HISTORY 3346: THE AGE OF CHIVALRY
Spring 2002
TEACHER
John Howe
Office: 143 Holden Hall / Office Hours:
MWF 11:00-11:45 pm;W 9:30-10:00 pm; TTh 8:45-9:30; and by
appointment
Telephone: 742-1004 ext 233; email:
john.howe@ttu.edu; web:
http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/howe
PURPOSES OF THE COURSE
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 how it changed under the influence of social and technological development. To gain self-knowledge by recognizing vestiges of chivalry that are still with us.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required Texts
Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval: The Story of the Grail.
Transl. by Burton Raffel. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999
Maurice Keen. Chivalry. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1984
The Song of Roland. Transl. Glyn Burgess. Baltimore:
Penguin, 1990
Penguin History of Medieval Europe. By Maurice Keen. New
York: Penguin Books, 1991.
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.
Class Attendance
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 if you are not
present. If you cannot attend at least 80% of the classes, then
you cannot do your best work and should not be enrolled.
Examinations
Midterm tests are scheduled for Monday, February 4; Friday,
March 2; and Friday, April 5. 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, April 29. 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 May 2 will feature multiple-choice and identification
questions, and perhaps map work on the material covered since the
third midterm, and several essay questions
covering the material of the entire course (to be chosen out of
six or more alternative questions). Bring blue books for the
final.
Term Paper
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, and
it should demonstrate mastery of relevant points in the required
readings. Your subject must be chosen by Monday, February 4. The
papers will be due on Wednesday, April 10. No late papers will be
accepted after Wednesday, April 17. Papers received by the due
date will be returned, with corrections, on Wednesday, April 17.
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 7.
Movies?
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 12, The Knight’s Tale; on Tuesday,
April 2, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves; on Thursday, April
19, The Seventh Seal. Students attending two of these
films and participating in the following discussions will receive
extra credit as indicated below.
GRADING
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.
NECESSARY ACCOMMODATIONS
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.
READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE
W Jan 9 Introduction
Penguin History 9-25; 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 11 The Latin West in the Tenth Century
Penguin History 29-46
[M Jan 14 Last day for student-initiated Drop/Add]
M Jan 14 Revival of Empire
Map of the Later Abassid Caliphate; Map of the Ummayid Caliphate in Spain; Byzantine Empire ca. 1000; Istanbul; The Caliphate
W Jan 16 Byzantium and Islam
Penguin History 47-60; Howe, "Nobility’s Reform...." in American Historical Review, 93(2) (1988): 317-339.
F Jan 18 Nobility
Wharram Percy (browse this site); Market Grant; Grants of Rights to Jews; Goderic
M Jan 21 Western Agricultural and Urban Revival
Penguin History 61-94; Election of Hugh Capet; Louis VI Maintains His Domain
W Jan 23 The Development of Political Institutions
F Jan 25 The "Gregorian Reform"
Keen ix-x, 1-23
[F Jan 25 Last day to drop a course and get a full refund.]
M Jan 28 The Problem of Chivalry
Keen 23-43
W Jan 30 Secular Origins of Chivalry
Keen 44-82
F Feb 1 Chivalry and the Church
Keen 83-101
M Feb 4 The Rise of the Tournament
Study
F Feb 6 Midterm No. 1
[W Feb 6 Last Day to Withdraw from the University with a Partial Refund]
F Feb 8 The Architecture of Castles
Roland 7-40; Keen 102-5
M Feb 11 Epic Literature
Roland 40-74; Song of Roland; Historical Sources for the Battle of Roncevalles ; Images of Roncevalles
[Tu Feb 12 Optional Movie: The Knight’s Tale]
W Feb 13 Epic Themes / Discussion
Roland 75-105; Durham Cathedral (browse)
F Feb 15 Romanesque Architecture
Roland 105-56
M Feb 18 Discussion of Roland
Penguin History 95-102; Going to School at Chartes
[W Feb 20 Last Day to Declare P/F or To Drop a Class for an Automatic W]
W Feb 20 Educational Revival
Abelard’s Misfortunes ; Abelard’s Sic et Non ; Statutes of the University of Paris (1215); Student Life
F Feb 22 The Earliest Universities
Keen 102-42
M Feb 25 Chivalric Learning
Penguin History 103-24; 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 Feb 27 Twelfth-Century Revolution in Government
Study
F Mar 1 Midterm No. 2
Perceval 1-20, 293-307
M Mar 4 Perceval Meets Chivalry
Perceval 21-93
W Mar 6 Perceval the Knight
Perceval 93-196
F Mar 8 Perceval and the Grail
Perceval 196-291
M Mar 18 The Arthurian Cycle
Penguin History 135-45
W Mar 20 Roman Leadership in the Church
Penguin History 149-62; Tips on Reading Aquinas ; Summa Theologiae
F Mar 22 The Mendicants
Penguin History 162-91; Frederick II vs. the Church; "The Finest Castle…" Map
M Mar 25 Medieval Monarchies: Germany / Crusader States
W Mar 27 The Medieval Countryside (Guest Lecture by Verena Winiwarter, IIS, Vienna Austria)
Penguin History 192-206; Magna Carta ; Louis IX to his Son
F Mar 29 Medieval Monarchies: France and England
[M Apr 1 Day of No Classes]
[Tu Apr 2 Optional Movie: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]
W Apr 3 Gothic Architecture
Study
F Apr 5 Midterm No. 3
M Apr 8 Later Medieval Lay Literature
Finish term paper; Sharon Farmer, "Persuasive Voices," in Speculum, 61 (1986): 517-43 [available among the TTU Library electronic journals--see the note after Jan 16 for access information]
W Apr 10 Women in the High Middle Ages
Penguin History 207-21, 277-99; Unam Sanctam; Anagni
F Apr 12 Ecclesiastical Crises of the Later Middle Ages
Penguin History 225-43
M Apr 15 Economic Crises of the Later Middle Ages
Penguin History 244-59; Battle of Crécy ; 14th cent. Images ; Jacquerie
W Apr 17 The Hundred Years War
[Th Apr 18 Optional Movie: The Seventh Seal]
Penguin History 260-76
F Apr 19 Late Medieval Monarchies
Keen 143-78; Dennis Showalter, "Caste, Skill, and Training..." in Journal of Military History, 57 (1993): 407-30 [available among the TTU Library electronic journals--see the note after Jan 16 for access information]
M Apr 22 The Rise of the State
Keen 179-218
W Apr 24 Nobility
- Rewrite Papers; Keen 219-53
F Apr 26 Courtly Ceremony and Crises
Penguin History 314-21
M Apr 29 Chivalry and Ourselves
[Tu/W Apr 30/May 1 Dead Days]
Study
Th May 2 at 7:30 - l0:00 am FINAL EXAMINATION
Tu May 7 at noon, deadline for turning in rewritten papers.
