History 110 Warfare in the Middle Ages
Brother Charles
FAH 135
Galileo 317 MWF 9:00-10:00; Filippi Admin 226 other times
chilken@stmarys-ca.edu; Galileo 317 x4611; Filippi Admin 226 x4879
Class Syllabus
1. Monday 11 Feb
Introduction.
2. Wednesday 13 Feb
Georges Duby, Rural Economy and Country Life in the
Medieval West, pp. 293-311.
3. Friday 15 Feb
Vegetius, Epitome of Military Science, trans., N. P. Milner,
book 1.
4. Monday 18 Feb
Vegetius, book 2.
5. Wednesday 20 Feb
Vegetius, book 3.
6. Friday 22 Feb
Vegetius, book 4.
7. Monday 25 Feb
Philip Contamine, War in the Middle Ages, ch. 1, “The
Barbarians”, pp. 1-29.
8. Wednesday 27 Feb
ch. 2, “The Feudal Age”, pp. 30-50.
9. Friday 01 March
Vegetius Exam.
10. Monday 04 March
ch. 2, “The Feudal Age”, pp. 50-64 and “Catalogus
Baronum.”
11. Wednesday 06 March
ch. 3, “Medieval Society in its Prime”, pp. 65-101.
Friday 08 March
ch. 3, “Medieval Society in its Prime”, pp. 101-118 and
Gravett, Medieval Siege Warfare, pp. 1-17.
12. Monday 11 March
Gravett, pp. 17-32, 45-55.
13. Wednesday 13 March
Gravett, plates A-K and pp. 55-63.
14. Friday 15 March
ch. 4, “Free Companies, Gunpowder and Permanent
Armies”, pp. 119-138.
15. Monday 18 March
ch. 4, “Free Companies, Gunpowder and Permanent
Armies”, p. 138-150.
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16. Wednesday 20 March
ch. 4, “Free Companies, Gunpowder and Permanent
Armies, pp. 150-172.
Thursday 21 March—
Friday 22 March
Midterm.
Saturday 23 March—
Monday 01 April
Easter Recess.
17. Wednesday 03 April
ch. 5, “Arms and Armour”, pp. 175-192.
18. Friday 05 April
ch. 6, “Artillery”, pp. 193-207.
19. Monday 08 April
ch. 7, “The Art of War”, pp. 208-237.
20. Wednesday 10 April
ch. 8. “War, Government, and Society, pp. 238-249.
21. Friday 12 April
ch. 9, “Toward a History of Courage”, pp. 250-259.
22. Monday 15 April
ch. 10, “Juridical, Ethical and Religious Aspects of War”,
pp. 260-270.
23. Wednesday 17 April
ch. 10, pp. 270-280.
24. Friday 19 April
ch. 10, pp. 280-292.
Monday 22 April
No class.
25. Wednesday 24 April
Conclusion, pp. 292-308.
Friday 26 April
No class.
26. Monday 29 April
Linda Grant De Pauw, Battle Cries and Lullabies: Women
in War from Prehistory to the Present, pp. 81-109.
27. Wednesday 01 May
Megan McLaughlin, “The Woman Warrior: Gender,
Warfare, and Society in Medieval Europe, Women’s
Studies 17 (1990) 193-209.
28. Friday 03 May
Bernard J. Verkamp, The Moral Treatment of Returning
Warriors in Early Medieval and Modern Times, pp. 1-29.
29. Monday 06 May
Verkamp, pp. 31-48.
30. Wednesday 08 May
William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience,
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“The Value of Saintliness,” pp. 325-369
31. Friday 10 May
Christine de Pizan, The Book of Deeds of Arms and of
Chivalry, trans. Sumner Willard and ed. Charity Cannon
Willard, intro and part 1.
32. Monday 13 May
Pizan, part 2.
33. Wednesday 15 May
Pizan, part 3.
34. Friday 17 May
Pizan, part 4.
Monday 20 May 11:30-1:30 Final Exam.
Course Rubrics
Grade Evaluation: Your grade will be based on the number of points you have earned out
of 1000 points. Grades will be recorded on the Moodle site for our course. Note well
that attendance at fewer than 26 classes will result in failure of the course.
Vegetius Exam: A closed-book, comprehensive exam on Epitome of Military Science
(De re militari). A working knowledge of the contents and terms of this ancient Roman
work will provide a context for our examination of the development of warfare over the
millennium that separates it from Christine de Pizan’s manual of warfare. The exam is
worth 100 points.
Midterm Exam: The midterm will include a twenty-minute oral defense of research on a
question of your choosing about medieval warfare. The criteria for successful research
are an annotated bibliography that represents the best of scholarship on the topic of your
question and a report either in outline, bullet point, or paragraph form, of initial findings.
The oral defense will be one-on-one by appointment with me in a schedule worked out as
midterm week approaches. The midterm exam is worth 150 points. See the separate
sheet for further information on the midterm exam.
Final Essay: An essay in which you write up the results of the research mapped out in
your midterm assignment is due online on Saturday, 11 May, by the end of the day. The
essay should have a clearly stated and sharply focused thesis and should demonstrate a
good understanding of historical context and a good familiarity of secondary literature.
The essay is worth 300 points.
Final Exam: The exam will be oral, in which you will have a twenty minute conversation
with me, the purpose of which will be to determine your comprehension of the readings,
lectures, and discussions and the depth of your reflection on the questions of the course.
The final exam is worth 150 points.
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Reading Checks: Each class will begin with a five-minute, open-book reading check in
which I will ask you to answer one question based on the reading. The reading check
serves the following purposes: 1) to focus our attention on the work of the class by recall
of the substance of the reading; 2) to establish a line of communication between the
individual student and me which would be especially useful in giving quieter students a
stake in the daily work of the class; 3) to encourage prompt attendance and thereby cut
down on the distraction of late arrivals. The 33 reading checks are worth 5 points each.
Discussion Leaders: Time will be set aside most days for a discussion of the assigned
reading. A student leader will have the responsibility of presenting a question supported
by at least two or three passages. The lead-off should be no more than two to three
minutes. Leading is worth 5 points.
Lecture Series:
Written Responses: These lectures are available for credit. As many as 10 points are
available for each lecture in a graded assignment along the following lines. In 250 to
350 words find and describe a connection between something you have read or studied
about medieval warfare and a point raised by the speaker. Responses to the lectures
would normally be due at the end of the week following the lecture.
February 19, 4:30 p.m. Professor Smadar Lavie. Title: "Terror: The Face
of War in Israel/Palestine."
February 21, 4:30 p.m. Professor Carl Guarneri. Title: “Lincoln and the
Movie.”
March 13, 4:30 p.m. Professor Gwyn Kirk. Title: "Gender, War, and
Militarism in a Globalized World." Co-sponsored with the Women's and
Gender Studies program.
April 8, 4:30 p.m. Photographer Paul Dix, "Nicaragua: Legacies of an
American War."
April 29, 4:30 p.m. Daniel Baker, " A Law Written by God: Becoming a
Conscientious Objector"
Occasional assignments: In addition to the work outlined above there will be occasional
assignments usually worth 5 to 10 points.
Use of computers and other digital media will be negotiated.
Learning Outcomes
Students will understand the broad developments of medieval warfare in its many aspects
including but not limited to the rules of warfare from terrorism to chivalry; the fate of
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non-combatants in scorched-earth policy and siege warfare; technological and strategic
developments; social classes; women in warfare; infantry and cavalry; the moral cost of
war; perceptions of the enemy; and the warrior ethos.
Students will learn how to research, analyze, and present topics in medieval warfare
history.
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 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/sds
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 http://www.stmarysca.edu/your-safety-resources/student-handbook
Writing Center
Free Writing Advising at CWAC: the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum. All
students are invited to drop in or make appointments for one-on-one sessions with
Writing Advisers. Students may request weekly or biweekly sessions with the same peer
student Adviser.
CWAC is in Dante 202 and is open 5-8 p.m. Sunday and 2-8 p.m. Monday through
Thursday. The phone number is 925.631.4684. The web site is http://www.stmarysca.edu/center-for-writing-across-the-curriculum.
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. Through collaborative engagement, Advisers guide their peers toward
expressing ideas clearly and revising their own papers, always weighing audience and
purpose. Writers should bring their assignments, texts, and notes.