History 2220: Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Fall 2011-Winter 2012
Lecture 10:30-11:30, Tuesday/Thursday TEL 0016
Course Description: This course surveys the history of
Europe between the dates 1000 and 1700, the heart of the
period usually termed “medieval and early modern.” The
course will begin and end with an examination of the state
of the world and Europe’s place in it in 1000 and 1700
respectively. In between, we will concentrate on six
themes: 1) religious structures and beliefs; 2) expansion
and conquest; 3) intellectual life and artistic expression; 4)
statecraft, war and politics; 5) gender relationships and
daily life; 6) economics and the environment. In lectures,
we will work our way from monasticism to Martin Luther,
from the Crusades to Cortés, from the beginnings of the
universities to the beginnings of the Scientific Revolution,
and from medieval lordship to absolute monarchies.
By the close of the course, students will have gained a solid
introduction to the major facts, forces and figures of this
period in European history. Blood-soaked and often
brutish, it is not a period to lionize. If the “birth of the
modern world” is to be placed here, we all have reason to
be concerned. Nevertheless, the study of European history
from 1000 to 1700 holds much of value and fascination for
all students of history, if only to explore anew the famous
stories of the period: the landing of the Vikings in North America, the launch of the First Crusade, the
building of Gothic cathedrals, the terrifying scythe of the Black Death, the glories of Renaissance art,
the sailing of Columbus, the quarrels of the Reformation, the astronomies of Galileo and Newton, and
so much more.
Course Director: Dr. R. Koopmans. Responsible for course design, lectures, and overall supervision.
Office Vari Hall 2182. Office hours (no appointment needed): Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00pm and
Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30pm. If you would like to speak with me and these times do not work for you,
no problem: see me before or after class to make an appointment. (Courtesy note: Until you have
your B.A., I prefer that you address me as “Professor Koopmans” or “Doctor Koopmans.” Thank you!)
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Tutorial Leaders: Responsible for discussion sessions, marking, and tutoring during office hours.
Dagomar Degroot: #5 (8:30 Thursday ACE 010).
Brad Meredith: #1 (11:30 Tuesday SC212), #4 (9:30 Thursday SC 330), and #6 (11:30 Thursday SC214).
tabrad@yorku.ca Office hour: Tuesdays at 12:30 in Vari 2187B.
Ryan Whibbs: #2 (11:30 Tuesday BC322), and #3 (8:30 Thursday ACE 012).
Should you have problems or difficulties in this course, see your tutorial leader first. If your concerns
are not met, see the course director. If you remain dissatisfied, see the Director of Undergraduate
Studies in the department of history, Prof. Molly Ladd-Taylor. Enquire at History department office,
2140 Vari Hall or 416 736-5123, for an appointment with Prof. Ladd-Taylor.
Course Texts: The following six books are required for the course and are available for purchase at
York University Bookstore. They are also on reserve at York University Libraries. You will also be
required to access and print out copies of articles available (for free) from York University Libraries for
some assignments. Be sure you purchase the books for the course as early as possible.
1. Sacred Violence: The European Crusades to the Middle East, 1095-1396, by Jill N. Claster.
Toronto, 2009.
2. A Monk’s Confession: The Memoirs of Guibert of Nogent. Translated with an introduction by
Paul J. Archambault. Penn State Press, 1996.
3. A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1295-1344, by Judith M. Bennett. McGraw-Hill
College, 1999.
4. The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli. Trans. David Wootton. Hackett Publishing, 1995.
5. Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico, ed. with an
introduction by Stuart B. Schwatz. Bedford/St. Martins, 2000.
6. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, by Roland H. Bainton. Published 1950 (Abingdon Classics
1979 paperback edition on sale at York University Bookstore).
Reading assignments for these books will be handed out at least two weeks before the assignment is
due. Please note: reading assignments will be tested on examinations.
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Computer Policy: I do not allow the use of laptop or tablet computers during lectures for any purpose,
including note-taking. Please see me if you feel you need an exemption to this policy. Check with your
tutorial leader to determine his policy on laptop use during tutorials.
Cellphone Policy: If you need to talk or text on your cellphone during classtime, do not come to class.
Cellphones, like computers, are to remain off for the duration of classtime. Think of it as a little
electronic holiday. Please see me if you feel you need an exemption to this policy.
Course Etiquette: Our responsibilities as your instructors include starting and ending lectures and
tutorials on time, giving fair exams, answering questions clearly, presenting material in an organized
fashion, returning assignments promptly, and treating students equally and with respect. As a student,
your responsibilities include getting to lectures and tutorials on time, making appropriate contributions
to discussions, staying in classes until they are over, and treating your fellow students and instructors
with respect. Remember, this course will be held live, with living human beings as your instructors and
fellow students! It will, moreover, be held in a classroom with one hundred and fifty other live human
beings. This means that activities that are appropriate when you are outside of the classroom –
chatting with friends, doing homework, answering your cell phone, eating, sleeping – are not
appropriate inside the classroom. We expect and will ensure proper classroom behavior from all
students. Students who do not act responsibly will be asked to change their behavior and/or to leave.
Email Only When Necessary: Please contact your course director or tutorial leaders by email only
when necessary: i.e., when you have an illness or family emergency that will prevent you from turning
in an assignment or taking a test or if you have a procedural question that simply cannot wait until
class or tutorial time. The course director and tutorial leaders are available for answering questions
during regularly scheduled office hours and before and after classes and tutorials. Please avail yourself
of the many opportunities to ask your questions in person (you will get the best answers that way!)
rather than resorting to email.
A Word to the Wise: the Triad of HIST 2220: Yes, it seems as if this is one course, but it is actually
three. Here is what counts: 1) your completion of the weekly reading assignments (budget at least 4
hours a week for this and take notes while you read) 2) your attendance and participation in weekly
tutorial discussions and 3) your attendance at the two weekly lectures. Reading assignments, tutorials,
and lectures are closely linked: students who neglect any one of these elements should not expect to
receive a passing mark. Consistent effort on all three will pay off!
Course Evaluation: Your final mark for the course will be calculated out of 1000 points, based on six
components weighted as indicated:
Exam #1, 15% (150 points)
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The first exam will be held in class and will be 50 minutes in length. Exams test comprehension
of material from the readings, lectures, and tutorials. The exam may consist of any or all of the
following: chronology, matching, multiple-choice, true-false, map, identification, short answer
and essay questions. You will have many ways to shine! A review sheet for the exam will be
handed out at least two weeks prior to the exam date.
Exam #2, 15% (150 points)
The second exam will be held in class will be 50 minutes in length. The exam will be similar in
structure to the fall exam. A review sheet for the exam will be handed out at least two weeks
prior to the exam date.
Exam #3, 15% (150 points)
The third exam will be held in class will be 50 minutes in length. The exam will be similar in
structure to the fall exam. A review sheet for the exam will be handed out at least two weeks
prior to the exam date.
Paper, 10% (100 points)
One essay, 900-1200 words long, will concern the readings of the course. Specific essay
questions for this assignment will be distributed at least three weeks prior to the due date.
Tutorial Contribution, 20% (200 points)
Attendance and participation at the tutorial meetings is worth 200 points (you have twenty
required tutorial meetings – each meeting, in effect, is worth 10 points). Tutorial contribution
grades will be assigned by tutorial leaders.
Exam #4 (Final Exam), 25% (250 points)
The final exam will be 2 hours in length, date TBA. The first hour of the final exam will be
similar in structure to the in-class exams. This first hour will only concern material covered
after the third exam and will be worth 150 points, or 15% of your final grade. The second hour
will be devoted to a cumulative essay, picking up themes woven through the entire course. This
cumulative essay will be worth 100 points, or 10% of your final grade. A review sheet for the
final exam will be distributed at least two weeks prior to the close of the course.
Grading: The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in
undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.). Assignments and tests will
bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g. A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to
90, B+ = 75 to 79, etc.)
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Essay Submission: You must be present in tutorial to hand in your paper. If you do not turn in your
paper on the due date, you are responsible for contacting your TA and arranging a means to hand in
the late assignment. The office staff of the history department is not responsible or expected to deal
with late essay submissions.
Late Penalty: Essays received later than the due date and will be penalized 5% of the overall grade per
24 hours the assignment is late. No essays will be accepted for credit a week after the initial due
date. In other words, if a paper is due on Tuesday, you may still turn it in the following Tuesday (with a
35% late penalty) – but NO papers will be accepted after that. Exceptions to the late penalty for valid
reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., may be entertained by the Course Instructor but
will, in most cases, require supporting documentation (e.g., a valid doctor’s letter).
Missed Exams: Email the course director and your tutorial leader ASAP if you miss an exam. You
may get the chance to take a make-up. Students with a documented reason for missing an exam, such
as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., a valid
doctor’s letter) may request accommodation. Further extensions or accommodation will require
students to submit a formal petition to the Faculty. Please note that work schedules, vacations,
birthdays, and family celebrations are not acceptable excuses for missing an exam.
Exams postponed by bad weather: If York University is officially closed due to bad weather on a
scheduled exam date, the exam will be administered as soon as possible, i.e., during the first scheduled
lecture class after the university reopens.
Additional important information
All students are expected to familiarize themselves with the following information, available on the
Senate Committee on Curriculum & Academic Standards webpage (see Reports, Initiatives,
Documents) - http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/senate_cte_main_pages/ccas.htm
• York’s Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures/Academic Integrity Website
• Ethics Review Process for research involving human participants
• Course requirement accommodation for students with disabilities, including physical,
medical, systemic, learning and psychiatric disabilities
• Student Conduct Standards
• Religious Observance Accommodation
*Policy on Academic Honesty* Turn in your own work. We will not tolerate cheating in this course.
Students in History 2220 are expected to know and observe the standards of Academic Honesty of York
University. Students who have not yet completed York’s academic integrity tutorial are STRONGLY
ADVISED to do so: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/ Tutorial leaders who suspect
violations of the York Senate Policy on Academic Honesty will inform the course director. If the case of
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plagiarism or cheating is confirmed, the course director will inform the Undergraduate Director of the
history department and advise the stiffest penalties possible – at a minimum, expulsion from the
course and a permanent black mark on your academic record. Be warned.
Course Schedule
Please note that this schedule is approximate and may be changed by the instructor.
Course Outline:
I. Europe c.1000 and the First European Expansion
II. Emblems of High Medieval Europe
III. Late Medieval Europe
IV. The Renaissance and the New World
V. The Reformation
VI. Europe c.1700 and the Scientific Revolution
Part One: Europe c.1000 and the First European Expansion
Week One
Thurs Sept 8 Introductions
Week Two
Tues Sept 13 Charlemagne and Vikings and More
Thurs Sept 15 Europe at the Year 1000
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Sacred Violence assignment #1
Week Three
Tues Sept 20 The World at the Year 1000
Thurs Sept 22 The New Papacy: Religious Revival and Reform
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Sacred Violence assignment #2
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Week Four
Tues Sept 27 The New Lands: The Crusades and Other Conquests
Thurs Sept 29 The New Wealth: The Agricultural and Commerical Revolutions
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Sacred Violence assignment #3
Week Five
Tues Oct 4
The New Buildings: Cathedrals, Castles, Churches, Walls
Thurs Oct 6
The New Monks: The Carthusians and Cistercians
Tutorial Reading Assignment: A Monk’s Confession assignment #1
--Break: Thanksgiving and “Co-Curricular Week”-Week Six
Tues Oct 18
The New Learning: The Twelfth-Century Renaissance
Thurs Oct 20 The New Rules: Celibacy, Priests and the Religious Life
Tutorial Reading Assignment: A Monk’s Confession assignment #2
Week Seven
Tues Oct 25
EXAM #1
Part Two: Emblems of High Medieval Europe
Thurs Oct 27 The Papacy in the High Medieval Period
NOTE: No tutorial meetings will be held in week seven
Week Eight
Tues Nov 1
The Manor and the City
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Thurs Nov 3
Medieval Administration and Record-Keeping
Tutorial Reading Assignment: A Monk’s Confession assignment #3
Week Nine
Tues Nov 8
Medieval Warfare
Thurs Nov 10 The Coming of the Friars
Tutorial Reading Assignment: A Medieval Life assignment #1
Week Ten
Tues Nov 15
Religion and the Laity
Thurs Nov 17 The Beginnings of Universities
Tutorial Reading Assignment: A Medieval Life assignment #2
Part Three: Late Medieval Europe
Week Eleven
Tues Nov 22
Introduction to Late Medieval Europe
Thurs Nov 24 The Great Famine, the Black Death, and the Demographic Crisis
Tutorial Reading Assignment: A Medieval Life assignment #3
Week Twelve
Tues Nov 29
Paper Due Joan of Arc, the Hundred Years War, and Medieval State Formation
Thurs Dec 1
The Great Schism
Tutorial Reading Assignment: TBA
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Week Thirteen
Tues Dec 6
Heresy and Devotion in Late Medieval Europe
NOTE: No tutorial meetings will be held in week thirteen
--Winter Break, enjoy!-Week Fourteen
Tues Jan 3
The Fifteenth Century
Thurs Jan 5
EXAM #2
NOTE: No tutorial meetings will be held in week fourteen
Part Four: The Renaissance and the New World
Week Fifteen
Tues Jan 10
Backtracking and Beginning Anew
Thurs Jan 12 Italy and the Beginnings of the Renaissance
Tutorial Reading Assignment: The Prince assignment #1
Week Sixteen
Tues Jan 17
Renaissance Warfare
Thurs Jan 19 Humanism and the Printing Press
Tutorial Reading Assignment: The Prince assignment #2
Week Seventeen
Tues Jan 24
Roots: The Early Modern Agricultural Economy
Thurs Jan 26 Spices and the Voyages of “Discovery”
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Tutorial Reading Assignment: Victors and Vanquished assignment #1
Week Eighteen
Tues Jan 31
The Conquistadors
Thurs Feb 2
European Overseas Commerce
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Victors and Vanquished assignment #2
Week Nineteen
Tues Feb 7
Silver, Sugar, Slaves and the Atlantic World
Thur Feb 9
Latecomers: The English and French in North America
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Victors and Vanquished assignment #3
Week Twenty
Tues Feb 14
EXAM #3
Part Five: The Reformation
Thurs Feb 16 Introduction to the Reformation
Note: No tutorial meetings will be held in week twenty
--Reading Week. Read, read!-Week Twenty-One
Tues Feb 28
Martin Luther
Thurs Mar 1
Reform in the Cities and Countryside
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Here I Stand assignment #1
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Week Twenty-Two
Tues Mar 6
Princes, Radicals and Calvin
Thurs Mar 8
The Counter-Reformation
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Here I Stand assignment #2
Week Twenty-Three
Tues Mar 13 Wars of Religion
Part Six: Europe c.1700
Thurs Mar 15 The Little Ice Age
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Here I Stand assignment #3
Week Twenty-Four
Tues Mar 20 Living in the 17th century
Thurs Mar 22 The Beginning of the Scientific Revolution
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Here I Stand assignment #4
Week Twenty-Five
Tues Mar 27 Isaac Newton
Thurs Mar 29 The Early Enlightement
Tutorial Reading Assignment: Stearns, “Caffeine Dependencies in the Early Modern World”
Exam #4 (Final Exam): Date TBA
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