Winter, 2001
MEDIEVAL STUDIES 20B: THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES
A Lower-Division General Education Course
205 Olson
Discussion: W 2-3, 117 Olson (CRN 91276)
Discussion: W 3-4, 106 Olson (CRN 91277)
Course Home Page: http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/20B/
Class Email: mst020b-w01@ucdavis.edu

Kevin Roddy
Lecturer
350 Voorhies (752-4541)
Office Hours: M 2:00-4:00, W 9:00-11:00
kproddy@ucdavis.edu


Dan Azer, Will Dwyer, Peter Ewing Madeline Hill, Corinne Wieben
Readers

Course Description

This period in the cultural history of Europe and the Middle East is characterized by the gradual establishment of political and social stability, by refined taste in the arts, by economic prosperity, by the development of law, and by a high degree of intellectual sophistication. Naturally, it would not reflect human culture if it did not also exhibit its share of violence, disorder, prejudice, and treachery. Evidence for both tendencies often in fact can be found in the same phenomena: the crusades, popular religion, politics, the universities.

Texts
Kirshner, Julius, and Karl Morrison. Medieval Europe (Chicago)
Dante Alighieri, Purgatory, trans. Dorothy Sayers (Penguin)
The Principles of Letter-Writing
Medieval Studies Home Page: http://arbor.ucdavis.edu/MST/

Schedule




January 5 Introduction: An Anthropology of the High Middle Ages


8 Historical Background
Reading--Course Home Page: History.
Course Home Page: The Years 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300
10 Rural Life
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 66-84
Course Home Page: Vocabulary of Feudalism.
12 Records of the Domesday Book
Reading--Course Home Page: Domesday.


15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
17 City Life
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 100-104
Course Home Page: City Life.
19 The Investiture Controversy, I
Reading--Course Home Page: Investiture.
Medieval Europe, pp. 105-139


22 The Investiture Controversy, II
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 139-170
24 Pilgrimages
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 26-38
26 Relations with Judaism and Islam: The Crusades and Otherwise
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 159-163; 360-362
Course Home Page: Crusades.
Course Home Page: Usamah.


29 The Spiritual Realm
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 222-261
Course Home Page: Francis.
Investiture Letter due
31 The Arts in the High Middle Ages
Reading--Course Home Page: Bernard and Abbot Suger.
February 2 Gothic Architecture
Reading--Course Home Page: Gothic Architecture.


5 All the Fine Arts
7 The New Orders
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 261-312; 362-367
9 Scholasticism
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 219-222; 343-354
Course Home Page: Aristotle.
Course Home Page: Scholasticism.


12 The Rise of the University
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 336-343; 354-358
Course Home Page: University Records.
14 Emerging Nations and the Church
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 367-377; 393-402
Course Home Page: The Magna Carta.
16 Law and Political Theory
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 180-218
University Letter due


19 Presidents' Day. Holiday
21 Manuscripts
23 Medieval Concepts of Love
Reading--Course Home Page: Andreas Capellanus.


26 Latin and Vernacular Literature
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 174-179
28 Dante
Reading--Course Home Page: Dante.
Medieval Europe, pp. 380-393
March 2 Arthurian Romances
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 246-253
Course Home Page: Arthurian Literature.


5 Trade and Wealth
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 84-100
Course Home Page: Trade and Wealth.
7 Commerce
Reading--Medieval Europe, pp. 312-317; 326-336
9 Medieval Science
Reading--Course Home Page: Science.


12 Medieval Engineering
Reading--Course Home Page: Engineering.
Fin'amors Letter due


14 Medieval Food and Nutrition
Reading--Course Home Page, Food and Nutrition.
15 Conclusion


Final: Monday, March 19 (4:00-6:00, 205 Olson)

Position Papers

The major written work in the course will center on short position papers, which rely on medieval methods of persuasion to argue for one side and against another. A sample position paper has been duplicated for the first discussion session. Since the High Middle Ages mark the development of the art of letter-writing, the papers will be composed as formal letters to specified recipients with a specified object in mind.

Research is obligatory, with the Dictionary of the Middle Ages and the Cambridge Medieval History both serving as excellent starting-points (Humanities/Social Sciences Reference, Main Library). On-line, there are many sites listed on the Medieval Studies page. It is strongly recommended that you bring rough drafts to office hours for comments and suggestions. Please attach these rough drafts to your final submission.

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. 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 sample paper and the bibliography instructions on the web for the correct bibliographic format. Papers without notes and bibliographies will be returned, with some penalty. Late submissions are accepted, though again with a penalty attached.

Each student will have the responsibility for writing three of these three-page letters. The three topics and their due dates will be



Basically, these accounts are meant to describe the writers' thoughts and emotions, from what would have been considered their point of view at that time. Broadly speaking, women and men in the High Middle Ages sought to prove a point through appeals to authority (Aristotle and the Bible), through definition, and though the application of syllogistic logic. For biblical quotations, concordances can be found in the Main Library's Humanities Reference Room, or in 350 Voorhies. Electronic copies of the Bible are also available through the UNIX system, or through the Web, on the Medieval Studies Home Page. In the first paper especially, students are advised to use scriptural quotes abundantly, and to expand on their relevance to the matter at hand.

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 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 the other discussion group (for the rooms, see the beginning of this syllabus). 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.


Grading

We will determine grades on the following basis:


Final Exam

The final will consist of the analysis of a work from the High Middle Ages (an example is given in the Course Home Page).


Discussion Schedule