History 137: Before Europe: The Early Medieval World (250-c. 1050) William North Lecture: MF 4a; Leighton 305 Discussion Sections: Office Hours: Th 8-10 pm (in the Library); F 9-11 am (my office) & by appointment Contact Information: Telephone: x-4202 (office-Leighton 203A); 645-7807 (home, between 7am -10 pm) Course Goals This course has several goals. It is an occasion for you to be historians, to exercise those same critical skills of observation, humane judgment, and sympathetic reflection that inform your daily lives upon the thoughts, perceptions, and actions of people in far-distant places and times. It is a “thought laboratory” about what we can know, what we cannot know, and how we know what we think we know about past people using the evidence that their worlds have left behind. How do we move from a text, whether long or short, cryptic or verbose, recording a land transfer or a miraculous healing, to the values, beliefs, and actions of those who wrote the text, participated in the action, and perhaps thought those thoughts? To sharpen your skills in reading and assessing the value of various kinds of source materials as evidence for the politics, society, and thought of a world. To acquaint you with some of the main historical figures, problems, and developments in the early Middle Ages, more specifically from roughly the reign of the Emperor Diocletian in the third century to the moment just before we see the full emergence of the institutions (the Papacy, universities, canon law, crusades) and polities (Anglo-Norman England, Capetian France, the Italian city-states, et al.) that will characterize the medieval world that is perhaps more familiar. To introduce the visual culture of the early medieval West and to offer you opportunities to practice interpreting visual materials and thinking about how they relate to human activities and ideas. To realize these goals we have at our disposal three crucial elements: your minds and imaginations; the evidence of the period which includes texts, images, objects—although it will be texts and images that will occupy us most in this course; and my mind and imagination and those of the scholars whom we will read (which differ from yours only in having devoted themselves to being systematically puzzled and fascinated by this world and trying to figure it out for a living). What does this mean? It means that I am a guide, not an oracle. More importantly, it means that the central relationship in this course is between your mind and imagination and the historical evidence, and therefore that your full imaginative engagement in this course is vital! The more you care and think about the people and worlds we study, the more you will get out of the experience and the more you will be able to give back to the class. If you find yourself thinking about feud while in the LDC lunch line; wondering about miraculous healings in the presence of a saint’s finger on the way to baseball practice; worrying about the dynamics of the gift economy the next time Friday flowers rolls around; and reflecting carefully on the nature of being a “good” RA and the ways in which an RA community and its “lord” interact in Carolingian categories, then you are doing the “right thing.” 2 Books and Reserves The following books will constitute the main readings for the course and are available at the Carleton Bookstore. Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000 (Palgrave) Alfred the Great, trans. S. Keynes (Penguin) Beowulf and Other Poems, trans. C. Hieatt (Bantam) Two Lives of Charlemagne, trasn. L. Thorpe (Penguin) Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, trans. L. Thorpe (Penguin) Liudprand of Cremona, The Works of Liudprand of Cremona, trans. P. Squatriti (Catholic University Press) Lawrence Nees, Early Medieval Art (Oxford) Additional materials will be available via History 137 e-reserves (Password: HIST) and fulltext electronic resources like JSTOR (available through the Library’s “Database” webpage. Copies of the books are also on closed reserve. If you have any problems gaining access to the materials, contact me immediately: during the day, via email; in the evening, via telephone. Course Requirements and Grading Attendance and Participation o Attendance at both lecture and section o 1 brief oral presentation in section o Thoughtful preparation o Comments and Questions (quality is as important as quantity) 3 Primary Source Analyses (2.5 pages max) assessed on a 0, 3-5 scale (5 being best) 1 Visual Primary Source Analysis (3 pages max) Geography and Reading Quizzes Modified Take-home Midterm Final Exam 15% 30% 10% 10% 15% 20% Class Attendance & Participation Attendance at lectures and sections is expected and mandatory. Because of the nature of this class, your presence (and preferably active participation) in class is vital. One unexcused absence will therefore result in a drop of one-third of a letter grade in class participation; two unexcused absences will result in a drop of an additional full letter grade; three unexcused absences will result in a letter grade of F for class participation. The message is simple: if you are compelled by legitimate factors to miss a session of this course, let me know immediately. If you not compelled by legitimate factors, ask yourself why you are missing class and whether it is really worth it. In the end, my hope is that you will find that this policy is not about arbitrary rule-making or draconian tactics but about responsible communication and helping you to get the most out of your time in this course. Participation is expected. This class will work best if there is active interchange, and I fully expect to devote time in lecture and sections to discussing your questions, 3 interpretations/reactions, and criticisms of the readings. Being a passive listener can be tempting at times, but such quietude will generally lead to a limited intellectual experience for me, for you, and for your colleagues. Listen, to be sure, but also be bold (or be hesitant boldly) and ask a question, mention something you noticed, question the texts or the prof (preferably both). Read carefully and notice and note down details; think of the evidence as the remains of real, complex people in many ways just like yourselves but different; then give your ideas a try in dialogue with the materials. Readings range between 20 and 95 pages per class (with the average around 60) BUT DO NOT BE DECEIVED: the material is dense (because it is mostly unprocessed and unpasteurized primary sources) and requires attentive (i.e. often slow) reading and recurring reflection. (Ancient authors often talked about “chewing” their texts-and they believed in the 50 chews before swallowing policy!!) Study questions may be distributed on occasion though you are encouraged to find and follow your own lines of questioning. Occasional very short writing assignments. These will occur occasionally and will be integrally related to the readings for a given class. For example, I may ask people to select an image or passage to discuss; to write down what word or words they would use to describe an author or text or idea; to formulate a pen portrait of a text’s theme or author. All these would be used as catalysts for discussion. Primary Source Analyses Over the course of the term you are required to do 3 PSAs. See the handout on PSAs for guidelines, suggestions, and examples. To insure that you receive feedback in a timely manner, the following guidelines must be observed: you may submit no more than 1/week; submit via email or in lecture/section on the day the source is discussed. 1 must be completed between during Weeks 1-3. 1 must be submitted during Weeks 4-6. 1 must be submitted during Weeks 7-10. Visual Primary Source Analysis For this assignment, you are not expected to do any outside research on these images, though you may do so if the questions you want to ask would be furthered by it. Rather the central aim of your work should be to look at an image or object very carefully and with your imaginative faculties set to “high performance”. Consequently, your discussion and arguments should focus on the evidence you discern in the image itself. Do not worry about whether you are right in the absolute sense. Worry about whether you have visual evidence for your hypotheses and interpretations and have articulated your way of thinking as clearly and eloquently as possible. Geography & Reading Quizzes Geography—where people and places are located and the kinds of natural features (soil, mountains, waterways, forests, coastlines, hills, valleys, et cetera)—plays a vital role in the unfolding of historical events. It speeds and impedes communication; connects and protects regions; means wealth or poverty for the populace; and inspires or constrains the religious imagination. Ideally, we would visit each site mentioned in our sources but since we cannot do so in reality, we will do so imaginatively. Study the maps in your books and those that I will hand out in addition. As you read, have the maps by your side and get a sense of how the author or event relates to space and place. If you do so, the map quizzes should be quite straightforward. Before each geography quiz, I will hand out a list of places and geographical features that you should be able to recognize. There will also be quizzes on the reading in Collins. These quizzes will assess your knowledge of basic information and understanding of the content of the readings for the given week (so if the 4 quiz was on Wednesday, you would be responsible for the material for Monday and Wednesday). See handout on “Reading Sources and Articles” for some basic tips on how to keep yourself prepared regarding this material. Midterm & Final Examinations Midterm (1 hour) The midterm will consist of short answer/fill in the blank questions; a chronological component; identifications (including identifications of primary source texts and images); and a short interpretive essay based on one or more primary source extract(s) that you may not have seen before. Final Exam (self-schedulable) The final exam may consist of a combination of: short answer/fill-in-blank; a chronological component covering the entirety of the course; textual/image identifications & interpretations (mini-PSAs); a document-based question; essay question (questions handed out in advance of the exam). SYLLABUS 3/31 Introduction to the course and some terms and concepts. J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, “Early Medieval History,” in idem, Early Medieval History, Oxford: Basil Blackwell 1975, pp. 1-18. (e-reserve) 4/2 The “Crisis” of the Third Century N.B. Regular lecture today—no sections Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 1-15. Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus, trans. H.W. Bird, Translated Texts for Historians 17, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 1994, pp. 41-45. (e-reserve) Nees, EMA, chapter 1: The Roman Language of Art, pp. 17-30. 4/4 Stability and the Varieties of Persecution: The Tetrarchy Reading for Class: Stephen Williams, Diocletian and the Roman Recovery, London/NY: Routledge 1985, pp. 126-139; 173-185. (e-reserve) Diocletian, Edict on Maximal Prices & Other Legislation, in Roger Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2004, pp. 139-46, 174-176. (e-reserve) Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, in Library of the Ante-Nicene Fathers VII, reprint Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers 2004, pp.301-22. (e-reserve) Week II 4/7 From Constantine to Theodosius I: Pagans and Christians, Barbarians and Romans The New Model Emperor: Constantine I and His Legacy Reading: 5 Collins, EME, pp. 16-30. Sozomen, Church History, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 2, ed. P. Schaff & H. Wace, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers 2004, pp.236-264 (selections) Eutropius, Breviarium IX.19-X.18, trans. H.W. Bird, Translated Texts for Historians 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 1993, pp. 60-70. (e-reserve) L. Nees, Early Medieval Art, chapter 2 (Earliest Christian Art), pp. 31-46. 4/9 Sanctity and Society in Roman Gaul: The Example of Saint Martin of Tours & Victricius of Rouen Reading: Collins, EME, pp. 61-79. Sulpicius Severus, The Life of Saint Martin of Tours, trans. F.R. Hoare, in Soldiers of Christ. Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, ed. Thomas F.X. Noble and Thomas Head, University Park, PA: Penn State Press 1995, pp. 1-29. (e-reserves) Vitricius of Rouen, In praise of the saints (c. 396), in Christianity and Paganism, 350-750, ed. J. N. Hillgart, Philadelphia: UPenn Press 1969, pp. 23-28. (e-reserve) 4/11 Apostasy and Christian Consolidation: From Julian to Theodosius I Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 36-46, 47-54. Ambrose of Milan & Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, “Letters on the Altar of Victory,” in Ambrose of Milan. Political Letters and Speeches, trans. J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, Translated Texts for Historians 43, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 2005, pp. 61-94. Extracts from the Theodosian Code on Paganism, in The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions, trans. C. Pharr, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1952, pp. 472-476. L. Nees, Early Medieval Art, chapter 3 (Conversion), pp. 47-62, and skim chapter 4 (Art for Aristocrats), pp. 63-80. Week III Collapse and Consolidation: The West in the Fifth & Sixth Centuries 4/14 Close Encounters of the Germanic and Hunnic Kind Readings: Collins, EME, 80-99. Jerome, Comments on the Sack of Rome (CE 410) in his Commentary on Ezechiel, trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 6 (available online at: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf206.vii.iv.x.html) Priscus of Panium, “Priscus of Panium on Attila the Hun,” in From Roman to Merovingian Gaul, ed. Alexander C. Murray, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2000, pp. 139-151. (ereserve) Jordanes, The Gothic History cc.36-43, 49-50 (sections on Attila), pp. 103-115, 123-125. (ereserve) Sidonius Apollinaris, Selected Letters, with an English translation, introduction, and notes by W.B. Anderson, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP 1936-. (selections). 4/16 Italy in the Age of Theoderic Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 100-115; 116-134. Procopius, The Gothic Wars V.1, trans. H.B. Dewing, Loeb Classics, Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP 1968, pp. 3-15 (even pages in Greek). 6 Cassiodorus Senator, Variae I.3-4, I.10, I.17; III.1-4, 30-31, 51; IV.51; V.1, trans. S.J.B. Barnish, Translated Texts for Historians 12, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 1992, pp. 6-15, 45-49, 60-63, 67-71, 79-83. Anonymous Valesianus, Excerpta, trans. J.C. Rolfe, in Ammianus Marcellinus III, ed. & trans. J.C. Rolfe, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP 1939, 543-469 (half of the pages are in Latin). (e-reserve) L. Nees, Early Medieval Art, chapter 5 (Endings and Beginnings), pp. 81-97 & pp. 99-106 (discussion of San Vitale in chapter 6). Recommended Reading: Mark J. Johnson, “Toward a History of Theoderic's Building Program,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 42 (1988): 73-96. (Available on JSTOR)??? 4/18 Barbarian and Roman in Gaul Readings: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, Preface, Preface to Book I, Book I.44-48 & Book II, trans. L. Thorpe, New York: Penguin Press 1974, pp. 63, 67-69, 93-99, 101-58. The Burgundian Code, trans. K. Fischer Drew, Philadelphia, PA: UPenn Press K. Fischer Drew, “The Barbarian Kings as Lawgivers and Judges,” in Life and Thought in the Early Middle Ages, ed. R.S. Hoyt, Minneapolis: U of Minnesota 1967, pp. 7-29. Remigius of Reims, Letter to Clovis on the Death of His Sister, trans. W.L. North from the edition in J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Latina 65, col. 963D. (handout) Remigius of Reims, Letter to Clovis on assuming control of Belgica Secunda, trans. W.L. North from the edition in J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Latina 65, col. 965C. (handout) Week IV The Merovingian World 4/21 Structures of Power and Influence: Kings and Bishops in the Age of King Chilperic Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 153-172. Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, Books IV-VI, pp. 195-382. 4/23 Conflict and Conspiracy in Merovingian Gaul Readings: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, Books VII-VIII, pp. 383-478. 4/25 Religion and Society in the Late Sixth Century Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, IX-X, pp. 481-604. Week V 4/28 Anglo-Saxon England Between Rome, Iona, and the North Sea World The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 173-195, 240-261 Gregory I, Register VIII.37, XI. 35 & XI. 37, trans. John R.C. Martyn, in The Letters of Gregory the Great II & III, Medieval Sources in Translation, Toronto: PIMS 2004, pp. 532545, 778-779, 782-784, Bede, Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth-Jarrow, in The Age of Bede, trans. David Farmer, New York: Penguin Books 1998, pp. 185-210. (e-reserve) Caedmon’s Hymn, in Beowulf and Other Old English Poems, trans. Constance Hieatt, New York: Bantam Books 1967; repr. 1982, p. 87. L. Nees, Early Medieval Art, chapter 6 (Craftsmanship & Artistry), pp. 107-115. EVENING FILM SHOWING: 7 4/30 Anglo-Saxon Society: The Perspective from Vernacular Poetry Beowulf, in Beowulf and Other Old English Poems, trans. Constance Hieatt, New York: Bantam 1967; repr. 1982, pp. 3-86. The Wanderer, in Beowulf and Other Old English Poems, trans. Constance Hieatt, New York: Bantam Books 1967; repr. 1982, pp. 105-108. The Seafarer, in Beowulf and Other Old English Poems, trans. Constance Hieatt, New York: Bantam Books 1967; repr. 1982, pp. 117-120. 5/2 England, Gaul, and the Wider World: The Hodoporicon of St Willibald Collins, EME, pp. 218-233. Huneberc of Heidenheim, Hodeporicon of St Willibald, in Soldiers of Christ. Saints and Saints’ Live from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, ed. T.F.X. Noble and T. Head, University Park, PA: Penn State Press 1995, pp. 141-164. (e-reserve) Nees, Early Medieval Art, pp. 117-152. Week VI The Carolingian World 5/5 Midterm Break 5/7 A Life and Its Lessons: The Memory of Charles the Great Readings: Fichtenau, The Carolingian Empire, p.1-46. Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, in Two Lives of Charlemagne, trans. L. Thorpe, New York: Penguin Books 1969, pp. 49-90. “Vision of a Poor Woman of Laon,” in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2004, pp. 203-204. (e-reserve) “Vision of Charlemagne,” in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2004, pp. 456-457. (e-reserve) Notker the Stammerer, Charlemagne, in Two Lives of Charlemagne, trans. L. Thorpe, New York: Penguin Books 1969, pp. 93-172. 5/9 Ordering the Realm Readings: Fichtenau, The Carolingian Empire, 104-43; 177-88. Timothy Reuter, “Plunder and Tribute in the Carolingian empire,” in Medieval Polities & Modern Mentalities, ed. Janet Nelson, Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2006, pp. 231-250. Originally published in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th series, 35 (1985), pp. 75-94.(e-reserve) Alcuin, Letters 114 & 116, in Alcuin of York, ed. & trans. S. Alcott, York: Sessions of York 1974, pp. 120-126. (e-reserve “Capitularies,” in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2004 pp. 65-91. (e-reserve) Week VII 5/12 The Carolingian World Power, Gender, Status, and Identity in Carolingian Society Readings: Fichtenau, The Carolingian Empire, pp. 144-176. The Polyptyques of St-Germain-des-Près, Coudray sur Seine, & the Church of Marseilles, in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview 5/14 5/16 8 Press 2004, pp. 207-219 (and complete the charts associated with each polyptique). (ereserve) Agobard of Lyon, On the Insolence of the Jews to Louis the Pious (Online Medieval Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/agobard-insolence.html) Agobard of Lyon, On the Baptism of Slaves Belonging to Jews (to Adalard, Wala, and Helisachar (Online Medieval Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/agobard-baptism.html) S. F. Wemple, “The Consequences of Monogamy,” in Women in Frankish Society. Marriage and the Cloister 500-900, Philadelphia: U Penn Press 1981, pp. 97-126. (e-reserve) Janet Nelson, “The Wary Widow,” in Property and Power in the Early Middle Ages, ed. W. Davies & P. Fouracre, Cambridge: CUP 1995, pp. 82-114. (e-reserve) Art and Learning in the Carolingian Age (N.B. Sections will meet in classroom next to Special Collections on Library Level 1) Readings: Fictenau, The Carolingian Empire, pp. 79-103. L. Nees, Early Medieval Art, pp. 153-194. Wulfadus’ Library, in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2004, pp. 497-498. (e-reserve) Otfrid von Weissenburg on Old High German, in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2004, pp. 395-399. (e-reserve) Amalarius of Metz, “Prologue of his Antiphonary,” trans. W. L. North . Reach out and Convert Someone: Christian Mission in the Carolingian Age Readings: Nicholas I, Letter 99 to the Bulgars, trans. W. North from the edition of Ernest Perels, in MGH Epistolae VI, Berlin, 1925, pp.568-600. (Online Medieval Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/866nicholas-bulgar.html) Richard E. Sullivan, “Early Medieval Missionary Activity: A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Methods,” Church History 23:1 (1954): 17-35. Available in JSTOR) Week VIII Alfred the Great & the Vikings 5/19 Enter the Vikings.... Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 364-390. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle aa. 793-855/858, in English Historical Documents I, ed. D. Whitelock, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode 1968, pp. 167-175. (e-reserve) Alcuin, Letter to Aethelred, king of Northumbria (793, after June 8), EHD I, pp. 775-777. (ereserve) “The Wandering Monks of St-Philibert,” in Carolingian Civilization, ed. P.E. Dutton, 2nd edition, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press 2004, pp. 468-471.(e-reserve) Peter Sawyer, “The raids in the west,” in P. Sawyer, Kings and Vikings, London: Methuen 1982, pp. 78-98. (e-reserve) 5/21 A Man for All Season’s: Asser’s King Alfred (61 pp.) Readings: Asser, Life of Alfred the Great, in Alfred the Great, ed. S. Keynes & M. Lapidge, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books 1983, pp. 66-112. Preface to the translation of Gregory I’s Pastoral Care, in Alfred the Great, pp. 124-130. The will of King Alfred, in Alfred the Great, pp. 173-179. The Burghal Hidage, in Alfred the Great, pp. 193-194. 9 5/23 Renaissance, Renewal, and Crisis in Tenth Century England Readings: Ælfric, Life of St Æthelwold, in EHD I, pp. 831-839. (e-reserve) “The Sermon of the Wolf to the English,” in EHD I, pp. 854-859. (e-reserve) The Battle of Maldon, in Beowulf and Other Poems, trans. C. Hieatt, pp. 109-116. Eric John, “The Restoration of Learning,” in E. John, Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England, Manchester: Manchester UP 1996, pp. 124-138. (e-reserve) Week IX Coping with Crisis in the Tenth Century: The Example of Ottonian Germany 5/26 A Dubious Legacy-Chaos and Order in the Post-Carolingian Age Readings: Collins, EME, pp. 390-409. Liudprand of Cremona, Retribution, in The Complete Works of Liudprand of Cremona, trans. Paolo Squatriti, Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press of America 2007, pp. 41-138. 5/28 Renovatio Imperii? Popes, Kings, and Emperors in the 10th century Readings: Liudprand of Cremona, Retribution, pp. 139-202. Liudprand of Cremona, Concerning King Otto, in The Complete Works, pp. 219-237. 5/30 When Roman Empires Collide Readings: Liudprand of Cremona, The Embassy of Liudprand, pp. 238-282. L. Nees, Early Medieval Art, chapter 12 (Towards a New Age), pp. 213-235. Karl Leyser, “The Tenth Century in Byzantine-Western Relations,” in K. Leyser, Medieval Germany and Its Neighbors, 900-1250, London: Hambledon 1982, pp.103-138. (e-reserves) Week X A New World in a Small Place: The World of Viking Iceland 6/2 Coming into the Country: The Discovery and Society of Iceland Saga of Erik the Red, in The Sagas of the Icelanders. New York: Penguin 2000, pp. 653-676.(ereserve) Saga of Thorstein the Staff-Struck, , in The Sagas of the Icelanders. New York: Penguin 2000, pp. 677-684. (e-reserve) A. Forte, R. Oram, & F. Pedersen, “Crossing the North Atlantic,” in A. Forte, R. Oram, & F. Pedersen, Viking Empires, Cambridge: CUP 2005, pp. 299-327. (e-reserve) 6/4 The Early Medieval World: Decline and Fall or Transformation or a Little Bit of Both N.B. No sections this week; meet as group in Leighton 305 **Course Final is Self-Schedulable**