Medieval Europe c. 1050-1250

Course Description

This survey introduces students to key actors, events and ideas that shaped culture, politics and religious affairs in the central middle ages?a period that saw great experimentation and expansion followed by the development of legal and administrative structures to centralise monarchs? powers in both ?church? and ?states?. Topics treated in lectures include how lordship shaped knightly, clerical, peasant and burgess communities; papal reform and Christian kingship; the Norman impact in England and south Italy; ?reconquista? and the first crusade; new religious movements, both orthodox and heterodox; the rise of universities. Lectures are complemented by the discussion in tutorials of primary sources devoted to such themes as medieval warfare; the relations of kings and prelates; the charismatic religious figures Peter Waldo and Francis of Assisi; the purpose and reach of inquisitors; and legal compiliations like the canons of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), Magna Carta (1215) and the Constitutions of Melfi (1231).

By the end of this module you should be able:
-To locate recommended reading material in the library
-To avoid plagiarism through careful note-taking and citation
-To prepare written work which is well-organised and well-presented
-To construct coherent and well-informed arguments about Europe, c.1050-1250, in which primary source evidence is distinguished from interpretations of it used by historians in the construction of their secondary historical narratives
-To grasp the historical significance to medieval people & modern folk of key events, trends and deeds of historical actors in Europe, c.1050-1250.

Reading:
Required primary sources are in a course booklet to be purchased.
Required background readings are selections from titles like:
Malcolm Barber, The Two Cities: Medieval Europe, 1050-1320, 2nd ed. (2004)
C.N.L. Brooke, Europe in the Central Middle Ages, 962-1154, 3rd ed. (2000)
J.W. Baldwin, Scholastic Culture of the Middle Ages (1997 rpt)
C. Morris, The Papal Monarchy: The Western Church from 1050-1250 (1989)
C.H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism. . ., 2nd ed. (1989)
J. Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History (c. 1987)