Spring 2008, MWF 9:00
Holden Hall 75
John Howe Office Hours: MWF 10:00-11:30 am,
Office: 143 Holden Hall and by appointment
Telephone: 742‑1004, ext. 233
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. 1400. 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 remaining today.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this class students will be able to:
1. Describe major events and individuals associated with the high medieval Latin West;
2. Discuss the documentary foundation that underlies this historical narrative;
3. Appreciate in more detail how the development of the high medieval Latin West relates to the development of basic themes of “Western Civilization";
4. Appreciate human behavior and ideas in greater depth by studying chivalry and nobility as manifested in epic and romance literature and in social institutions; and
5. Achieve greater proficiency in the following genres of historical writing: essay examination and short research paper.
Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes
The Expected Learning Outcomes of the course will be assessed through examinations, a term paper, class discussions, and miscellaneous classroom assessment activities that may include non-graded quizzes, reaction papers, polling the class, and other techniques.
Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval: The Story of the Grail. Transl. by Nigel Bryant. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2006.
David Crouch, The Birth of Nobility: Constructing Aristocracy in England and France, 900-1300. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005.
Maurice Keen, Chivalry. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
William Chester Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages. New York: Viking / Penguin Books, 2003.
Song of Roland. Translated by Dorothy L. Sayers. New York: Penguin, 1957-.
Documents taken from the Web are
also required. You can "click" to these directly when you access this syllabus
via the internet. It is advisable to print out texts a few days in advance
because 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 below 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 13; and Friday, March 14. Each will include multiple-choice questions, identification questions, 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, April 28. Students receiving a grade below "C" on a midterm are expected to discuss it with the teacher (not doing so affects the class participation grade).
The final examination on Monday, May 5, will feature multiple-choice and identification questions, and perhaps map work on material covered since the second 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 about a medieval person, analyzing whether or not he or she was "chivalrous.” A list suggesting possible candidates will be provided. Each paper should use at least two primary and four secondary sources. For aid in locating sources and in finding some possible style sheets, see the internet help page. Avoid common mistakes. The paper should also demonstrate knowledge of relevant points in the required readings. Subjects must be chosen by Wednesday, February 13. The papers are due on Friday, April 4. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade, and no first draft papers will be accepted after Monday, April 7. Papers received by the due date will be returned, with corrections, on Wednesday, April 16. Students may keep the grade earned or rewrite the paper for a higher grade, but no rewritten papers will be accepted after noon on Tuesday, May 6.
Graduate Students
Graduate
students taking this class as a History 5341 piggy-back class, will write book
reviews on three books: one on chivalry, one
on courtliness, and one on the
later middle ages. Students will meet on three occasions, from
10-11:00 am (immediately after class, to discuss
these topics and their reviews: for chivalry on Wednesday, February
27; for courtliness on Monday, March 31; for the later middle ages:,
Friday, April 25.
Much of what we think we know about the “Dark Ages” is wrong. 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 Monday, February 25, The Crusades (to be shown in HH77); on Tuesday, April 1, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves; on Thursday, April 21, The Knight's Tale. 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, 15% from each); 25% from the paper; 10% from class participation; and 35% from the final. An extra 5% of A credit will also be added to the averages of students who attend two film evenings.
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’.
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.
PLAGIARISM
"It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and a high standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work that they have not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension." -- Texas Tech University Catalog.
W Jan 9 Introduction
Jordan 1-12; Annals of the Abbey of Xanten; map of the divided Carolingian Empire; Europe 900; new horse collar; new water wheels; Market Grant; Grants of Rights to Jews
F Jan 11 The Latin West in the Late Tenth Century: Geography and a Reviving Economy
Jordan 12-19;
Fulcher on Feudal
Obligations;
Oaths of Fidelity;
Misfortunes of
Hugh the Chiliarch
[M Jan 14 Last day for student-initiated Drop/Add]
M Jan 14 The Latin West in the Late Tenth Century: Social Structures
Jordan 20-37;
Italy in Early
Eleventh Century;
Muslim & Christian Spain;
Byzantine
Empire 1045
W Jan 16 Mediterranean Europe
Jordan 38-51; Viking Map ; Alfred the Great ; Wulfstan Sermon ; Ibn Fadlan on the Rus
F Jan 18 Saxon and Viking Northern Europe
[M Jan 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, University Holiday]
Jordan 52-65; France in 1032; Election of Hugh Capet; Louis VI Maintains His Domain
W Jan 23 Western Francia
Jordan 66-79; Germany in mid 10th cent ;
F Jan 25 Germany and Central Europe
[F Jan 25 Last day to drop a course and get a refund.]
Jordan 81-90; Peace League of Bourges; Howe, "Nobility's Reform...." in American Historical Review, 93(2) (1988): 317-339.
[How to access journal articles that the library has in a database: Go the "University Library" homepage, and under "Journals/Periodicals" choose "Find Articles (E-Databases)." If you are using an internet service provider other than TTU, you will be prompted for a username and password. The username is ALL 14 digits OF YOUR STUDENT ID CARD NUMBER (example: 21454112847321); the password is the LAST FOUR DIGITS OF YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (example: 2234). Go to the E-Journals Collection Listings (or to the alphabet index) and choose the JSTOR archive (a journal storage facility which contains the texts of the back issues of hundreds of history journals). There you can locate the assigned article in the American Historical Review, 93 (1988): 317-339, by locating the journal, the issue, and the pages; or, more simply, use the search function in the JSTOR archive to locate the article through author or title.]
M Jan 28 The Latin Church at the Millennium
Jordan 90-99; Dictatus Papae; Henry IV to Gregory VII; Gregory VII to Henry IV
W Jan 30 The "Gregorian Reform"
Jordan 100-112; Europe 1099; Crusaders in the Byzantine Court; Conquest of Jerusalem
F Feb 1 The First Crusade
Keen ix-x, 1-23; Crouch xii-xiii,1-28
M Feb 4 The Problem of Chivalry
Keen 23-43; Crouch 29-46
W Feb 6 Secular Origins of Chivalry
[W Feb 6 Last Day to Withdraw from the University with a Partial Refund]
Keen 44-82; Crouch 47-95
F Feb 8 Chivalry and the Church
Keen 83-101; Late Medieval Joust Announcement
M Feb 11 The Rise of the Tournament
Study; choose the subject of your term paper
W Feb 13 Midterm No. 1
Roland 51-104; Jordan 129-37; Keen 102-5
F Feb 15 Epic Literature
Roland 7-49; Motte & Bailley Castles ; Norman Castles ; Life in a Medieval Castle ; Romanesque Architecture
M Feb 18 Castles / Romanesque Architecture
Roland 104-44; Song of Roland; Historical Sources for the Battle of Roncevalles
W Feb 20 Epic Themes / Discussion
Roland 144-203; Jordan 137-42
F Feb 22 Discussion of Roland
Jordan 113-28; Going to School at Chartres ; Guibert's Early Education
M Feb 25 Educational Revival
[M Feb 25 Optional Movie "The Crusades" at 7:00pm in Holden Hall, room 77]
Keen 102-42
W Feb 27 Chivalric Learning
[W Feb 27 Graduate Student Meeting on Chivalry, 10-11:00 am]
Jordan 177-95; Crouch 97-116, 222-48; Goderic
F Feb 29 Social Structures
Jordan 143-60; Crouch 248-302; Dialogue concerning the Exchequer ; Trade ; Magna Carta
M Mar 3 Twelfth-Century Revolution in Government: Northern Europe
Jordan 161-76; Guilds & Taxes ; Florence's Treaty with San Gimignano
W Mar 5 Twelfth-Century Revolution in Government: Southern Europe
Quest xi-xvi, 1-35
F Mar 7 Romances
Quest 35-76
M Mar 10 Perceval Becomes a Knight
Quest 76-106
W Mar 12 The Grail Quest
Study
F Mar 14 Midterm #2
[Mar 15-24 Spring Break]
Jordan 194-212; Innocent III ; Innocent III Biography
W Mar 26 Roman Leadership in the Church
Jordan 213-25; Canticle of the Sun; Tips on Reading Aquinas ; Summa Theologiae
F Mar 28 Mendicants and Universities
Jordan 226-242; Henry II ; Roger of Wendover on Runnymede ; Louis IX to his Son
M Mar 31 Medieval Monarchies: France & England
[M Mar 31 Graduate Student Meeting on courtliness, 10-11:00 am]
[Tu Apr 1 Optional Movie: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in Holden Hall Room 75]
Jordan 243-58; Frederick II vs. the Church
April 1-16 Summer and fall semester advance registration for currently enrolled students]
W Apr 2 Medieval Monarchies: Germany
Jordan 271-85; finish the semester paper
F Apr 4 Southern Europe
Jordan 259-70; Saint-Martin-aux-Bois ; Amiens
M Apr 7 Gothic Architecture
Butcher of Abbeville ; Chaucer's Wife of Bath
W Apr 9 Later Medieval Lay Literature
Jordan 287-323; Battle of Crécy ; Jacquerie
F Apr 11 Crises of the Later Middle Ages: Increasing Violence
Jordan 324-27; Unam Sanctam ; Anagni
M Apr 14 The Church in Crisis
Plague ; James Masschaele, "The Renaissance Depression Debate: The View from England," History Teacher, 27 (1994): 405-16 {Gte from JSTOR, as described above in the assignment due Jan 28]
W Apr 16 The Depression of the Later Middle Ages
[W Apr 16 Optional Movie: The Knight's Tale]
[Th Apr 17 Open registration begins]
Keen 143-78; Crouch 123-70
F Apr 18 Nobility
Keen 179-218; Knights of the Bath ; Jacques de Lalaing
M Apr 21 Late Medieval Chivalry / Secular Orders of Chivalry
Crouch 171-221
W Apr 23 Historians and the Noble Class
[Th Apr 24 Last Day to withdraw from the university]
Crouch 302-22; Gratian on Marriage; Marriage Cases; Women and the Crusades ; Joan of Arc
F Apr 25 Women in Chivalric Culture
[F Apr 25 Graduate Student Meeting, 10-11:00am, on the later middle ages]
Keen 219-53
M Apr 28 New Frontiers / Chivalry and Ourselves
[M Apr 28] Make-Up Test at 2:00 pm]
[W Apr 30 Dead Day]
Study
M May 5 at 7:30 - 10:00 am FINAL EXAMINATION H3346
Tu May 6 at noon Deadline for submitting rewritten papers.
