Geary 478-492. (Canonization of St. Dominic, Defense of the Mendicants). Lives of St. Francis - Excerpts (print these out!). Passage on the Birds, the Wolf, and the Rich Man (three separate links. Print these out too please) from The Little Flowers of St. Francis.
  • Debate Suger vs. Francis
  • Informal writing assignment due - 6 - Prepare for a debate (it will be shorter this time) on the views of St. Francis on the nature of the Church against the views of Suger. Summarize Francis' views and compare them to Suger's in a single paragraph. Be ready to place them against each other in class discussion.

16. Th (7 Apr) Women and Piety in the Middle Ages

  • Reading: Geary, 815-823 (Catherine of Siena) and 567-599 (Margery Kempe)
    • Optional reading: St. Clare (click English. Many things to skim, but focus on the Rule)
  • Informal writing assignment due - 7 - Why do people in general react so negatively to Margery? How do Church officials react? What's the meaning of the difference?

17. T (12 Apr) Women's lives in the centreal and late Middle Ages

  • Reading: Southwark Prostitution Laws (handout), Wife of Bath's Prologue. Judith Bennet, "Medieval Women: Modern Women, across the Great Divide."
  • Paper #3 due- Choose a chapter from the Book of Margery Kempe and write a textual analysis of the chapter. Click here for more information.

New conflicts

18. Th (14 Apr) England and France

  • Reading: Bennett, 268-288. Sources: Geary 686-704 - Joinville, "Life of St. Louis," Geary 776-789 - Magna Carta (and related documents)
  • Informal writing assignment due - 8 - Read the Magna Carta. Who is protected? Who is penalized? What effect does this agreement have on the formation of England, both positive and negative.

19. T (19 Apr) Reconquista and Mongols

  • Reading: Bennett, 289-291. Sources here.
  • Informal writing assignment due - 9 - Medieval reactions to the Mongols (see page)

Phase IV - Decline and Response

The crises of the 14th Century

20. Th (21 Apr) Demographic - The Black Death (and more!)

  • Reading: Bennett 326-345 and handouts
  • Informal writing assignment due - 10 - How do people understand what is happening? How do they react?

21. T (26 Apr) Avignon and the decline of the Papacy

22. Th (28 Apr) Outsiders - Jews in Medieval Society

  • Reading: Geary 801-803 (Fuero de Cuenca)
  • Informal writing assignment due - 11 - Discuss what the images, specifically, tell you about the status of Jews in the Middle Ages. Pick one image and (print out a copy) focus on that.

The 15th century; harbingers of the Early Modern World

23. T (3 May) The birth of "La France" - 100 years war, Joan of Arc, War of the Roses, the beginnings of absolute monarchy

  • Reading: Bennett 346-366. Geary, 716-757.

24. Th (5 May) Global Exploration and the rise of the Atlantic world

25. T (10 May) Popular Uprisings and the Spread of Heresy - The Reformation and its precursors

26. Th (12 May) Let's go out to the movies! (Required). Informal Writing Assignment will be generated if required.

FINAL EXAM IS DUE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, BY 12:00 (our scheduled exam time is May 18, 9:00-11:00 a.m.)

 

 


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Page last updated: 1/29/05
Comments to: David Perry
Homepage URL: http://www.stolaf.edu/courses/2004sem2/History/212/
© 2005 by David Perry and St. Olaf College