Prof.
Lisa Wolverton
325
McKenzie Hall
Office
Hours: Fri noon-1:30 and by appt
HIST 319
EUROPE IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
This
course provides an introduction to post-Roman, early medieval Western
Europe—roughly from 500 to 800 CE.
Our guide will be a survey by the worldÕs preeminent historian of the
period: Peter BrownÕs The Rise
of Western Christendom (10th ed., 2013). Beginning in Week 3, we will alternate
our reading of Brown with discussion of primary sources in translation
(available on Canvas, marked with an * below). Following Brown, our emphasis will be on
religion and culture, broadly defined.
The
course objectives are threefold: 1)
to practice reading attentively and critically, whether of primary sources from
the Middle Ages or the work of modern scholars; 2) to analyze primary source
texts and write logical, compelling essays that interpret them; and 3) to gain
an understanding of late Roman and early medieval society, as it evolved over
the course of several centuries in various regions of Europe, insofar as the
written or material evidence allows.
Students
are expected to come to class having read the texts, prepared to ask and answer
questions about them. You are
strongly encouraged to print out the materials provided via Canvas in order to
highlight and comment upon them as you read, and in order to have them available
during class discussion. This
course is structures more along ÒSocraticÓ lines than as a lecture course.
Occasional
unannounced in-class quizzes, as well as active discussion, will assess your
engagement with the material. Two
short papers and a take-home final exam provide the opportunity to show deeper
mastery of course themes and progress toward course objectives.
The
grade distribution is as follows:
Participation/Quizzes 30%
Papers 20%
each
Final
Exam 30%
For
the two short papers, students may choose among various topics due at different
points in the quarter, but may not submit more than two (whether for extra
credit or make up). You are
encouraged to edit carefully and submit your best work. The basic standards by which all written
work will be evaluated are those for the History Department as a whole,
available here. For more information about my own
expectations for student writing, click here. All papers are due in class on the date
indicated; late papers will be penalized and after one week will not be
accepted.
If
you have any questions about the course or an assignment, either before it is
due or after it has been returned to you, please do not hesitate to contact me
by email, drop by during my office hours, and/or make an appointment.
SCHEDULE
Week 1
Sept 28
– Welcome to the course
Sept 30
– Introducing the end of Rome:
Issues (Intro, pp. 1-34)
Oct 2
– Introducing the end of Rome:
Background (Ch. 1, pp. 37-52)
Week
2
Oct 5
– Christianity and Empire
(Ch. 2, pp. 53-71)
Oct 7
– Christian times (Ch. 3, pp.
72-92)
Oct 9
– Saints (Ch 4, pp. 93-122)
Week 3
Oct 12
– On the frontiers (Ch 5, pp. 123-41)
Oct 14
– *Gregory of Tours, Histories, on Clovis
Oct 16
– Reverentia & rusticitas (Ch. 6, pp. 142-65)
Week 4
Oct 19
– *Gregory of Tours, Miracles
Oct 21
– Gregory the Great (Ch. 8, pp. 190-215)
Oct 23
– *Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care
Week
5
Oct 26
– Monasticism (Ch. 9, pp. 219-31)
Oct 28
– *BenedictÕs Rule
Oct 30
– *Life of Radegund
Week
6
Nov 2
– Education and Culture (Ch. 10, pp. 232-41; *Cassiodorus)
Nov 4 – Columbanus and Continental
Monastic Revival (Ch. 10 cont., pp. 241-47; Ch. 11, pp. 248-66)
Nov 6
– Irish Christianity (Ch. 14, p. 321-39)
Week
7
Nov 9
– Christianity in Britain (Ch. 15, 340-54)
Nov 11
– *Bede
Nov 13
– ÒMicro-ChristendomsÓ (Ch. 16, pp. 355-79)
Week 8
Nov 16
– Manuscript Culture (*M. Brown, Painted Labyrinth, pp. 14-37)
Nov 18
– A New Continental Order (Ch. 18, pp. 407-33)
Nov 20
– Missionaries (*Boniface)
Week 9
Nov 23
– Charlemagne (Ch. 19, pp. 434-62)
Nov 25
– *Einhard
Nov 27
– THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week
10
Nov 30
– Scandinavians and Christianity (Ch. 20, pp. 463-89)
Dec 2
– Wrapping up:
Background—The ÒDark AgesÓ
Dec 4
– Wrapping up: Issues
(Preface to 10th edition)
FINAL
EXAM – due at the regularly scheduled exam time: Mon, Dec 7, 10:15-12:15