Holden Hall 121 (001) and 126 (002)
Spring 2005
John Howe Office Hours: MTWThF 11:00-11:45 am;
Office: 143 Holden Hall MTWThF 2:00-2:15 pm;
Telephone: 742‑1004 ext. 233 M 9:30-10:00 pm; and by appointment
E‑Mail: john.howe@ttu.edu
Web: http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/howe (the best way to access this syllabus)
To acquire a general knowledge of medieval Western European civilization from ca. 1000 to ca. 1450. To examine in detail medieval Western Europe’s relatively homogeneous martially oriented aristocratic culture, its effects on almost all aspects of society, and the ways it changed under the influence of social and technological developments. To gain self-knowledge by recognizing vestiges of chivalry that are still with us.
The Quest of the Holy Grail. Transl. by Pauline Matarasso. Baltimore: Penguin, 1969.
Maurice Keen. Chivalry. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
Edward Peters, Europe and the Middle Ages, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2004.
The Song of Roland. Transl. Glyn Burgess. Baltimore: Penguin, 1990.
Documents to be taken from the WEB are also required. You can "click" to these
directly if you access the syllabus via the internet. It is advisable to print
texts a few days in advance, since server or network problems can thwart last
minute consultations.
Required Reading
Reading assignments for each class are given in the “Reading and Lecture Schedule.” Each assignment is the subject of the class listed just ahead and to the left. Read so that you are prepared to explain, praise, criticize, and question. Readings are manageable if read on schedule, overwhelming if neglected.
Attend class. In the classroom difficult reading assignments are interpreted, additional subject matter is introduced, and visual materials are displayed. Part of the course grade is based on class participation, and you cannot participate when absent. If you cannot attend at least 80% of the classes, then you should not be enrolled.
Midterm tests are scheduled for Wednesday, February 9; Friday, March 4; and Friday, April 1. Each will include multiple-choice questions, identifications, a single essay (to be selected from two or more choices), and perhaps map work. If, for good reason, a test is missed, a make-up test may be taken at 2:00 pm on Monday, May 1. Students receiving a grade below "C" on a midterm should discuss it with the teacher to (this is considered in computing the class participation grade).
The final examination on Tuesday, May 10, will feature multiple-choice and identification questions, and perhaps map work on material covered since the third midterm; it will also require writing several essay questions concerning the material of the entire course (to be chosen out of six or more alternative questions). Bring blue books for the final.
Each student will write a 10-12 page, double-spaced, typed paper on a medieval person (a list suggesting possible individuals will be provided), analyzing whether or not they were "chivalrous.” Each paper should use at least two primary and four secondary sources. Avoid plagiarism. For aid in locating sources, see my help page. The paper should also demonstrate knowledge of relevant points in the required readings. Your subject must be chosen by Wednesday, February 9. The paper will be due on Monday, April 11. No late papers will be accepted after Wednesday, April 20. Papers received by the due date will be returned, with corrections, on Wednesday, April 20. A student may keep the grade earned or rewrite the paper for a higher grade, but no rewritten papers will be accepted after noon on Monday, May 9.
Much of what we think we know about the “Dark Ages” is wrong. The power of ancient misconceptions is not reduced by the fact that they are often mutually contradictory (recall the contrasting dining scenes from Camelot and from The Vikings). To advance our knowledge it can be useful to confront some of our cultural myths directly. Errors are often enshrined in Hollywood’s film images. Therefore, three films about the High Middle Ages will be shown and discussed on designated evenings at 7:00 during the course of the semester: on Tuesday, February 15, El Cid; on Tuesday, April 5, The Knight's Tale; on Thursday, April 21, The Seventh Seal. Students attending two of these films and participating in the following discussions will receive extra credit as indicated below.
The course grade will be computed as follows: 30% from the midterm tests (that is, 10% from each); 25% from the paper; 10% from class participation; and 35% from the final.
The class participation grade is determined in this way. At the end of the semester, students are divided into three groups on the basis of attendance, class preparation, and class contributions: 1) individuals who were outstanding; 2) individuals who were generally average; and 3) individuals who were well below average. In computing the course grade, the first group gets the class participation component credited as an ‘A’; the second group has these points dropped out (so they neither help nor hurt); and the third group has them credited as an ‘F’. An extra 5% of A credit will also be added to the averages of students who attend two film evenings.
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible so that the necessary accommodations can be made.
Observance of a religious Holy Day
Texas House Bill 256 requires institutions of higher education to excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day. The student shall also be excused for time necessary to travel. An institution may not penalize the student for the absence and allows for the student to take an exam or complete an assignment from which the student is excused. No prior notification of the instructor is required.
W Jan 12 Introduction
Peters 183-98; Map of Western Europe in mid 9th cent.; Germany in mid 10th cent.; Annals of the Abbey of Xanten; Ralph Glaber: On the First Millennium
F Jan 14 The Latin West in the Tenth Century
Peters 199-216; Wharram Percy (browse this site); Market Grant; Grants of Rights to Jews; Goderic
[M Jan 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, University Holiday]
[Tu Jan 18 Last day for student-initiated Drop/Add]
W Jan 19 Economic and Demographic Revival
Peters 217-22; Howe, "Nobility’s Reform...." in American Historical Review, 93(2) (1988): 317-339.
F Jan 21 Nobility
Peters 222-237;Election of Hugh Capet; Louis VI Maintains His Domain
M Jan 24 The Development of Political Institutions
Peters 238-50; Dictatus Papae; Henry IV to Gregory VII; Gregory VII to Henry IV; Anselm
W Jan 26 The "Gregorian Reform"
[F Jan 25 Last day to drop a course and get a full refund.]
Peters 251-57 Map of the Later Abassid Caliphate; Map of the Ummayid Caliphate in Spain; Byzantine Empire ca. 1000; Istanbul; The Caliphate
F Jan 28 Byzantium and Islam / The First Crusade
Keen ix-x, 1-23
M Jan 31 The Problem of Chivalry
Keen 23-43
W Feb 2 Secular Origins of Chivalry
Keen 44-82
F Feb 4 Chivalry and the Church
Keen 83-101
M Feb 7 The Rise of the Tournament
Study; choose the subject of your term paper
W Feb 9 Midterm No. 1
[W Feb 9 Last Day to Withdraw from the University with a Partial Refund]
F Feb 11 The Architecture of Castles
Roland 7-40; Keen 102-5
M Feb 14 Epic Literature
Roland 40-74; Song of Roland; Historical Sources for the Battle of Roncevalles ; Images of Roncevalles
[Tu Feb 15 Optional Movie: El Cid]
W Feb 16 Epic Themes / Discussion
Roland 75-105; Peters 258-61; Eve ; Durham Cathedral (browse)
F Feb 18 Romanesque Architecture
Roland 105-56
M Feb 21 Discussion of Roland
Peters 262-69; Going to School at Chartes ; Guibert's Early Education
[W Feb 23 Last Day to Declare P/F or To Drop a Class for an Automatic W]
W Feb 23 Educational Revival
Peters 269-76; Abelard's Misfortunes ; Abelard's Sic et Non ; Statutes of the University of Paris (1215); Student Life
F Feb 25 The Early Universities
Keen 102-42
M Feb 28 Chivalric Learning
Kantorowicz on "Kingship"; Dialogue concerning the Exchequer; Thomas Bisson, "Medieval Lordship," in Speculum, 70 (1995): 743-59 [available among the TTU Library electronic journals--see the note after Jan 16 for access information]
W Mar 2 Twelfth-Century Revolution in Government
Study
F Mar 4 Midterm No. 2
Quest 9-29, 31-76
M Mar 7 Romances
Quest 76-134
W Mar 9 Origins and Themes of Romance
Quest134-207; Andrew the Chaplain On Courtly Love
F Mar 11 "Courtly Love" and Culture
Quest 207-84
M Mar 21 The Grail Quest
Peters 277-86
W Mar 23 Roman Leadership in the Church
Peters 286-96; Francis's Testament ; Canticle of the Sun;
F Mar 25 The Mendicants
Peters 297-308; Frederick II vs. the Church
M Mar 28 Day of No Classes]
W Mar 30 Medieval Monarchies: Germany
Study
F Apr 1 Midterm No. 3
Peters 308-16; Henry II ; Roger of Wendover on Runnymede ; Magna Carta
M Apr 4 Medieval Monarchies: England
Peters 316-24; Louis IX at Vincennes ; Louis IX to his Son
[Tu Apr 5 Optional Movie: The Knight's Tale]
W Apr 6 Medieval Monarchies: Spain / France
Peters 327-36; Tips on Reading Aquinas ; Summa Theologiae
F Apr 8 The Triumph of Reason
Peters 336-42; Amiens Cathedral; Abbey of Saint-Martin-aux-Bois (browse); finish the semester paper
M Apr 11 Gothic Architecture
Peters 343-54; Marie de France's Fables ; Butcher of Abbeville
W Apr 13 Later Medieval Lay Literature
F Apr 15 Women in the High Middle Ages
Peters 324-26, 373-86; Unam Sanctam; Anagni
M Apr 18 Ecclesiastical Crises of the Later Middle Ages
Peters 355-72; Plague
W Apr 20 Economic Crises of the Later Middle Ages
[Th Apr 21 Optional Movie: The Seventh Seal]
Peters 387-99; Battle of Crécy ; 14th cent. Images ; Jacquerie
F Apr 22 The Hundred Years War
Keen 143-78; Peters 399-400
M Apr 25 Late Medieval Nobles & Monarchs
Keen 179-199
W Apr 27 Secular Orders of Chivalry
- Peters 400-405; Keen 199-218; Tres Riches Heures
[F Apr 29 Last day to drop a a course]
F Apr 29 Courtly Ceremony and Crises
Peters 406-28; Keen 219-53
M May 1 New Frontiers / Chivalry and Ourselves
[W May 3 Dead Day]
Study
[M May 9 at noon, deadline for turning in rewritten papers]
Tu May 10 at 7:30 - l0:00 am FINAL EXAMINATION H3346 001
Tu May 10 at 1:30 - 4:00 pm FINAL EXAMINATION H3346 002
