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History
Bachelor of Arts (Omnibus), CONNECT BAs
Dr Kimberly LoPrete
2nd-Yr Colloquium: European Encounters with the Mongols
Semester 2; 1 hr Tues + 1 hr on Wed or Thurs (as assigned)
Combination of short lectures & small group discussion focused on primary sources.
This Colloquium examines Europeans’ encounters with the Mongols, from the initial
shock and rampant rumours after the Mongols’ destructive attacks on central European
cities in the 1240s, to Europeans’ studied attempts--through ‘fact-finding’ and other
diplomatic embassies--both to acquire accurate knowledge of the Mongols’ way of life
and to forge alliances with some of them against the Muslim powers of the middle
east. Emphasis is on the considered discussion of contemporary reports, most notably
those by the papal envoy John of 'Planus Carpinus' and by William of Rubruck (sent
by the French king Louis IX), in attempts to see how knowledge of the Mongols and
central Asia affected Europeans’ views of themselves and their wider world.
To be able to: Avoid plagiarism through careful note-taking and citation
Communicate historical information orally and in writing, in a well-organised and
well-presented manner
Find scholarly material, both printed and online, relating to European encounters with
the Mongols
Construct coherent & well-informed arguments, based on primary sources analysed as
evidence for past events, about European encounters with the Mongols
Critique widely held modern myths about thirteenth-century Europeans and Mongols
with reference to contemporary evidence and established facts
Carry out an independent research project analysing primary sources for European
encounters with the Mongols.
10%=oral participation, assessed weekly;
15%=individual oral presentation on primary source question assigned 1 wk in
advance;
35% =diverse short exercises; 750-1,000 wd article critique due on the day one’s
chosen article is assigned for discussion; annotated bibliography for research
essay, due in wk 11;
40% =3,000-4,000 wd research essay due on officially-determined date (TBA).
Required primary sources include:
‘History of the Mongols’ by John of Planus Carpinus in C. Dawson, ed., The Mongol
Mission… (1955; MART paperback rpt as Mission to Asia, 1980)
Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His Journey to the Court of the Great Khan
Möngke, 1253-1255, ed. & trs. P. Jackson (1990; Hackett paperback rpt 2009)
Secondary readings, assigned week to week, include both designated chapters in
single-authored books & scholarly articles, such as:
P. Jackson, The Mongols and the West, 1221-1410 (2005), ch 11
H. Kennedy, Mongols, Huns and Vikings: Nomads at War (2002) chs.4, 5
J.R.S. Phillips, The Expansion of Europe, 2nd ed. (1998), chs. 4, 5
W.D. Phillips, Jr., ‘Voluntary Strangers: European Merchants & Missionaries in Asia
during the Late Middle Ages’ in The Stranger in Medieval Society, ed. Akehurst
& van D’Elden (1997)
G.S. Rogers, ‘An Examination of Historians’ Explanations for the Mongol Withdrawal
from East Central Europe’, East European Quarterly 30 (1996): 3-24
C.W. Connell, ‘Western views of the origins of the “Tartars”: an example of the
influence of myth in the second half of the thirteenth century’, Journal of
Medieval and Renaissance Studies 3 (1973): 115-37
G.G. Guzman, ‘European Clerical Envoys to the Mongols: Reports of Western
Merchants in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 1231-1255’, Journal of Medieval
History 22 (1996): 53-67
J.J. Saunders, 'John of Plan Carpini: Papal Envoy to the Mongol Conquerors.. .',
History Today 22 (1972): 547-555
J.D. Ryan, ‘European Travelers before Columbus: The Fourteenth-Century’s
Discovery of India’, Catholic Historical Review 79 (1993): 648-70