Medieval Studies 20A: The Early Middle Ages
| Course |
Instructor |
| Fall Quarter, 2006 | |
| MEDIEVAL STUDIES 20A: THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES | Kevin Roddy |
| A Lower-Division Civilization and Culture Course (Writing) | Lecturer |
Discussion Sections:
32994 W 2:10-3:00P Bainer Hall 1128
32995 W 3:10-4:00P Bainer Hall 1128
32996 M 2:10-3:00P Bainer Hall 1128
32997 F 10:00-10:50A Olson 117
32998 F 2:10-3:00P Olson 125
|
Readers:
David Bell
Ben Hatheway
Elizabeth Henton
Carly Maris
Alyssa Merenbach
Ewa Omanska
Starr O'Leary
Mara Vejby
Catherine West
|
| Lecture: 6 Wellman | 350 Voorhies (752-4541) |
| 1:10-2:00 MWF | Office Hours: M 3:00-5:00; F 11:00-12:00 |
| Class Web Page (http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/20A/) | Instructor email (kproddy@ucdavis.edu) |
|
Class Email (mst20a-f06@ucdavis.edu) | |
| Class Email Archive (http://listproc.ucdavis.edu/class/200610/mst20a-f06) | |
Course Description
Between the fourth and eleventh centuries lies a period which
for Europe and the Middle East marks the beginning of contemporary
life. Like all beginnings this age displayed astonishing extremes:
it at the same time demonstrated dynamism and irresolution,
spirituality and carnality, simplicity and complexity, violence and
tenderness, creativity and crass imitation. In the transition
from Roman and Sassanian control men and women re-created a
social order in the East and West, drawing on the logic and
organization of the classical past, the vitality and imagination
of nomadic peoples, and the new mysticism arising in the East.
This development culminates in three exceptional human achievements:
the intellectual ferment and open-mindedness of the Umayyads in
Damascus and the Abbasids in Baghdad, the transcendence and
political sophistication of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the
unity of Western Europe under Charlemagne. All three offer
dramatic examples of the strengths and weaknesses of Middle
Eastern and Western European civilizations.
Texts
Reading the Middle Ages. Ed. Barbara H. Rosenwein (Broadview). ISBN 1-55111-693-6
Beowulf. Trans. E. Talbot Donaldson (Norton) ISBN 0-393-09687-4
Schedule
September 29 Introduction
The City of Paris in Roman Times
Discussion Sections:
(September 29, October 2, 4): Position Papers and Medieval Argumentation:
Here is a Sample, Corrected Final Copy of a
Previous Year's Assignment 3 (Pages 1-4): Look it over and be ready to
discuss it; you probably should print it out. Prepare to be confused.
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
October 2 A Cultural Anthropology of the Early Middle Ages
Reading:
- Geography: The West
- Geography: The Sub-Continent
- European Topography
- European Climate
- European Climate: Isotherms
- European Rainfall
- East-West Trade Routes in the 1st Century, C.E.
4 The Roman Inheritance: Law and Order
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Imperial legislation: The Theodosian Code (438) [pp. 10-15];
The attraction of classical traditions: Procopius, History of the Wars
(c.550) [pp. 15-16];
The culture of the small independent farmer: The Farmer's Law (8th c.?)
[pp. 72-73]
- The Year 300
6 Christianity
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Christianity becomes official: Edict of Milan (313) [pp. 1-4];
Christian history: Eusebius, The History of the Church (c.325)
[pp. 4-10];
The Donatists: A Donatist Sermon (c.318) [pp. 17-19];
Orthodoxy's declaration: The Nicaean Creed (325) [pp. 19-20]
Discussion Sections:
(October 6, 9, 11)
- Letters between Pliny the Younger and the Emperor Trajan
- The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity
9 The Germans
Reading:
- The Germans [Julius Caesar]
- Germania [Tacitus]
- Germanic Migrations
- Ceremonial drinking horn Danish, around 400 C.E.
- Reconstructed Lakeside Huts
11 Conversion
Reading:
- Jordanes: The Conversion of the Visigoths
- The Battle of Adrianople [Ammianus Marcellinus]
- The Year 400
13 The Spiritual Atmosphere
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Relating this world to the next: Augustine, The City of God (413-426) [pp. 21-26];
Biblical exegesis: Pope Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job (591) [pp. 26-28]
- Augustine and the small boy Cristoforo de Predis, Borromeo
Book of Hours, Milan, between 1471-1474
- De Civitate Dei The Worldly City. From around 1180.
- Augustine reading before students 1445.
Discussion Sections:
(October 13, 16, 18) Augustine, On
Christian Doctrine, Preface, 1-8; Book II, 18
16 Monasticism
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
The eremetical life: Athanasius, Life of St. Antony of Egypt (356-372) [pp. 36-43];
Monasticism: The Benedictine Rule (c.540) [pp. 28-35]
-
- Images
of Benedict
18 The Invasion of the Huns
Reading:
- Priscus: The Embassy to Attila
-
Jordanes: Attila, the Battle on the Catalaunian Plains, the Meeting with Leo,
and his Death
20 Saints in Transformation
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
The active life: Sulpicius Severus, The Life of St. Martin of
Tours (396) [pp. 43-47];
St. Radegund as ascetic: Venantius Fortunatus, The Life of St.
Radegund (before c.600) [pp. 47-53];
St. Radegund as relic collector: Baudonivia, The Life of St. Radegund
(c.600) [pp. 53-57]
Discussion Sections:
(October 20, 23, 25) Reading the Middle Ages,
The powerful in the Byzantine countryside: Romanus Lecapenus, Novel (934) [pp. 204-207];
Military life: Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Military Advice to His
Son (950-958) [pp. 223-227];
Imperial rule: Michael Psellus, Portrait of Basil II (c.1063) [pp. 227-
230]
23 Germanic Adaptations
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
The conversion of Clovis: Bishop Avitus of Vienne, Letter to Clovis (508?)
[pp. 58-60];
Church legislation in Gaul: The Council of Orleans (511) [pp. 60-63];
The papacy: The Life of Gregory II in The Book of the Pontiffs
(c.730) [pp. 124-128]
- The Early Frankish Realm
- Runestone Memorial
- Christian Memorial
- The Year 500
25 Islam
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry: Al-A`sha, Bid Hurayra Farewell (before 625)
[pp. 86-89]
The sacred text: Qur'an Suras 1, 53:1-18, 81, 87, 96, 98 (c.610-622) [
pp. 89-91]
Umayyad diplomacy: The Treaty of Tudmir (713) [p. 92]
- The Last Sermon
- The Spread of Islam
-
Arabia
- More Islamic Maps--Roolvink's Atlas, first 4
27 Islamic Culture
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Taxation: A Tax Demand in Egypt (710) [p. 93];
Civil servants: `Abd al-Hamid, Letter to the Secretaries (before 750)
[pp. 94-96];
Commerce in the Islamic world: Abu `Uthman Al-Jahiz, Avarice and the
Avaricious (850s?) [pp. 133-135];
The "New Poetry": Abu Nuwas, Youth and I (c.800) [p. 152]
Sample some of these:
- The Ka'aba, Mecca (Howard University)
- Mosques
of Islam (Islamicity)
-
Ummayad Architecture: The Dome of the Rock 685-691 (University
of California,
Santa Cruz)
- Dome
of the Rock (MIT)
Discussion Sections:
(October 27, 30, November 1) Reading the Middle Ages,
An early view of the Prophet: Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Life of Muhammad (754-767)
[pp. 148-152];
Hadith: Al-Bukhari, On Fasting (9th c.) [pp. 152-157];
Law: Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, Compilation of the Jurisprudential Responses
of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (before 888) [pp. 157-159]
30 The Eastern Roman Empire
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Byzantine village life and the education of a saint: The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon (7th c.) [pp. 74-77];
The argument for icons: John of Damascus, On Holy Images (c.730) [pp. 77-81];
The iconoclastic argument: The Synod of 754 [pp. 81-85];
Vilifying the iconoclasts: The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor (before 818) [p. 85];
- The Year 600
- The Year 700
Sample some of these:
- Eastern
Roman Art and Architecture
- Eastern
Roman Architecture: Building Techniques
November 1 Celtic Culture
Reading:
The private penitential tradition: Penitential of Finnian (late 6th
c.) [pp. 109-112]
- Irish Poetry
3 Celtic Art
Reading:
- Skellig Michael, the view from the dwellings
- Irish
Monasticism Pick one: Skellig Michael Experience |
Glendalough Co Wicklow | Ferns Co Wexford | Ardmore Co Waterford
| Inishmore Aran Islands
- Skellig Michael
- St. Kevin's Monastery, Glendalough, County Wicklow
-
Lindisfarne Gospel
Pinnacle of Anglo-Saxon Art: The British Library (shockwave needed)
- Images of the Book of Kells [Paul DuBois]
- Chi-Rho page from the Book of Kells [Oneonta]
- Irish Art Haverford College
Discussion Sections:
(November 3, 6, 8)
Germans+2.13 A modern martyr in Francia: The Passion of Leudegar (680s) [pp. 112
-120]
Germans+2.14 The settlement of disputes: Judgment of Childebert III (709 or 710)
[pp. 120-121]
Germans+3.4 The sale of a slave in Italy: A Contract of Sale (724) [p. 142]
Germans+2.15 Reforming the Continental Church: Letters to Boniface (723-726) [pp
. 121-124]
6 Charlemagne
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Manors in the West: Polyptyque of the Church of Saint Mary of
Marseille (814-815) [pp. 130-133];
Charlemagne as the light of the world: Anonymous, Once Again my
Burdened Anchor (early 9th c.) [pp. 177-180];
Modeling the state on Old Testament Israel: The Admonitio
Generalis (789) [pp. 180-182];
Imperial administration: Double Capitulary of Thionville for the
missi (805) [pp. 182-186]
- The Year 800
8 Carolingian Culture
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Ideals of family and fidelity: Dhuoda, Handbook for her Son (841-843)
[pp. 186-196]
10 Armistice Day Holiday
Discussion Sections:
(November 13, 15)
Letter
to Baugaulf of Fulda, c.780-800
Note: Those in the Friday, November 10, Discussion Groups are to Attend
the Monday (November 13) Group, or the Wednesday (November 15) Groups; or
they must make it up by appointment
13 Late Monasticism and the Cluniac Reform
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Donating to Cluny: Cluny's Foundation Charter (910) and various
charters of donation (10th-11th c.) [pp. 207-213]
The Early Abbots of
Cluny
15 The Notion of the Liturgy
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages, Benedict, Chapters 8-18 [pp. 31-32].
- Liturgy and Art
in the Middle Ages The Metropolitan Museum of Art
17 The Origins of Music
Reading:
- Music
Discussion Sections:
(November 17, 20, 22) Reading the Middle Ages,
The minority--that is, Christian--view: Chronicle of Albelda (c.883) [pp. 167-170];
An Islamic Andalusian voice: Ibn `Abd Rabbihi, I Have Never Seen (before 940) [p. 170];
A Jewish poet in al-Andalus: Dunash ben Labrat, There Came a Voice
(mid-10th c.) [pp. 170-171];
Fragmentation in the Islamic world: Al-Tabari, The Defeat of the Zanj
Revolt (c.915) [pp. 198-204];
Political theory: Al-Farabi, The Perfect State (c.940-942) [pp. 231-23
4]
20 The Beginnings of Western Drama
Reading:
- Concordia
22 Transformations in Agriculture
Reading: Charlemagne's Capituary De villis
- Agriculture
24 Thanksgiving Holiday
Discussion Sections:
(November 27, 29, December 1) Beowulf, 1-32
27 Old English Culture
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Literacy: King Alfred, Prefaces to Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care (c.890) [pp. 256-258];
Literature: Battle of Maldon (not long after 991) [pp. 258-262];
Law: King Aethelred, Law Code (1008) [pp. 262-265]
Sutton Hoo Find
29 Old English Literature
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Creating a Roman Catholic identity for England: Bede,
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731) [pp. 97-109]
- Old English Literature
December 1 The Division of Europe and the Ottonian Empire
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
An Ottonian queen: The "Older Life" of Queen Mathilda (973-974) [pp. 243-252]
- The Strassburg Oaths
- The Year 900
Discussion Sections:
(December 4, 6, 8) Beowulf, 32-55
4 Voyages and Voyagers
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Sindbad the Sailor (9th c.) [pp. 159-166]
- Islam in First Stages (7th Century)
- Muslim Expansion(7th-8th Centuries)
- Map of the Abbasid Caliphate (786-809)
- Africa and Mediterranean Sea (9th-11th Centuries)
- Ahmad Ibn Fadlan's
Observations
6 The Vikings
Reading: Reading the Middle Ages,
Christianity comes to Denmark: The Jelling Monument (960s) [pp. 266-267];
The making of Iceland: Ari Thorgilsson, The Book of the Icelanders (c.1125) [pp. 268-271]
- Viking Expansion in the Atlantic
- Viking Attacks on England
- Viking Expansion in the West
- Viking Expansion in the East
- The Church in Viking Lands
- Viking Images
- Smithsonian Museum's Viking Site
8 Conclusion
December 11 Final Exam: 4:00-6:00PM
Position Papers
The major written work in the course will center on short position papers,
which will take the form of a public address. These will be described in
the first discussion meeting; basically, these accounts are meant to
describe the speaker's thoughts and emotions, from what would have been
considered her or his point of view at that time. Basic research is
obligatory. The following site lists the most important
resources at UCD:
Shields Library
Medieval and Early Modern Studies Encyclopedias
(Reference courtesy of Daniel Goldstein)
Of special note are the Dictionary of the Middle Ages and the
Cambridge Medieval History, both excellent starting-points.
It is strongly
recommended that you bring rough drafts to office hours or to the readers for
comments and suggestions. Any factual material must be supported by a
reference, even if it arises from lectures, office hours, or the texts. If
the readers or the Lecturer provide you with
information or suggest concepts, please note this in the text and in the
works cited section (see the sample Final Copy on the web). Papers without notes and bibliographies will be
returned, with some penalty. Late submissions are accepted, though again
with a penalty attached. Please refer to the instructions on
Bibliography on the web for the correct bibliographic format:
http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/20A/biblio.html
The use of web resources is acceptable, but you are advised to rely on
".edu" sites and those furnished by Google Scholar. Wikipedia, in general,
is unreliable, and you will be responsible for any unsupported information
that you might find there.
Each student will have the responsibility for writing three of these
three-page papers. The three topics
will be
October 30
Attila, King of the Huns, Replies to Pope Leo the Great
(452 CE)
Attila and Leo
A Longer Version of Priscus' Embassy
November 20
Ali ibn Abi Talib, Addressing his Army, Defends his Planned Attack on the
Kharijites (658 CE)
Useful Web Resources:
Nahjul Balagha
The Caliphate
its Rise, Decline, and Fall
from Original Sources
by
William Muir
Sermons, Letters, and Sayings of Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib
December 8
The Frankish Noblewoman Dhuoda Pleads with Bernard of Septimania
for the Return of her Son, William, to Uzès and for her New-Born
Son to Remain with Her (before June, 841 CE)
Reading the Middle Ages,
Ideals of family and fidelity: Dhuoda, Handbook for her Son (841-843)
[pp. 186-196]
Broadly speaking, speakers in the Early Middle Ages sought to prove a point
through appeals to the Bible or the Qur'an, as well as through argument by
analogy.
For biblical or qur'anic quotations, concordances can be found in
the Main Library's Humanities Reference Area (second floor),
or in 350 Voorhies. Electronic
copies of the Bible and Qur'an are also available through the Web,
for which see the Medieval Studies home page.
In the second and third papers
especially, students are advised to use scriptural
quotes abundantly, and to expand on their relevance to the matter
at hand. If you're confused, and you should be, please see the
Readers or the Instructor for advice.
Participation
The degree of participation depends, most importantly, on completing
the reading assignments, which are extensive (often thirty pages per
class) and more than occasionally difficult.
Students are encouraged to ask questions,
or, if they choose, to make appointments during office hours.
Participation is not a matter of dominating a class or section discussion,
but rather in being able either to contribute an insight, or
to articulate the nature of the confusion.
I do take roll,
because your presence is important to your learning; that
presence in and of itself does not constitute participation,
however. Missed discussions, for whatever reason, should be made up
by attending another discussion group within that cycle (for the
rooms, see the beginning of this syllabus; for the cycle, see above).
If this is impossible, discussions can be made up by reading the material and
meeting the lecturer in or out of office hours, by appointment.
Final Exam
In the final,
students will be provided with a source text from the
early Middle Ages, and will discuss both its relation to the
broad culture to which they have been exposed, and its function
in the exam document. A sample final can be found at:
Sample Final
Grading
A considerable portion of the grade in this class depends on
participation; aside from the final,
no exams as such are scheduled, though this
might change. As an indication of the various weights distributed
for performance, the following percentages are offered as a guide:
- Position Papers 45%
- Participation in Class 10%
- Participation in Discussion 30%
- Final Exam 15%