History of the Dark Ages
Galileo 317 and Filippi Hall 226
History 111
chilken@stmarys-ca.edu
Reading Syllabus
Readings:
Christopher Dawson, The Making of Europe
Gregory the Great, The Dialogues, book 2, The Life of Benedict
The Rule of Saint Benedict
Beowulf
J. R. R. Tolkein, “The Monster and the Critics”
Jocelyn N. Hillgarth, ed., Christianity and Paganism, 350-750: The Conversion of
Western Europe
Marc Bloch, Feudal Society, vol. 1, The Growth of Ties of Independence
1) 03 September Tu Introduction [Artifact: Medieval parchment, with lesson on
the meaning of "The Dark Ages."] LO2
2) 05 September Th Alexander Murray, “Introduction”, in Christopher Dawson, The
Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European
Unity, pp. vii-xxxix. [Overview of major questions of
interpretation and schools of thought.] LO2
3) 10 September Tu Dawson, The Making of Europe, introduction and chapters 1-3, pp.
1-67. The Roman Empire; the Catholic Church and the Classical
Tradition. [Major document: The False Donation of Constantine,
with lesson on medieval forgery.] LO3
4) 12 September Th Dawson, chapters 4-5, pp. 68-95. The Barbarians and the Fall of
the Empire. [Major document: The Table of Nations, with
lesson and discussion on myth and reality of ethnogenesis;
powerpoint presentation of architectural and artistic artifacts
of the inheritance of Rome among the new peoples of Europe
and the Mediterranean; Major artifact: recorded performance
of the opening of the Nibelunglied.] LO1234
5) 17 September Tu Dawson, chapters 6-7, pp. 97-125. Byzantium and the Awakening
of the East. [Major artifacts: Beneventan chant compared to
Gregorian chant, with a lesson on pre-Gregorian
Mediterranean chant; powerpoint lecture on the Mandylion
and the iconographic tradition of images not made by human
hands.] LO34
6) 19 September Th Dawson, chapters 8-10, pp. 126-168. Islam and Byzantium.
[Major artifact: the Qur'an] LO134
7) 24 September Tu Dawson, chapters 11-12, pp. 169-208. Barbarian Kingdoms and
Carolingian Empire. [Major artifacts: The Song of Caedmon
(bilingual texts with translation and recorded performance;
2
plate of Carolingian minuscule, with a lesson on the
development of the modern alphabet. Presentation and
discussion of interpretations of the imperial coronation of
Charlemagne.] LO1234
8) 26 September Th Dawson, chapters 13-14, pp. 209-249. The Vikings and the Rise
of Medieval Unity. [Major documents: Burnt Njal's Saga and
The Lay of Igor and Olga's Revenge.] LO134
9) 01 October Tu
10) 03 October Th
11) 08 October Tu
12) 10 October Th
13) 15 October Tu
14) 17 October Th
22 October Tu
24 October Th
15) 29 October Tu
16) 31 October Th
Dawson, conclusion, pp. 250-255. [Discussion of Dawson's
conclusions, with an emphasis on the his theory of the
emergence of two modes of Christianity. Initial interpretations
of Dawson’s work. [Initiating the work of student essays.] LO2
Gregory the Great, Dialogues, book 2, Life of Benedict.
[The next two days present the two surviving documents of
early Benedictine history. The students will be led in a
discussion of interpreting Benedictine history from the
evidence of one or the other of the two documents. ] LO234
Rule of Saint Benedict. LO234
Beowulf. [Lesson on the historical context of the poem.] LO12
Beowulf. [Reading of the poem in translation and seminar-style
discussion.] LO234
J. R. R. Tolkein, “The Monster and the Critics.”
[Interpretation of the poem through a discussion of Tolkein's
interpretation; further discussion in light of Dawson's theory
of two modes of Christianity.] LO23
Midterm exam [Oral exam: discussion of knowledge of the
student and of the interpretations they have made of the
history covered.] LO1234
Midterm Holiday
Jocelyn N. Hillgarth, ed., Christianity and Paganism, 350-750:
The Conversion of Western Europe, The Church and the
Barbarians; the Fusion of Church and Monarchy; and Legislation,
pp. 65-116. [The following three days of class are discussions of
primary source documents in translation. Also, student lessons
will begin from this point forward.] LO13
Hillgarth, Christianity in Ireland, pp. 117-137, and the Roman
Mission to England, pp. 150-168. LO134
17) 05 November Tu Hillgarth, Liturgy, pp. 178-204. LO34
18) 07 November Th Marc Bloch, Feudal Society, vol. 1, The Growth of Ties of
Dependence, pp.xi-xx, and 1-39. Moslems, Hungarians, and the
Northmen. [Marc Bloch's book covers the same material as
Dawson, but from the standpoint of social and economic history. It
is offered as the complement to Dawson and as a way of comparing
and contrasting historians' use of evidence and interpreting history.
3
Major artifact: powerpoint presentation of the crown of Saint
Stephen and the abbey of Pannonholma.] LO23
19) 12 November Tu Bloch, pp. 39-71. Consequences and Lessons of the Invasions; and
Material Conditions and Economic Characteristics. [Major
document: the journey of French monks with the bones of their
saint. Major artifact: Dawn Songs, text and recording.]
LO134
20) 14 November Th Bloch, pp. 72-102. Modes of Feelings and Thought; and The Folk
Memory. [Major document: Irish and Frankish penitentials.]
LO134
21) 19 November Tu Bloch, pp. 103-120. The Intellectual Renaissance in the Second
Feudal Age; and The Foundations of Law.
[Major documents: Maconnaise land accounts; Carolingian
capitularies.] LO34
22) 21 November Th Bloch, pp. 121-162. The Solidarity of the Kindred Group;
Character and Vicissitudes of the Tie of Kinship; and Vassal
Homage. [Major documents: feudal and monastic vows.]
LO34
23) 26 November Tu Bloch, pp. 163-189. The Fief; and General Survey of Europe.
[Major documents: feudal and manorial documents from Spain and
other frontier regions of Europe. Lesson and discussion on the role
of the frontier in early medieval history.] LO1234
28 November Th Thanksgiving Holiday
24) 03 December Tu Bloch, pp. 190-238. The Fief Becomes the Patrimony of the
Vassal; The Man of Several Masters; Vassal and Lord; and The
Paradox of Vassalage. [Discussion of Bloch with a comparison
and contrast to the work and interpretation of Dawson.] LO2
25) 05 December Th Bloch, pp. 239-274. The Manor; and Servitude and Freedom.
[Major documents: legal suit brought by peasants in Lucca
and in the lands of San Vincenzo al Volturno.] LO34
12 Thursday Tu 1:00-3:00
Final exam LO1234
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes

Students will learn to thoughtfully examine the European and Mediterranean
societies that emerged after the collapse of the late antique Roman Empire and
that achieved full formation in the century following the turn of the first
millennium C.E. The societies studied include the new Germanic, Irish, Latin,
Slavic, and Viking polities of western and northern Europe, the Muslim
caliphates of the southern and eastern Mediterranean, and the renewed Roman
Empire of the Greeks centered at Constantinople. The examination will be
4
historical with an interdisciplinary inclusion of artistic, musical, literary, legal,
religious, and cultural remains.

Students will come to understand the major theories of interpretation for
significant historical transformations of the era, including the rise of a new
European culture which was complex in its informing traditions—imperial
politics, classical learning, Christian religion, and Barbarian customs—and
complex in its diverse political, economic, and Christian manifestations.
Historical interpretations by two major authors—Christopher Dawson and Marc
Bloch—are offered, as well as other significant historical theories, among them,
the Pirenne thesis of the closing of the Mediterranean by the nascent Arabic
empire. Students will come to understand, through the same major historians,
theories of the rise and success of Arabic-Islamic empire and the renovation of
the Roman empire of the Greeks. Students will also come to understand the
major theories around the formation of European civilization. They will be able
to discuss knowledgeably the range of possibilities around the questions of the
definition and origin of Europe.

Students will learn how to collect, analyze, and present the evidence of primary
sources of history, mostly in translation. Primary documentary evidence, in
translations, art, artifacts, and music, will be offered as part of the lecture of each
class. The students research work will be mainly for a major lecture—of twenty
minutes—that every student will give on a topic of their choice. The work of
research for the lecture will involve guidance in the search for primary and
secondary sources, reporting of sources, and creating a bibliography.

Students will learn how to interpret evidence about the social world primarily
through daily discussion of the readings with a focus on critical analysis of the
authors' work of selection and interpretation of evidence.
Course Requirements



Reading, regular attendance and participation in the class work are the essentials.
The small number of us will provide the opportunity for in-depth understanding of
the course material. Eight absences for whatever reason will constitute a failure
of the course. Please contact me if something prevents you from joining us.
Organization and direction of a twenty-minute lesson aimed at giving the group a
greater understanding of some topic covered in the assigned reading for the day.
See below for special instructions.
The work with the two historians read in the course will require your analysis of
their view of history and an evaluation of the merits of their arguments and their
use of evidence. Your reading of historians and primary sources and attention to
lectures should give you a familiarity with the history of the early Middle Ages,
including a good sense of chronology, institutions, culture, and significant figures.
In addition to the in-class work, successful completion of the written essays and
the oral exams will be the means of demonstrating mastery of the course material.
5
Essays
Submit by Sunday evening, 20 October, a five to seven page (1500 to 2100 words)
critical evaluation of Dawson. Your essay should take account class discussions and
adhere to the following guidelines. State the author’s purpose or thesis, identify the
evidence he used, and give an evaluation of the thesis and work. On Thursday, 12
December, submit a five to seven page (1500 to 2100) critical evaluation of Bloch along
the same lines as the evaluation of Dawson. You might compare and contrast the two
authors, and conclude with your own proposal of the goals and means of studying early
medieval history.
Reading check
At 1:15 promptly, I will distribute a question based upon the reading and ask you to write
an answer to the question with the help of your book. This exercise is intended to refresh
your familiarity with the reading to be discussed and to allow you to gauge the care and
the amount of time that you have given to preparing for the class. Time spent each day
on the reading checks will be little more than five minutes.
Class presentation
Each student will have the opportunity to lead a class discussion in the following manner.
After completing some advanced reading around a future syllabus assignment, choose a
topic which you think could use some greater or more detailed presentation in order to
understand the reading as a whole. Research the topic and present your findings to the
class. The presentation should take about twenty minutes. This would be followed by
your leadership of our discussion of the reading as a whole. A bibliography will be due
with this presentation. Do not read from a website or published sources except by way of
select quotation.
Class discussion leader
On days when we don’t have a class presentation leader, students will take turns
beginning the discussion with a question or problem posed by the reading. You are
encouraged to do any background checking you might want to do in order to give some
context for the question you pose.
Grade evaluation
Your grade will be constituted by your percentage of points towards 1,000 for work
completed.
Dawson essay
150
Bloch essay
200
Midterm exam
150
Final exam
200
6
Presentation/Leadership
Reading Checks (24x5)
Participation (50x2)
Occasional lectures
150
120
100
50
Student Disability Services
Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take into account the
context of the course and its essential elements for individuals with qualifying disabilities. Students with
disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Office at (925) 631-4358 to set up a
confidential appointment to discuss accommodation, policies, guidelines and available services. Additional
information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint Mary’s
website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/academic-advising-and-achievement/student-disabilityservices.html
Academic Honor Code
Always make sure work submitted is entirely your own and credit any and all borrowed ideas and
information that goes beyond common knowledge. According to the Academic Honor Code, “Academic
dishonesty is a serious violation of College policy because, among other things, it undermines the bonds of
trust and honesty between members of the community.” Violations of the Code include but are not limited
to acts of plagiarism. For more information, please consult the Student Handbook at www.stmarysca.edu/your-safety-resources/student-handbook
CWAC
Free Writing Advising at the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC)
Writers of all disciplines and levels, undergraduate and graduate, are invited to drop in or make
appointments for one-on-one sessions with Writing Advisers – in Dante 202 or via Skype screen-sharing.
5-8 p.m. Sunday; 12-7 p.m. Monday; and 12-8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 925.631.4684.
www.stmarys-ca.edu/center-for-writing-across-the-curriculum.
Writers should bring their assignments, texts, and notes.
Through collaborative discussion, Advisers guide their peers toward expressing ideas clearly and revising
their own papers, always weighing audience and purpose. Writers visit CWAC to brainstorm ideas, revise
drafts, or work on specific aspects of writing, such as grammar, citation, thesis development, organization,
critical reading, or research methods. Writers may discuss any genre, including poetry, science lab reports,
argument-driven research, or scholarship application letters.
Library Statement
Reference/Information assistance is available at the Reference Desk, by phone (925) 631-4624, text
message at (925) 235-4762, or Chat( IM). Check the Library’s “Ask Us” link for details:
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/library/ask-us.
Extended assistance by appointment is also available with your librarian subject specialist. The specialist
for history is Sue Birkenseer. She may be reached at sbirkens@stmarys-ca.edu