HIS 255—The Middle Ages
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CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:
“This course focuses on the political, social, cultural, economic and intellectual development in
Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic world from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire through the
Italian Renaissance, approximately A.D. c.400-c.1400.”
Students will study a variety of secondary, primary and geographical sources in order to
understand the patterns of change and continuity during the Medieval Period (c.400-c.1400). By
examining and discussing political, social, economic, religious and cultural developments, you should
achieve an overview of some of the major issues in the history of the Middle Ages and a framework for
future study. You will also practice and develop some of the skills--critical reading, thinking and
writing--which are especially necessary for the study of history. To be successful in this class, your
preparation and participation is essential. Do your assigned readings before class and be prepared for
possible discussion. Always bring your textbooks to class.
COURSE OUTLINE:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
The Transformation of the Ancient World
The Emergence of Europe and the Early Middle Ages
Byzantium and Eastern Christianity
Islam in the Near East and North Africa
The Carolingian World
The High Middle Ages
The Waning of the Middle Ages
The Renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages
COURSE COMPETENCIES:
After successfully completing HIS255: The Middle Ages you will be able to
1. Describe the basic outline of the history of the Middle Ages, with a focus on key
historical events and personages.
2. Analyze the impact of medieval political, cultural, economic and intellectual
developments on contemporary civilizations.
3. Analyze the impact of cultural intersections during the Middle Ages in the development
of medieval and modern civilizations.
4. Respond critically to medieval primary sources, demonstrating an understanding of their
importance both to their own time and to the modern era.
Through a basic understanding of the above processes, you will be able to recognize the interconnectedness of Medieval, or Middle Ages civilizations and their individual uniqueness. In addition to
the above, this history course will include the following objectives:
I.
Four general goals integrate history with workplace skills:
A.
B.
II.
Acquire information
How to break complex and multiple sources of information down into parts to create
clearer understanding
C.
How to understand the impact of time and space on perspective
D.
How to develop narrative structures
Throughout the course, students will be introduced to course content, practice using course
content, and demonstrate they can:
A.
Identify trends, events, peoples, groups, cultures, and institutions covered in this course
B.
Communicate orally and in writing about the content
C.
Use library resources for historical research
D.
Demonstrate that they can analyze secondary sources and recognize differences in
historical interpretation
E.
Identify the perspective of primary sources
F.
Construct historical narratives by identifying patterns of continuity and change and
referring to specific primary and secondary sources, maps, and/or artifacts
G.
Demonstrate the ability to select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve
problems or compile information
DISABILITY STATEMENT
Students with disability are encouraged to contact the Office of Special Services at 204-8609 to
arrange for accommodations and support services.
DIVERSITY STATEMENT
This course is dedicated to promoting constructive discourse. All discussion will be done in a
thoughtful manner. Having said that, free speech will be protected in this class, as will the inclusion of all
ideas and opinions, as protected by your First Amendment rights and the concept of the Free Marketplace
of Ideas.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Late date to drop with refund is Feb 4. Last day to withdraw is April 20.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Judith M. Bennett and C. Warren Hollister, Medieval Europe: A Short History. Tenth Edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Articles and primary documents on reserve
ATTENDANCE:
Your regular attendance and participation in class are required, and a sign-up sheet will be
circulated daily for this purpose.
ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM
Front Range Community College supports and promotes academic honesty and personal integrity.
Academic dishonesty simply has no place in higher education and will not be tolerated. The college thus
specifically prohibits such activities as:
Submitting another person's work as the student’s own
Writing a paper or doing another students’ assignments for them
Buying a paper from a research service
Submitting the same work for credit for different courses without instructor approval
Plagiarizing by failing to properly attribute the source of ideas or words used in a paper.
The Web & Plagiarism Note: The Web has made it quite easy to copy and insert materials into a paper.
Students must be careful to properly attribute materials found on the Web. In a collegiate setting,
attribution typically relies on a formal academic style manual for its citation models. Such models
describe how to append footnotes and endnotes, when:
Quoting another’s exact words, you are obviously expected to name the author and place the
words in quotation marks or in indented text blocks. The citation number is placed immediately
at the end of the quotation.
Acknowledging background sources to your own descriptions. The citation number is normally
placed at the end of the paragraph.
EVALUATION:
Your final grade in HIS255-The Middle Ages will be determined on how well you do on each of the
following assignments:
Class Discussion:
200 points
Two Medieval Biographies (100 points each)
200 points
“Clash of Cultures”--History or Hollywood Critical Anaylsis:
300 points
Midterm Exam
150 points
Final Exam
150 points
________________________________________________________________________
1000 points
Class Discussion: Throughout the semester, you will be graded on class participation and on required
article and round-table discussions. The discussions will be over article handouts/primary documents
provided for you on reserve at the beginning of the course and also short readings contained within the
required textbook. Please make sure you have read the assigned readings before class and be prepared to
discuss the articles. 200 points
Medieval Biographies: You will also be required to write two biographies on significant personalities
who lived in the Medieval period. You may choose from the lists below, instructor approval is required
for a person not on the lists. 200 points (100 points per paper):
Attila the Hun
Theodoric I
Clovis
Queen Clotilda
Justinian and Theodora
Vladimir I
Saladin
Edward I
Frederick Barbarossa
Ali
Gratian
Roger Bacon
Harold Godwinson
William the Bastard
Henry II Plantagenet
Richard the Lionhearted
John Lackland
Eleanor of Aquitaine
St Patrick
St. Columban
Sts. Cyril/Methodius
Muhammad
Leif Erickson
Otto I
Harun al-Rashid
Edward III
St. Augustine
St. Jerome
Boethius
St. Benedict
Pope Gregory I
St. Dominic
Avicenna
Venerable Bede
Erik the Red
Cnut
Alfred the Great
Joan of Arc
Thomas Aquinas
Gregory VII
Urban II
Innocent III
Hildegard
St. Francis
Charles Martel
Charlemagne
Rollo the Walker
Frederick II
Ibn Rushd/Averroes
Isidore of Seville
Maimonides
Harald Hardrada
Henry V
St. Clare of Assisi
Ghengis Khan
Mu’awiyah
William of Ockham
Abelard and Heloise
Theodore of Studium
Alexius II Comnenus
Queen Matilda
Alfonso VIII
Queen Blanche of Castile
Al Ghazali
abd al-Malik
Timur
Baybars
Rabia al-Adawiyya
Emperor Leo III
Jaufre Rudel
Marco Polo
John Wycliffe
Jan Hus
Marsilio of Padua
Questions that must be answered in your paper:
1. Where and when was this person born? What people or events in this person’s early life do you
believe helped shape this person’s later character and actions?
2. What was this individual’s educational background? What were this individual’s religious and
political leanings and affiliations? Did these beliefs change during this individual’s lifetime? If so, how
and why?
3. What was this individual’s role in his or her society and era? Did this person seek to change
something about that society? If so what, and why? Was he or she successful? If so, why; if not, why
not? What obstacles were overcome? Who were this person’s allies and enemies in pursuit of this
cause? Be sure to provide historical examples.
4. What was this person’s influence during his or her lifetime? Is this influence felt in later time periods?
What is your critical assessment of this person’s importance to the development of Western Civilization?
Back up your critical assessment of this person’s impact with factual documentation from your sources,
but develop your own analysis.
BIOGRAPHICAL PAPER DIRECTIONS
Each Biography Paper will be 4-6 pages (1000-1500 words) double spaced, 11 or 12 point font, normal
margins. Each component of the questions above should be answered as completely as possible. Use
historical examples to support your paper. This assignment is an exercise in critical analysis of a major
historical figure and their contributions to the era in which they lived. Through research and analysis you
should be able to determine what your person’s most significant contributions were, why are they
remembered in history, what controversies exist over their historic role, and so on.
· Always restate the question before your answer.
· You are required to use a minimum of FIVE sources for each Biography paper, one of which may be
your textbook. All sources must be scholarly books or articles. This assignment will require you visit a
University Library or become very skilled at Interlibrary Loans.
· You MAY NOT use encyclopedias or dictionaries as sources (if you use Wikipedia, you will be drawn
and quartered).
· Please use Chicago/Turabian citation to cite your sources (footnotes or endnotes—see below).
· Please make sure you also provide a full Bibliography after each paper.
Citation Note: This course will use the Chicago/Turabian citation style for all citation. Assignments
using any other citation will automatically lose one letter grade. This means you will need to become
proficient at using Footnotes or Endnotes for citation. Parenthetical citation of any kind will not be
accepted. There is a link to this citation: Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations, 6th ed., 1996. This manual is based on the earlier Chicago Manual of Style and has
been updated to include Web references. For examples, check this Web link located under “History
Websites “ on the Behavioral and Social Sciences Homepage:
http://www.frontrange.edu/FRCCTemplates/FRCC1.aspx?id=8059
“Medieval Movies”-- History or Hollywood? Critical Review: For this assignment, you will select
and critically analyze a film that presents a medieval event, a medieval person or some aspect of
medieval culture. The film must be of feature length (90 minutes or more) and be set during the
time period covered in class.
You will also read a minimum of three historical monographs (books or articles) concerning the
same subject matter. Online sources are not permitted, unless from an academic, peer-reviewed
journal; you may not use your textbook as a source. The purpose of this endeavor is for you to
critically review various interpretations of the Middle Ages presented by the film and the
monographs, compare and contrast your findings, and develop your own critical analysis skills
by presenting your own conclusions concerning the validity of these works. 300 points.
The historical monographs chosen must be of academic caliber (written by a professional
historian and fully documented with foot or endnotes and a scholarly bibliography). NOTE:
Please check with me if you are intending to use a history book that was turned into a film.
All materials (film and monographs) must be approved. Your Review Proposal is due at the end
of Week 6.
a)
Begin with a synopsis of the film. Be certain to identify both fictional and historical
personalities and the main plot points in the film. Also, take note of how medieval culture is
presented in the film.
b)
Next, review the historical monographs. Make certain you determine the author’s thesis
and the evidence used to support the thesis for each monograph.
c)
Compare and contrast the film and the monographs. Identify both agreements and
differences of opinion or interpretation in events, personalities and medieval culture in general.
Determine the biases in the various works.
d)
Finally, evaluate the film’s presentation of medieval culture. Based on the readings you
have done. Was it historically accurate? If not, can you provide an explanation of why not?
This assignment should be 6-8 pages (1500- 2000 words) in length. Please use Chicago
Style/Turabian for your footnotes or endnotes and include a bibliography. (The bibliography does
not count toward your word and page total).
1) Examples of possible movie choices: (you may also choose your own and OK it with me).
Becket
The Vikings
Beowulf (animated)
The Lion in Winter
The 13th Warrior
Beowulf and Grendel
Kingdom of Heaven
Henry V
Attila
The Name of the Rose
St Francis
El Cid
Robin Hood (no Mel Brooks)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
The War Lord
Joan of Arc
The Messenger
A Knights Tale
King Arthur (Clive Owen)
The Decameron
Anchoress
Braveheart
Tristan and Isolde
Stealing Heaven
Alexander Nevsky
The Advocate
The Seventh Seal
Alfred the Great
The Bruce
The Sorceress
Midterm Exam: You will be required to take an in-class midterm exam over the people and events we
study in class. This exam will include 30 multiple-choice questions based on the Historical Vocabulary
Study Guide (1 pt. each), as well as several long critical thinking essays (30 pts each) (150 points)
Comprehensive Final: At the end of the class, you will be required to take an in-class final over the
people and events we study in class. This exam will include 30 multiple-choice questions (1 pt. each)
based on the Historical Vocabulary Study Guide, as well as four long critical thinking essays (30 pts each)
(150 points)
GRADING SCALE
Any student who has earned 90% (900) of the total points possible will receive an A: 80% to 89% (800899) a B; 70% to 79% (700-799) a C; 60% to 69% (600-699) a D; below 59% (599) is failing. All
students are welcome to meet with the instructor if they have questions or comments.
LATE WORK AND MAKE-UP POLICIES
Late assignments will be docked 20 percent per day late. All assignments are considered late if not turned
in when asked for in class.
HIS255-THE MIDDLE AGES SEMESTER SCHEDULE
JAN 19--WEEK 1—Class Introduction, Chapter 1—Rome Becomes Christian. Review of primary versus
secondary documents.
JAN 26--WEEK 2—Chapter 2 & articles on reserve—Barbarian Settlement in West; Chapter 3—Early Western
Christendom. Discussion on articles/primary documents.
FEB 2--WEEK 3—St. Patrick Video; Chapter 4 & articles on reserve—Byzantium and Islam. Discussion on
articles/primary documents.
FEB 9-WEEK 4—Chapter 4—Byzantium and Islam continues
FEB 16--WEEK 5—Chapter 5 & articles on reserve—Carolingian Europe; Chapter 6—Division, Invasion and
Reorganization. Discussion on articles/primary documents.
First Biographical Paper Due (100 points)
FEB 23--WEEK 6—Chapter 6 & articles on reserve—Division, Invasion and Reorganization. Discussion on
articles/primary documents.
“Medieval Movie” Proposal Due
MAR 2--WEEK 7— Chapter 7 & articles on reserve—Economic Takeoff and Social Change; Discussion on
articles/primary documents.
MAR 9—WEEK 8— Chapter 7—Economic Takeoff and Social Change. Midterm (150 points).
MAR 16—20 *****SPRING BREAK****
MAR 23—WEEK 9— Chapter 8 & articles on reserve—New Paths to God; Chapter 10—Worlds in Collision:
Papacy and Holy Roman Empire. Discussion on articles/primary documents.
MAR 30—WEEK 10—Chapter 11 & articles on reserve—States in the Making: England and France. Discussion
on articles/primary documents.
Second Biographical Paper Due (100 points)
APR 6 —WEEK 11—Chapter 9 & articles on reserve—Conquests, Crusades and Persecutions. Discussion on
articles/primary documents.
APR 13--WEEK 12—Chapter 9—Conquests, Crusades and Persecutions
APR 20--WEEK 13— Chapter 12 & articles on reserve—Literature, Art and Thought; Chapter 13—Famine,
Plague and Recovery. Discussion on articles/primary documents.
APR 27---WEEK 14—Chapter 13 & articles on reserve—Famine, Plague and Recovery. Discussion on
articles/primary documents.
“Medieval Movie” Paper Due (300 points)
MAY 4—WEEK 15—Chapter 14 & articles on reserve—Towards a Sovereign State; Chapter 15—Diversity and
Dynamism in Late Medieval Culture. Discussion on articles/primary documents.
MAY 7—WEEK 15—Final on Last Day of Class (150 points)
***All assignment due dates are subject to change. If this happens, forewarning will be given***
Historical Vocabulary Study Guide:
Pax Romana
Barbarians
Diocletian
Constantine the Great
Tetrarchy
Mystery Religions
Neoplatonism
Arians
Saints
Hagiography
Eucharist/baptism
Clergy/laity
Battle of Milvian Bridge, 312
Council of Nicaea, 325
Theodosius the Great
Petrine Succession
Petrine Supremacy
St. Ambrose
St. Jerome
St Augustine of Hippo
Vulgate Bible
City of God
Germania
Comitatus
Trial by ordeal
Battle of Adrianople, 378
Attila the Hun
Pope Leo I
Romulus Augustulus
Odovacar
Theodoric I
Boethius
Trivium and quadrivium
King Clovis
Queen Clotilda
Beowulf
Merovingian Franks
St. Anthony
St. Patrick
St. Columba
St. Columban
Double monasteries
Family monasteries
St. Benedict
Rule of St. Benedict
Pope Gregory the Great
Regular clergy
Secular clergy
Synod of Whitby
Gregory of Tours
Book of Kells
Scriptorium
Northumbrian Renaissance
Venerable Bede
Byzantine icons
Hagia Sophia
Justinian
Theodora
Corpus Juris Civilis
Gothic Wars
Belasarius and Narses
Heraclius
Basil I
Basil II “Bulgar-slayer”
“Apostles to the Slavs”
Kievan Rus
Vladimir’s conversion
Bedouins
Muhammad
Muslims
Kaaba
Hijra
Quran
Sharia and Hadith
Five Pillars of Islam
Greater jihad
Lesser jihad
Caliphs
Dar al-Islam/Dar al-Harb
Sunni and Shi’i Islam
Mahdi
Dhimmis or Dhimmitude
Umayyad Caliphate
Damascus
Battle of Tours
Abbasid Caliphate
Baghdad
Harun al-Rashid
“House of Wisdom”
Fatimid Egypt
Al-Andalus
Abd al-Rahman III
Mosque at Cordoba
Avicenna
Averroes
“Christendom”
Mayor of the Palace
Charles Martel
Pepin the Short
Donation of Pepin
Donation of Constantine
St. Boniface
Manorialism
Demesne
Carolingian Franks
Charlemagne
Einhard
Spanish March
Song of Roland
Christmas Day, 800
Holy Roman Empire
Aachen
capitularies
Missi dominici
Alcuin of York
Caroline script
Louis the Pious
Treaty of Verdun, 843
Saracens and infidels
Magyars and Hungarians
Otto I the Great
Battle of Lechfeld, 955
Vikings
Drekkars
Lindisfarne, 793
Alfred the Great
Rolf and Normandy
Danelaw
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Canute
Feudalism
Primogeniture
The Saxon kings
Battle of Manzikert, 1071
Alexius Comnenus
Latin Empire, 1204-1261
Seljuk Turks
Ayyubids
Saladin
Almoravids
Almohads
Three-field system
Aratum and carruca
Peasant “household”
Wattle and daub
Communes
Charters of freedoms
Burghers
Guilds
Apprentices/journeymen
Fairs of Champagne
Chivalry
Courtly love
Moses Maimonides
Relics and reliquaries
Furta sacra
Cathars
Albigensian Crusade
Anti-clericalism
Cluniac movement
Cistercians
Military Orders
Simony
Pope Leo IX
Excommunication, 1054
Papal curia
Pope Gregory VII
Dictates of the Pope
Investiture Controversy
“surrender at Canossa”
Mendicants
Dominicans & Franciscans
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Clare of Assisi
Taifa States
“El Cid”
Las Navas de Tolosa, 1215
Normans in Italy
Kingdom of Sicily
Pope Urban II
Peace of God/Truce of God
Peter the Hermit
First Crusade
Sack of Jerusalem, 1099
Crusader states
Second Crusade
Battle of Hattin, 1187
Third Crusade
Richard and Saladin
Fourth Crusade
“Children’s Crusade”
Fall of Acre, 1291
Holy Office
Deicide and anti-Semitism
End of Templars
Concordat of Worms, 1122
University
Frederick Barbarossa
Pope Innocent III
Fourth Lateran Council
“Stupor Mundi”
Unam Sanctum
Normans
William the Conqueror
Battle of Hastings, 1066
Bayeux Tapestry
Domesday Book
Motte and bailey castles
Stephen and Matlilda
Henry II Plantagenet
Thomas Becket
Angevin Empire
Magna Carta, 1215
Edward I
English Parliament
Edwardian Castles in Wales
“Prince of Wales”
Capetian kings
Ile de France
Philip II Augustus
Saint-king Louis IX
Philip IV the Fair
Genghis Khan
Golden Horde
Alexander Nevsky
Troubadours
Chretien de Troyes
Romanesque architecture
Gothic architecture
Scholasticism
Peter Abelard
Realists vs. Conceptualists
Abelard and Heloise
Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologica
Roger Bacon
Ottoman Turks
Mehmet II
Fall of Constantinople, 1453
Wycliffe and Hus
Black Death
Avignon Papacy
Great Schism
Conciliar movement
Council of Constance, 1415
Indulgences
Hildegard of Bingen
St. Catherine of Siena
Defensor Pacis
Hundred Years War
Edward III
Battle of Crecy, 1346
Henry V
Battle of Agincourt, 1415
Joan of Arc
Charles VII
Union of Kalmar, 1397
House of Lords/Commons
War of the Roses
Henry VII Tudor
Louis XI the Spider king
“New Monarchies”
Ferdinand and Isabella
“Third Rome”
“Czar” Ivan III
Condottieri
Battle of Tannenberg, 1410
Vernacular literature
The Divine Comedy
Geoffrey Chaucer
Christine de Pizan
Grammar schools
Petrarch
Civil humanism
Decameron
Donatello
William of Ockham
Lorenzo Valla
The Prince
Prince Henry the Navigator