John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The City University of New York
New Course Proposal: LIT 3XX
When completed, this proposal should be submitted to the Office of the Associate
Provost for consideration by the College Curriculum Committee.
1.
Department (s) proposing this course:
English
2.
Title of the course:
Law and Justice in European Medieval Literature
Abbreviated title (up to 20 characters):
Law Just Eur Med Lit
3.
Level of this course:
___100 Level ___200 Level _X_300 Level ___400 Level
4.
Course description as it is to appear in the College bulletin:
(Write in complete sentences except for prerequisites, hours and credits.)
This course introduces the student to the classics of medieval literature and to the
legal structure of the period. Each semester, individual instructors will anchor the
course in specific cultures, bodies of law, and primary texts. Medieval law was often
unwritten, and performed locally through debate and decision, and public ritual
gestures (clasping of hands, kissing, the giving of objects as pledges, touching relics,
etc.). Medieval literature often dramatizes such rituals and legal issues. The course
ranges broadly over many centuries and encompasses (translated) texts in many
languages, principally Latin. Students should be prepared to learn some key terms
of vocabulary and basic linguistic principles.
5.
Has this course been taught on an experimental basis?
_X_ No
___ Yes: Semester (s) and year (s):
Teacher (s):
Enrollment (s):
Prerequisite (s):
6.
Prerequisites:
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
For non-majors: ENG 201 and one Gen Ed Literature course
7.
Number of:
class hours 3_
lab hours ___
credits 3__
8.
Brief rationale for the course:
In terms of both concept and vocabulary, a substantial body of modern American
law has its roots in medieval law. For reasons outlined in the course description
above, any understanding of medieval culture entails the study not only of the legal
and historical world of the Middle Ages but also of the literary. This exceptional
connection between medieval literature and the law uncovers the many ways in
which modern law both determines and is determined by modern culture. In
addition, medieval and modern notions of justice differ radically yet share deep
affinities. Understanding this nuanced relationship is fundamental to a truly
historical grasp of our justice system today.
This course is of direct relevance to students in the English major and other
programs. In the English major this course will be one of several electives in the
Literature and the Law Concentration. As an elective in the Justice Studies major,
this course elaborates on many topics covered in HJS 250 (Justice in the Western
Tradition). It is also an in-depth continuation of ideas explored in HIS 231 (The
Origins of the Contemporary World: From the Classical Period to the
Enlightenment).
9a.
Knowledge and performance objectives of this course:
(What knowledge will the student be expected to acquire and what conceptual and
applied skills will be learned in this course?)
Students will acquire:
 A foundational understanding of medieval literature.
 An understanding of the connection between medieval literature and the law.
 An appreciation of the simultaneous connections and differences between
medieval and modern conceptions of justice.
 Increased efficiency in close reading, critical thinking and writing.
9b.
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10.
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Information literacy:
(Indicate what sorts of information seeking skills will be enhanced by this course,
e.g., use of the internet, access to specialized databases, literature search skills,
etc.)
Students will read and analyze primary materials from medieval literature,
medieval law and jurisprudence, and medieval history
Students acquire a basic introduction to the multi-lingual nature of medieval
law, in particular Latin
Students will search for, retrieve and read secondary sources through online
MLA bibliographies and electronic journal databases, and will summarize
and incorporate these resources into their essays.
Recommended writing assignments:
(Indicate types of writing assignments and number of pages of each type. Writing
assignments should satisfy the College’s requirements for writing across the
curriculum.)
Requirements will include:
Online quizzes (on Blackboard)
Weekly postings to Discussion Board (on Blackboard)
Short summaries of secondary materials
Three essays (3-4 pp.)
Final paper (8 pp.)
11.
Will this course be part of any major(s) or program(s)?
___No
__X_Yes. Major or program: English, Justice Studies
What part of the major? (Prerequisite, core skills, etc.)
elective in the English major – Part Five – Lit and Law Concentration
elective in Justice Studies – Part Two – Disciplinary Component B,
Literature
12.
Is this course related to other specific courses?
_X_ No
__ Yes. Indicate which course(s) and what the relationship will be
(e.g. prerequisite, sequel, etc.)
13.
If this course was not taught on an experimental basis, are library, computer, lab
or other resources necessary for this course?
_X_No
___Yes. With whom has this been discussed?
Ellen Sexton 2/26/07
The English Department is and has been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the
Library regarding improving the collection to adequately support the proposed
English major and the associated new courses. Money additional to the regular
Library budget is being provided by the College to fund new acquisitions. The
Library subscribes to many relevant serial titles already, thanks to the collaborative
resource sharing of electronic materials with other CUNY libraries. However, the
monograph (and other book) collections in this subject area do need to be
augmented. The English Department is providing the Library with lists of titles for
acquisition.
14.
Sample syllabus and bibliography: attached
15.
This section is to be completed by the chair (s) of the department (s) proposing
the course.
Name (s) of the Chairperson (s): Jon-Christian Suggs
Has this proposal been approved at a meeting of the department curriculum
committee?
___No X___Yes: Meeting date: 2/5/07
When will this course be taught?
Every semester, starting _________________
One semester each year, starting _ Fall 2008
Once every two years, starting ________________
How many sections of this course will be offered? _one________
Who will be assigned to teach this course?
Professors Allen and Tung
Is this proposed course similar to or related to any course or major offered by any
other department (s)?
_X__No
___Yes. What course (s) or major (s) is this course similar or related to?
Did you consult with department (s) offering similar or related courses or majors?
X__Not applicable___ No ___Yes
If yes, give a short summary of the consultation process and results.
Will any course be withdrawn if this course is approved?
X___No
___Yes, namely:
Signature (s) of chair of Department (s) proposing this course:
Date: Feb 6 2007___
JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, CUNY
445 W. 59th St., New York NY 10019
“LAW AND JUSTICE IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE: MEDIEVAL ENGLAND”
SAMPLE SYLLABUS
Professor: Valerie Allen
Semester: Semester 2***
Course Code: Lit 3**
Course Section: **
Classroom: ***
Class time: ***
Professor’s office: 1295N
Office Hours: by appointment
Professor’s phone and e-mail: (212) 237-8594: vallen@jjay.cuny.edu
Course Pre- or co-requisites: For non-majors: ENG 201 and one Gen. Ed. Lit. course
Course Description:
This course is designed to introduce the student to the classics of medieval English
literature, to a sense of England’s legal structure during the period, and, most
importantly, to an understanding of how deeply both discourses reflect each other.
Medieval law was often unwritten, and performed locally through debate and decision,
and public ritual gestures (clasping of hands, kissing, the giving of objects as pledges,
touching relics, etc.). Medieval literature often dramatizes such rituals and legal issues.
The period covered is some 800 years, and although most texts will be taught in
translation, the original texts are written in Old English (very like German), Latin, AngloNorman, and Middle English, so students should be prepared to pay attention to this, and
learn some key terms of vocabulary/basic linguistic principles. In this course, we consider
the close kinship between literature and the law in the medieval period, and the ways in
which the relationship between literary and legal discourse has changed over the
centuries.
Learning Objectives:
Students will acquire:
 A foundational understanding of medieval literature.
 An understanding of the connection between medieval literature and the law
 An appreciation of the simultaneous connections and differences between
medieval and modern conceptions of justice
 Increased efficiency in close reading, critical thinking and writing.
Required Texts:
 Beowulf: A New Verse Translation, ed. Seamus Heaney (London & New York:
Norton, 2000).
 Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Wife of Bath, ed. Peter Beidler. Boston: Bedford, 1996.
 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Pearl, ed. and trans. Marie Borroff.
New York: Norton, 2001.
 Malory, Thomas. Complete Works. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1977.
 The York Plays. Ed. Richard Beadle. London: Edward Arnold, 1982.
Academic Integrity: By registering in this course, you are promising to abide by all the
requirements stated in this syllabus, which include the following: plagiarism and cheating
are serious academic offences, and will result in disciplinary action. It is essential that I,
as your professor, am able to trust that all work you submit to me is your own, and that it
openly acknowledges all outside input and help. If, in my professional judgment, the
work or part of the work you submit presents the work of another in the guise of your
own, then that trust is broken and penalties are incurred, which can include outright
failure of the course, and being reported—it’s not worth it. Plagiarism is the presentation
of another person’s work or ideas as your own; this includes work taken from the internet
without citation as well as unacknowledged “proofing” or “help with writing.” Please
read CUNY’s policy on academic integrity at
http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/2004/policies/image/policy.pdf
See also JJC’s Undergraduate Bulletin on plagiarism for further details. JJC subscribes to
“Turnitin,” which checks written work for unacknowledged material taken from the
internet.
Attendance: Attendance from day one is compulsory, and roll will be taken every class.
You are allowed to miss up to FOUR classes without penalty, whether excused or not. Late
attendance, early departure, or inattentive or disruptive behavior all count as a half
absence. Your final grade will be penalized in the event of absence over the permitted
four classes; at seven classes missed, you fail the course. In the event of a class absence,
it is the responsibility of the individual student to find out any information, assignments,
or handouts disseminated from the missed class.
Classroom Procedure: All students are expected to have prepared the designated
assignment for each class, to participate frequently in class discussion, and to behave
with courtesy to professor and students alike. Please note that leaving the room for
whatever reason once class has started is not permitted, and all beepers/mobiles must be
switched off for the duration of the class.
Blackboard: This class is supported by Blackboard, and many of the texts and resources
you will need can only be accessed through Blackboard. You should make sure that your
John Jay e-mail account is active, and it is highly recommended that you use it for
registering for BB rather than some other. It will be the responsibility of each student
both to consult the Blackboard bulletin/information resources regularly for timetabling
announcements and to ensure access to a computer with the internet capability necessary
to access Blackboard.
Assessment: You will be asked to write notes in the form of short summaries or short
answers to questions on everything you read. There will be three shorter papers through
the semester of 3-4 pp. each and one long final paper of 8 pp. Essay I will address issues
specific to Anglo-Saxon law and literature. Essay II will require comparison between
Anglo-Saxon and later medieval English culture (legal and literary). Essay III will be on
a general theme (such as gender or war) and will invite comparison between earlier and
later texts. The final paper is enable students to focus on their own preferred topic of
research; it is expected to show historical range, and compare different literary texts;
implied comparison between medieval and modern law in general is also welcome in this
final paper. See following percentage weighting.
Attendance and Participation
10%
Weekly quizzes and short summaries of secondary materials
30%
Three papers
30%
Final paper (exam)
30%
Date
Class
1
2
Text
Handout
Beowulf
3
Beowulf
4
Beowulf
5
Beowulf
6
Beowulf
7
10
Bayeux Tapestry
CD
Bayeux Tapestry
CD
Bayeux Tapestry
CD
Ancrene Wisse
11
Ancrene Wisse
12
Ancrene Wisse
13
Pearl
14
Pearl
15
Piers Plowman
16
Piers Plowman
17
Chaucer, Wife of
Bath’s Prologue
18
19
Chaucer, Wife of
Bath’s Prologue
Malory
20
Malory
LAST
8
9
CLASS SCHEDULE—SUBJECT TO ADJUSTMENT
Topic
Announcements
Historical Overview of OE Period to 1066.
IN-CLASS WRITING
The story. Introduction to OE
SUMMARY
language/alliteration.
The socio-economic role of treasure, gifts,
QUIZ
hoards, burial. (Supplementary material: Sutton
Hoo, Widsith)
Kingship (Supplementary material: Anglo-Saxon SUMMARY
Chronicle)
Kinship (Supplementary material: Tacitus on
QUIZ
comitatus; The Battle of Maldon)
Legal compensation (Supplementary material:
Essay I Due
Anglo-Saxon laws)
Historical Overview of Norman Invasion and
SUMMARY
Anglo-Norman Period (to C.12th)
Feudal relations—fealty and homage.
QUIZ
(Supplementary material: Song of Roland)
Oath-taking and relics. (Supplementary material: SUMMARY
Anglo-Saxon Laws; Bynum)
Historical overview of C.12th-13th England,
QUIZ
common law, religious orders, anchoritism.
Canon law, Ecclesiastical and Secular Courts
SUMMARY
(Supplementary material: Helmholz)
Confession, penance. (Supplementary material:
QUIZ
Tentler)
Historical Overview of C.14th, Black Death.
SUMMARY
Preaching, parables, wages. (Supplementary
material: Statute of Laborers)
Anti-Ecclesiastical Protest (Supplementary
material: Chaucer’s Summoner’s Tale, sermons)
The Peasants’ Revolt. (Supplementary material:
Dobson)
Women, marriage, virginity (Supplementary
material: Holy Maidenhood, Book of Margery
Kempe)
Women and Trade (Supplementary material:
Internet Medieval Sourcebook)
Chivalric code, jousts, tournaments.
(Supplementary Material: Barker)
Warfare (Supplementary material: Internet
Medieval Sourcebook)
ESSAY II DUE
DAY
TO RESIGN WITHOUT
21
Malory
22
Malory
23
25
Early English
Wills
Early English
Wills
York plays
26
York plays
27
York plays
The ordeal (Supplementary material: Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight)
The ordeal (Supplementary material: Bartlett,
Hyams)
Canon law and its waning jurisdiction.
(Supplementary material: Houlbrooke).
Orality and Literacy. (Supplementary material:
Hibbits)
Staging, Context and History of the York Corpus
Christi Play.
The York guilds and mercantile law
(Supplementary material: Internet Medieval
Sourcebook)
Anti-Semitism (Supplementary material: Internet
ACADEMIC
PENALTY
ESSAY III DUE
24
QUIZ
SUMMARY
QUIZ
QUIZ
SUMMARY
QUIZ
SUMMARY
FINAL PAPER
DRAFTING
FINAL PAPER
DRAFTING
FINAL PAPER
DRAFTING
FINAL PAPER
DRAFTING
FINAL PAPER
28
York plays
Final
Exam
Medieval Sourcebook)
From Faith to Heresy (Supplementary material:
Duffy)
DRAFTING
FINAL PAPER
DRAFTING
FINAL PAPER DUE
General Bibliography and Supplementary Reading—relevant excerpts will be
available on Blackboard
General:
 Bartlett, R.J. Trial by Fire and Water: The Medieval Judicial Ordeal. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1986.
 Bloch, R. Howard. Medieval French Literature and Law. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1977.
 Burgwinkle, William E. Sodomy, Masculinity and Law in Medieval Literature :
France and England, 1050-1230. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
 Bynum, Caroline Walker. Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and
the Human Body in Medieval Religion. Zone, 1992.
 Coleman, R. “Reason and Unreason in Early Medieval Law.” Journal of
Interdisciplinary History 4 (1974): 571-91.
 Goebel, Julius, Jr. Felony and Misdemeanor: A Study in the History of Criminal
Law. 2nd edn. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1976.
 Helmholz, R.H. The Oxford History of the Laws of England: Canon Law and
Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction from 597 to the 1640s. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2004.
 Hibbitts, Bernard J. “‘Coming to our Senses:’ Communication and Legal
Expression in Performance Cultures,” Emory Law Journal 41 (1992): 873-960.
 Houlbrooke, Ralph. Death, Religion, and the Family in England. Oxford:
Clarendon, 1998.
 Internet Medieval Sourcebook. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
 Janin, Hunt. Medieval Justice: Cases and Laws in France, England and Germany,
500-1500. London: McFarland, 2004.
 Jolliffe, J.E.A. The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English
Settlement to 1485. 4th edn. New York: Norton, 1961.
 Levy, Leonard. The Palladium of Justice: Origins of Trial by Jury. Chicago: I.R.
Dee, 1999.
 Lyon, Bryce. A constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England. 2nd edn.
New York: Norton, 1980.
 Merback, Mitchell B. The thief, the Cross, and the Wheel: Pain and the Spectacle
of Punishment in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1998.
 Pollock, Sir Frederick, and F.W. Maitland, The History of English Law before the
Time of Edward I. 2 vols. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
 Reinhard, J.R. “Burning at the Stake in Mediaeval Law and Literature.” Speculum
16 (1941): 186-209.
 Tentler, T. Sin and Confession on the Eve of the Reformation. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1977.
Specific to Sample Syllabus
 Barker, Juliet R.V. The Tournament In England 1100-1400. Woodbridge, Suffolk:
Boydell and Brewer, 1986.
 Bloomfield, Morton W. “Beowulf, Byrhtnoth, and the Judgment of God: Trial by
Combat in Anglo-Saxon England.” Speculum 44 (1969): 545-559.
 Daniell, C. Death and Burial in Medieval England. London: Routledge, 1998.
 Dobson, R. B. The Peasants' Revolt of 1381. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan, 1983.
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Duffy, Eamon. Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 14001580. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
Fleming, Robin. Domesday Book and the Law : Society and Legal Custom in
Early Medieval England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Green, Richard Firth. A Crisis of Truth : Literature and Law in Ricardian
England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
Hudson, John. The Formation of the English Common Law: Law and Society in
England from the Norman Conquest to Magna Carta. London: Longman, 1996.
Hyams, P.R. “Trial by Ordeal: The Key to Proof in the Early Common Law,” in
M.S. Arnold et al, eds, On the Laws and Customs of England: Essays in Honour
of S.E. Thorne. Chapel Hill: 1981, pp. 90-126.
Neville, C.J. “Common Knowledge of the Common Law in Later Medieval
England.” Canadian Journal of History 29 (1994): 461-78.