HH315: The Age of Chivalry and Faith

Prof. Richard Abels

 abels@usna.edu


LESSON SCHEDULE
PAPER GUIDELINES AND TOPICS
 CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE FORMAT
CITATING INTERNET SOURCES
DEPARTMENTAL PLAGIARISM STATEMENT

    

COURSE DESCRIPTION

[Last revised March 30, 2007]

This course is designed to be a survey of the history and culture of Western Europe between ca. A.D. 1050 and ca. A.D. 1300, the period generally known as the High or Central Middle Ages. Although the course will examine the major political, religious, economic, and social changes that occurred during this period, our focus will be on the culture and institutions of the secular aristocracy--kings, barons, and knights--and the ecclesiastical elite--popes, bishops, abbots, and monks. We will pay special attention to the political and social systems of the age, kingship and lordship; to the culture of the medieval aristocracy, chivalry; to movements of religious enthusiasm; and to the evolution of the Catholic Church into a papal monarchy.

The Middle Ages are popularly perceived either as an age of poverty, brutality, and superstition, or as one of Faith and Chivalry. Both conceptions have some truth to them; neither is completely satisfactory. As we shall see during the course of this semester, the Middle Ages were anything but a stagnant period. The political, social, religious, and economic changes that occurred during this time gave birth to many of the institutions and ideas crucial to the formation of the modern world (e.g., the Catholic Church, universities, representative government, chivalry, romantic love, nationalism, crusades, the bourgeoisie, to name but a few). By fusing the Græco-Roman, Germanic, and Judæo-Christian traditions the thinkers of this period created a culture different from anything that preceded it, a culture that was specifically "European." The foundations of the modern world were thus laid during the Middle Ages.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. To foster critical and analytical skills through the close study of sources.

2. To sharpen communication skills through written assignments and class discussions.
3. To provide understanding of the political, social, economic, religious, and intellectual developments that took place in western Europe during the High Middle Ages 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Homework (20%): Students are expected to come to class having read the assigned reading for that day. I will require homework: one-to-three page analyses of the assigned readings. Homework assignments are to be referenced with parenthetical citations and bibliography or notes in Chicago Manual of Style format. Homework will comprise 20% of the final grade.

 

1b. Extra-credit homework. I have included in the syllabus a number of opportunities to write replacement homework essays on assigned topics. As with the required homework essays, the replacement essays are to be on the assigned topics in the syllabus and are due on the day they appear in the lesson plan. These are optional assignments. They replace the lowest graded homework assignment.

 

2. Class participation will comprise 10% and will be given additional consideration in assigning grades in borderline situations. 

3. Exams (45%): There will be ONE scheduled midterm examination and a comprehensive final. Questions will be based on material covered in class and upon the readings. The midterm will comprise 15% of the student's grade; the final will account for 30%.

4. MAJOR WRITING ASSIGNMENT (25%): All students must write EITHER 1) an 11-15 page research paper OR 2) a 5-7 page analytical essay AND critical review of either a scholarly article or a scholarly book dealing with a subject concerning the Middle Ages.

OPTION A. RESEARCH PAPER (click on this for full explanation): problem statement and annotated bibliography: 5%; final paper: 20%.

Due dates

annotated bibliography and problem statement: 22 March

research paper with summary statement: 17 April
 

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT:  write a research paper illuminating the life and significance of ONE medieval man or woman, or examining fully the significance of a specific historical event. (List of names of medieval people) You are free to choose the subject of your research. You are to select some particular aspect of this person or event and use it to explain and illuminate the institutions, attitudes, ethos, or practices of the era of the subject. Do NOT write an 'encyclopedia entry.'  A paper that is no more than a narrative summary of events in a person's life, even one that is a good narrative summary, will receive at the very best a 'C'. Model your paper on a journal article. The paper must be TEN to FIFTEEN double-spaced, typed pages long, excluding the one-page summary statement (see below).

 

The project includes handing in an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH PROBLEM STATEMENT, due on 22 March. This will account for ONE-FIFTH of the paper grade. An ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY lists the works that you have consulted in your research of the topic and explains why each will be useful in writing the paper.  In other words, you must show me that you actually looked at the books and articles that you listed. Failure to do so will result in a poor grade. The PROBLEM STATEMENT is an explanation of the topic you have chosen, its historical significance, and (if you are far enough along in your research) of your tentative findings. All topics must be cleared by me. NOTE:  IF YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PROBLEM STATEMENT ARE INADEQUATE, I WILL REQUIRE YOU TO DO THE ANALYTICAL ESSAY/ARTICLE REVIEW OPTION.

 

CRITERIA FOR GRADING:

a. RESEARCH: Since this is a research paper, your grade will reflect how well you researched your topic. You MUST base your paper on a MINIMUM of FOUR SOURCES, at least ONE of which must be a PRIMARY SOURCE (a contemporary narrative). You may use Paul Halsall, ed. Internet Medieval Sourcebook, as a source for primary sources. You may use all primary source accounts for you paper. If you do use secondary sources, they MUST be SCHOLARLY, i.e. works written by professional historians engaged in primary source research on the topic. DO NOT USE 'POPULAR' BOOKS. i.e. works written by authors without the proper expertise to assess critically the sources, written to enrich the author and entertain his or her audience. Scholarly books tend to be published by university presses. I encourage you also to consult articles in scholarly journals. You may use encyclopedia articles to begin your research, but they will not satisfy the four source requirement.  If you have questions, ask me.

b) USE OF SOURCES: Read critically and evaluate the sources that you use. Do not merely summarize the arguments and theses presented in these secondary works. CRITIQUE them: weigh contrasting interpretations against each other; analyze the logic of their arguments and, where you can, their use of sources. Your footnotes should NOT be a series of references to a single work. They should show the reader that you have consulted a number of authorities, contemporary and modern, on the points that you are discussing, and have critically assessed their arguments. The sources you cite ought to be woven together in the notes.  If you have questions, ask me. You will lose TWO POINTS for failing to use the prescribed Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) format. Papers lacking notes will receive a failing grade.

c) THESIS AND ARGUMENT: Your paper must focus on a significant historical issue or question and present a thesis supported by a well reasoned and substantiated argument.

d) WRITING. For a paper to earn an ‘A’ or ‘B’ it must be grammatically sound and logically organized. I prefer simple, direct prose. If you are not certain about the meaning of a word, do not use it. If you are not sure about the grammatical functions of semi-colons, do not use them.

   

SUMMARY STATEMENT: You are to attach to your final paper a ONE-PAGE summary statement in which you concisely define your paper's thesis and explain its findings. Papers lacking a summary statement will be DOCKED ONE FULL GRADE. (FAILURE TO READ DIRECTIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AS AN EXCUSE.)

 


OPTION B. ANALYTICAL ESSAY  /ARTICLE REVIEW OPTION (25% of final grade). Rather than writing a research paper, you may write an analytical essay, 5-7 pages on an assigned topic, and an article review. The analytical essay will be based on the assigned readings for this course.

a) THE BOOK/ARTICLE REVIEW (10% of final grade).  Due date: 22 March.
    The book/article review must not only summarize the author's main arguments, but must place them in the context of your assigned reading for this course. This means you must explain how it supports, contradicts, or supplements the assigned reading. The book or article must be scholarly (based on primary sources and written by a specialist in the field). You may choose any scholarly book or article on medieval history that I have not assigned for this course.

Examples of scholarly journals in Nimitz or on J-STOR that publish articles on medieval history: English Historical Review, Early Medieval Europe, Anglo-Norman Studies (DA195.B33), Anglo-Saxon England (DA152.2.A.75), Speculum, Journal of Medieval History, Mediaeval Studies, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Medievalia et Humanistica, Past & Present, Historical Research, Catholic Historical Review, Archaeological Reports, War in History. The Journal of Social History and Journal of Economic History also occasionally publish pieces on medieval history. You may model your reviews on the book reviews in Speculum, the American Historical Review, and the English Historical Review. If you are interested in medieval military history, the "De Re Militari" website (arranged by geographical area and topic) has links to many relevant articles and even books, but beware: some of them are 'popular' and not scholarly history

b) ANALYTICAL ESSAY (15% of final grade). Due 17 April.

An analytical essay is one that responds to an issue or answers a question arising out of the reading of a particular primary source text or texts. One begins by exploring the meaning of the essay question; if you do not understand what is being asked, you cannot adequately answer the question. The assigned primary sources represent the body of evidence needed to answer the questions raised by the topic as you have interpreted it. You may use assigned secondary sources for historical context, but the conclusions of your paper must be based upon your own analysis of the assigned texts.
    Because this is a history class, your analytical essays need to emphasize the historical context of the works that you are analyzing. In order to use a primary source text as historical evidence, it is necessary to define, if possible, who and what its author was, who the intended audience was, and why the work was written. This means also that you must place the text in its proper time and locality.

Click on ANALYTICAL ESSAY for the topics.

5. DOCUMENTATION. ALL papers must be completely referenced with citations. You are to use ENDNOTES or FOOTNOTES in the Chicago Manual of Style format (see examples below) for research papers. You may, however, use parenthetical references in your homework assignments and analytical essays as long as you also include a complete bibliography of all cited sources. Whatever documentation format you use, you must provide a mechanism for the reader to easily locate the passage or text you used. This means your notes must include page numbers if they are present in the text and some other means of locating a passage if they are not. Your first reference to a text must provide all the publication information necessary to locate that book or article.  Analytical essays lacking endnotes/footnotes will be assigned a grade of 'D'.  RESEARCH papers must have notes AND bibliography. Research papers lacking notes will receive Fs; the failure to include a bibliography will cost you 10 points. You will lose TWO POINTS for failing to use the prescribed Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) format.

IMPORTANT: You need citations with page references (or, if it is an internet source, with section, chapter, or paragraph references) for all of the following: quotations, paraphrases, allusions to passages in the text, ideas or interpretations that you have taken from someone else.

  EXAMPLES OF ENDNOTES/FOOTNOTES IN THE CMS (PRESCRIBE) FORMAT:

Book
1David Crouch, William Marshal: Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire, 1147-1219 (London: Longman, 1990), 43-52.
Normal order: First name last name, comma, Title in italics (Place of publication: publisher, date within parentheses), comma, page numers, period. Note the punctuation.

Second reference
2Crouch, William Marshal, p.70.

Translated Primary source in a collection:
3Gregory VII, 'The Dictates of the Pope," title 6, trans. E.F. Henderson, in The Middle Ages, Vol. 1: Sources of Medieval History, ed. Brian Tierney, 4th ed. (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1983), 142-3.
Always provide a section number or the book and chapter numbers of a primary source to help your reader locate the passage in the text.

Journal article
4J. C. Holt, "Politics and property in early medieval England," Past and Present, 57 (1972), 3-52.
Normal order: First name last name, comma, title in quotation marks, comma (within closing quotation mark), title of journal in italics, comma, volume number, (date of publication in parentheses), comma, page numbers (without pp.), period.

Primary source quoted in a secondary authority:
5 Orderic Vitalis, Ecclesiastical History, trans. M. Chibnall, bk 5, ch. 3, cited in Stephen Morillo, Warfare under the Anglo-Norman Kings, 1066-1135 (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1994), 152.

Note: internet citations. The general rule is to cite the source exactly as if it were a published source (e.g., note 3 above) and add to it the web information (who is responsible for maintaining the site and name of the site) and URL address. Make sure that you give--if it is provided--the name(s) of the author and/or translator of the text.

6Internet Medieval Sourcebook, ed. Paul Halsall: Agreement between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan," trans. Susan Reynolds, Jane Martindale and Paul Hyams, based on text ed. Jane Martindale in English Historical Review 84 (1969), 541-8, with introduction by Richard Abels,  http://www.nadn.navy.mil/Users/history/abels/hh315/agreement.html, accessed 12 January 2002, paragraph 13.
[Note that I provide a paragraph number to locate the reference within the text. If the text has chapter or section numbers, use them instead.]

7Richard Abels, "Points about 'Feudalism'," http://www.nadn.navy.mil/Users/history/abels/hh315/Feudal.htm, accessed 12 January 2002, paragraph 1.
 

*BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY: (Note the differences between the bibliography and note formats):
Crouch, David. William Marshal: Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire, 1147-1219. London: Longman, 1990.

Normal order: Last name, first name, period, title (book in italics), period, place of publication, colon, publisher, comma, date, period.

If you have any questions, click on Chicago Manual of Style
 

6. PLAGIARISM. DEPARTMENTAL PLAGIARISM STATEMENT (read carefully). To 'paraphrase' means to put another's ideas into your OWN words. If you take another's words and fail to indicate that fact with quotations marks, that is PLAGIARISM. See the History Department's plagiarism statement linked to this syllabus. If you commit plagiarism unintentionally, either out of carelessness or laziness (or failure to read the department's plagiarism statement), you will receive a ZERO on the assignment. If I believe that you intended to deceive, the paper will get a zero AND I will turn the matter over to the midshipman honor board. 

 

7. I will take style as well as content into consideration in grading your papers. Errors of grammar, problems of syntax, confusion of expression, and careless typos will result not only in furious red AWKS disfiguring your text but in an appropriately lower grade. I urge the use of a dictionary and a grammar book. If you do not know the difference between 'its' and 'it's' or between a comma and a semi-colon, do not guess; find out. (As a rule do NOT use it's in formal writing, since it is a contraction.)You should be aiming for clarity of expression in your writing. Be concise; be clear; use the active voice whenever possible; and always use the past tense when writing about past events. 

8. LATE POLICY All writing assignments are to be submitted at the beginning of class on the date indicated in the syllabus. Failure to adhere to this deadline will result in ONE LETTER (10 point) PENALTY FOR EACH CLASS LATE. Papers handed in after class but before 2000 on the day the paper was due will be docked five points.  Watch, movement orders, scheduled dental appointments, etc., are NOT valid excuses for lateness. If you know that you are going to miss class on the day an assignment is due, either hand in the paper early or arrange for a friend to deliver it to me. If you have a legitimate reason for an extension, please ask me for one before the assignment comes due. A paper that is four classes late will automatically receive an F. How high an F will depend upon the quality of the paper.  All writing assignments must be handed in by the LAST DAY OF CLASS. Those that are not will receive the grade of ZERO.

9. INSTRUCTOR'S DISCRETION. A semester's grade does not represent simply the total points received on assignments during the course of the semester. It is the instructor's professional evaluation of how well the student performed and how much he or she learned in the course. In assigning the final grades, I will take into account upward and downward trends, whether the student took advantage of extra-credit opportunities, and how well the student mastered the course material for the final exam. A student going into the final with a low B who writes an exceptional examination may well receive an A for the semester, even though his or her final 'average' comes out to an 88 or 89. Conversely, a student who has a strong C going into the final and writes a failing exam, demonstrating an unsatisfactory understanding and mastery of the course material, might well forfeit that C.


WEIGHT OF ASSIGNMENTS:

Midterm exam 15%
Homework (text analyses)    20%
Research option OR Analytical essay/article review option: 25%
Class participation and instructor's discretion 10%
Comprehensive final examination 30%

ASSIGNED READINGS

Barber, Malcolm. The Two Cities. Medieval Europe 1050-1320. 2nd edn. London: Routledge, 2004.

Bouchard, Constance. Strong of Body, Brave & Noble: Chivalry and Society in Medieval France. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998.

Crouch, David. William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219. 2nd edn. London: Longman, 2002.

Chretien de Troyes. Arthurian Romances. Trans. Wiliam Kibler and Carleton Carroll. New York: Penguin, 1991.

Guibert of Nogent. A Monk’s Confession: Memoirs of Guibert of Nogent. Penn State University Press, 1996.

Raoul of Cambrai. Trans. Jessie Crosland. Revised by R. Abels. N.Y.: American Heritage Custom Publishers, 1994.  [Web reading]

You will also have primary source readings from:

Halsall, Paul, ed. Internet Medieval Source Book.  Http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html.

LESSON SCHEDULE

 

    

Week of 8 Jan

T. Introduction to the course
Reading:  Barber 1-2, 462-5 (chronology), Abels, Periodization of Medieval History: The High Middle Ages ; Timetable for Medieval Technology (Paul Ganz) ; A Chronology of the Middle Ages (500-1500) (look at 962-1300); Church History Timeline: 1000-1300 

 

Th. Christendom in the Eleventh-Century: Physical and Mental Environs

Reading: Barber 5-23, 445-61

Primary Source: Ralph Glaber: On the First Millenium

                                               

                

Week of 15 Jan

T. Nobles, Knights, and Kings in the Eleventh Century
Reading: Bouchard 1-34

Images: Bayeux Tapestry (ca. 1075), charging knights ; 

 

Th. Love, loyalty, and “feudalism”
Reading: Bouchard 35-46; Barber 247-55; Abels: 'Feudalism' 

Primary Sources: Agreement between William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan ; Bishop Fulbert of Chartres on the duties of men and lords ; homage;

Images: motte and bailey ; Bayeux Tapestry (ca. 1070): building motte and bailey castle/burning house ; Bayeux Tapestry: attack on a castle ; Politics and Power in the Eleventh-century: Powerpoint

Maps: Political Map of Europe in 1100; Map of France in 1050; Map of England in 1000; Maps of Dominions of William the Conqueror, 1087
 HOMEWORK:

Do the Agreement between William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan and the letter of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres on the duties of men and lords support or challenge the traditional Anglo-American model of feudalism as outlined in my online posting Abels: 'Feudalism' ?

Note: all homework assignments are to be 1-3 pages long.           

   

 

           

Week of 22 Jan
T. Violence and politics: the “Feudal Revolution” thesis

Reading:  Barber 275-87, 179-88, 208-15, 275-87;  Thomas Bisson, “The Feudal Revolution"  Past and Present 142 (1994): 6-42; Chris Wickham, Response to Bisson's Feudal Revolution, in Past and Present 155 (1996), pp. 200-08

Homework, option A (do either this homework assignment or the one for Thursday). Write on one of the following:

1. Does Bisson’s “feudal revolution” thesis apply to eleventh-century Germany and England as presented by Barber, or does Barber provide too little relevant information to make a judgment?  Explain your answer.

2.  Do the Agreement between William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan and the letter of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres on the duties of men and lords support or challenge Bisson’s “feudal revolution: thesis?

 

Th. The Rural Economy: Manorialism
Reading: Barber 42(bottom)-47; Bouchard 47-61

Primary Source: Ælfric, Abbot of Eynsham: Colloquy on Occupations (Latin primer for monks) ; English Manorial Documents (read only first three texts); A Manor Roll from the Abbey of Bec, 1248

Images:  medieval agriculture and village life (powerpoint)

HOMEWORK, option B (do either this homework assignment or the one for Tuesday)

What do the English manorial documents and manorial roll from the Abbey of Bec reveal about the lives of peasants and the power of their lords?

 

 

    
Week of 29 Jan
T. Noble families
Reading: Bouchard 67-81; Giroie family and its vendetta with the Montgomery family (Abels/Hyams)  ; Orderic Vitalis (c. 1140) on the Giroie family

Extra-credit replacement HOMEWORK (replaces homework with lowest grade): What does the story of the Giroie-Montgomery feud reveal about the nature of family and kinship obligations among nobles in the eleventh and twelfth centuries?

 

Th. Marriage, Sex, and the Church
Reading: Bouchard 86-102; Christian Church and Sex (James Brundage) ; chart of degrees of kinship (for incest prohibition)

Primary Sources: Pope Innocent III (1198-1216): Letters on marriage, sex, and women; St Thomas Aquinas on marriage

Extra-credit replacement HOMEWORK (replaces homework with the lowest grade): What do Innocent III’s letters reveal about his and the Church’s attitudes toward and authority over marriage and sex?

 

 

              

 

Week of 5 Feb

T. Nobles and the Church
Reading: Barber 24-35; Bouchard 145-71; Crouch 207-16

Images: Power Point: Medieval Church and Nobility(1050-1250)

Extra-credit replacement HOMEWORK (replaces lowest graded homework assignment). Write on one:

1. According to Bouchard, why did monks need nobles and nobles need monks? What brought them into conflict?

2. Describe the knightly piety of William Marshal as presented by Crouch.

 

Th. Guibert of Nogent

Reading: Guibert of Nogent xiii-xix, xli-xliii, 24-47

 

 

 

      

                                   

Week of 12 Feb

T. Monasticism, saints, and devils
Reading: Barber 131-44, 155-60

Primary Sources: Guibert of Nogent 24-34, 47-58, 69-84, 89-91, 111-19, 199-208; William of St. Thierry, "A Description of Citeaux, ca. 1143" ; Thirteenth-century relic stories (popular preaching)

HOMEWORK (write on one): 

1) What vices/abuses did Guibert detect among the monks of his day?

2) What does Guibert’s own career as a monk reveal about the relationship between monasticism and family?

3) Analyze two of Guibert’s stories about devils and explain the moral lessons involved in them.

4) What was Guibert’s attitude toward sex?

 

Th. Economic expansion, towns and commercial revolution;

Reading: Bouchard 61-66; Barber 47-79; Medieval towns and cities (Abels)

Primary sources: Bertran de Born (ca. 1180): class consciousness (first poem); Grant of Lands & Privileges to the Jews, 1084; Acknowledgment by an Agent of an Order on Goods to be Sold in Montpellier, 1248; Urban Privileges: Charter of Lorris 1155; Stendal Garment Cutter's Guild, 1231

Images and figures: Maps of medieval trading routes; Trans-Asian trading routes; Population estimates for larger medieval cities and towns (McEvedy)

 

 

              

 

Week of 19 Feb  

T, Bishops and the Cities (Movie ‘Cathedral’)

Reading: Barber 64-5, 418-32;

Primary Source: Guibert of Nogent 121-44

 

Th. Revolt in Laon: commune, bishop, and robber baron

Reading: Guibert of Nogent 144-90; Abbot Suger on the wicked Thomas of Marle

HOMEWORK. Write on one: 

1. What were Guibert’s criteria for judging whether a bishop was worthy or unworthy?

2. Why and how did Guibert defend Gaudry’s election to the bishopric of Laon to the pope? Did Guibert believe his own defense?

3. How did Gaudry become bishop of Laon?

4. What do the actions of Thomas of Marle and the response of King Louis VI as depicted by Guibert and Abbot Suger reveal about law, order, and kingship in early twelfth-century France?

 

 

   

 

Week of 26 Feb
T. Abelard, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and the Revival of Learning and Spirituality
Reading: Barber 375-408; Guibert 16-21, 58-63; Abelard, History of My Calamities ;  Abelard, preface to Sic et Non

HOMEWORK, option A (do this assignment or the one due on Thursday). Write on one: : 

1. How did Abelard interpret the meaning of his castration in his "History of My Calamities"?  How did it differ from the meaning of the bedeviled man’s self-castration related by Guibert (202-04)?

2. Compare and contrast Guibert’s attitude toward learning with Abelard’s.

 

Th. Development of the Papal Monarchy: Reform and Conflict
Reading: Barber 83-111, 180-188; Saint Udalrich

Primary Sources:  Gregory VII's Dictatus Papae (1075) ; Henry IV denounces Gregory VII ; Gregory VII deposes Henry IV;  Paschal II's False Solutions; Innocent III: Letters on Papal Policies; Fourth Lateran Council, 1215

HOMEWORK, option B (do this assignment or the one due on Tuesday):

Based on his letters and the canons of the Fourth Lateran Council, what was Innocent III’s conception of his authority as pope? Based on Barber’s portrayal of him, how would Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa have responded?

 

           

Week of 5 March

T. Development of the Papal Monarchy II: From Gregory VII to Innocent III

Reading: 83-110, 180-200, 229-37

Primary Sources:  Gregory VII's Dictatus Papae (1075) ; Henry IV denounces Gregory VII ; Gregory VII deposes Henry IV;  Paschal II's False Solutions; Innocent III: Letters on Papal Policies; Fourth Lateran Council, 1215 ; Barbarossa and the Lombards; Barbarossa and Alexander III

Images: Three Models of Royal and Papal Authority; Medieval Church Reform and Conflict

 

Th. Popular Religion, Heresy, Friars, and Inquisition
Reading: Barber 144-76

Primary Sources: Waldo's Conversion ; Waldensians; Life of St Francis ; Little Flowers of St. Francis: Perfect Joy; St Francis' Testament; Cathars ; Stephen de Bourbon: "De Supersticione" : On St. Guinefort

Images: Medieval Christianity (slideshow)

Extra-credit HOMEWORK (replaces lowest graded homework assignment). Write on one:

1. What basic religious beliefs did Waldo and St. Francis share? Why was the former marked as a heretic and the latter made a saint?

2. Based on his letters and the canons of the Fourth Lateran Council (Innocent III: Letters on Papal Policies; Fourth Lateran Council, 1215) what were Innocent III’s atttitudes about and policy on the Jews?

3. How did the beliefs of the Cathars conflict with the creed set forth in the first canon of the Fourth Lateran Council?

4. What does Stephen de Bourbon’s story about the “holy” greyhound “St.” Guinefort reveal about elite clerical attitudes toward popular religion?

TAKE-HOME MIDTERM DUE (beginning of class—no late exams will be accepted)

 

Week of 12 March     SPRING BREAK

 

Week of 19 March

T. Crusades
Reading: Barber 112-30, 353-72

Primary Sources: Urban II calls for a crusade; Raymond of Aguilers on the sack of Jerusalem, 1099 ; Excerpts on Jihad from Al-Mukhtasar by the jurist Abu 'l-Hasan al-Quduri (b. 362 AH=AD 972); Fulcher of Chartres 1127: Orientalized Franks ; Usamah ibn Munquidh: A twelfth-century Muslim's views of the Crusaders;  Salah al-Din; St. Bernard preaches the Second Crusade (1146) ; Innocent III calls a Crusade;  image: map of Saladin's realm]

Extra-credit HOMEWORK (replaces lowest graded homework assignment):

What does Usamah ibn Munquidh’s memoirs reveal about the difference between Franks who chose to live (including Templars) in the East and Crusaders? What was his attitude towards each group?

 

Th. Chivalry: a contested ethos

Reading: Bouchard 103-29; Crouch 179-206; Abels on Chivalry

Images:  Chivalry powerpoint images

 

                                   

                      

Week of 26 March

T. Courtliness and Chivalry: Perceval le Gallois (movie)

Primary Source: Chretien de Troyes, Perceval

RESEARCH PAPER OPTION: PROBLEM STATEMENT AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE

OR

ARTICLE REVIEW DUE (for those doing the Analytical Essay/Article Review option)

 

Th. Chivalry and Love: Chretien’s Yvain

Reading: Bouchard 129-38

Primary Source: Chretien de Troyes, Yvain

HOMEWORK (write on one). Write on one:

1. Is Chretien de Troyes’ presentation of male-female relations in Yvain consistent with Bouchard’s presentation of this subject?

2. Based on Chretien de Troyes’s Perceval and Yvain, what qualities must the ideal courtly knight possess?

3. Of the three knights Gawain, Yvain, and Perceval, which one did Chretien consider to be the closest to his courtly ideal?

 

 

  

 

Week of 2 April

T. Development of Kingship: Capetian France
Reading: Barber 247-74

Primary Sources:  Rigord's Deeds of Philip Augustus

Extra-credit HOMEWORK (replaces lowest graded homework assignment): Compare and contrast the manner in which Henry II of England dealt with the Jews of his realm with the way that Philip Augustus dealt with the Jews of France? What attitudes toward Jews underlie these two medieval texts?

 

Th. Critique of chivalry and bad kingship: “Raoul of Cambrai”

Primary Source Reading: Raoul of Cambrai 

 

 

Week of 9 April

T. Development of Kingship: Angevin England

Reading: Barber  275-304; Crouch 12-28; recommended: Abels: Chronology of William Marshal's life within the context of English history

Primary Sources: Henry of Huntingdon;  Assize of Clarendon ;  Richard I's coronation oath ; Philip II deals with a recalcitrant vassal, 1213

Images: Richard I's castle (Chateau Gaillard;  Maps of Dominions of William the Conqueror, 1087;  map of Angevin Empire

 

Th. William Marshal: household knight

Reading: Crouch 1-11, 29-56, 192-206; recommended: Abels: Chronology of William Marshal's life within the context of English history

Primary Source:  The “History of William the Marshal”: The tournament at Lagny; The “History of William the Marshal”: the taking of Le Mans and the flight of Henry II from the History of William the Marshal

 

             Magna Carta 

            Tomb of William Marshal           King John

 

Week of 16 April

T. William Marshal: baron

Reading: Crouch 57-96

ANALYTICAL ESSAY DUE

OR

RESEARCH PAPER DUE

 

Th. William Marshal and King John

Reading: Crouch 97-142

Primary source: Abels, "Magna Carta" (excerpts and analysis)

Extra-credit homework (replaces lowest grade):

Based on Crouch’s biography of William Marshal, what made John a bad king?

 

 

Blanche of Castille and St. Louis

 

Week of 23 April

T. William Marshal: Lordship and Love

Reading: Crouch 143-92; review 207-216

 

Th.  A Saintly King and the Medieval Worldview
Reading: Barber 265-74; 375-98

Primary Source Readings: Joinville's Life of St Louis (read Part 1: Sayings; Part II, chapter 1; Part IV, chaps 1-3 [pay particular attention to Louis’s general ordinance, chap. 3, pp. 365-77); Louis IX's advice to his son ;   Louis claims right to hang forgers, 1257 ; 

Images: MS illlustrations from the Life of St. Louis (14th cent,) ] 

Extra-credit homework (replaces lowest grade): What was Louis IX’s attitude toward and relationship with his bishops and the Church? (Pay special attention to Joinville’s Life, Part IV, chaps. 1-2 [pp. 347-64])

 

 

FINAL EXAM: MAY 1 at 1930.

 FINAL EXAM STUDY SHEET