This
course explores the variety and evolution of Christian
beliefs and practices in medieval Europe from the fifth century CE (emergence
of distinctive Latin and Greek Christianities) through the early sixteenth
century (Reformation) within and outside formal Church structures. We will
read and analyze primary sources on diverse topics including the conversion
of Europe and religious acculturation of pagan peoples, the power and appeal
of Christian saints, Christian kingship and notions of appropriate Christian
power, monastic, scholastic, and lay piety, pilgrimage and Crusade, dissent
and institutional response, the relationship to those outside the faith,
religious developments in the fifteenth century and Protestant and Catholic
divergence.
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• Joseph H. Lynch, The Medieval Church: A Brief History (Longman,
1992) ISBN 0582494672
• Sharan Newman, Strong as Death (Bella Rosa Books, 2008)
ISBN 1933523271
Also: a set of readings available in pdf format on a blackboard site
and a number of internet documents, linked to the syllabus here
Suggested Texts for Background Reading, on reserve in Mugar: Barbara
Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages; R. N. Swanson, Religion
and Devotion in Europe, c. 1215-c.1515
Please bring reading materials to class on
the day(s) they are assigned, including printouts of web documents or
a laptop for viewing them. |
Course
Requirements for RN 307
Students are expected to attend and participate in every class. All
reading is to be completed before the class for which it is assigned.
Written work for the class will include three
short analytical papers, a midterm exam, a ten page research
paper on an approved topic within the field of medieval Christianity,
and a final exam. The grading for the course will be as follows: 10%
for class participation, 20% for the responses, 20% for the midterm,
20% for the research paper and 30% for the final exam. The class participation
grade will be based on attendance, participation in discussion, and the
level of preparedness and involvement in the course.
If you know that you will miss class because you are sick or are away
from school for an emergency, please try to let me know ahead of time,
if possible, via phone or e-mail. More
than three unapproved absences during the semester may result in a lowered
overall grade in addition to an unsatisfactory class participation grade.
Please note that students must complete all written work in order to receive
a passing grade for the class.
Course
Requirements for RN 607 & STH TX 817
In addition to mastering the material required of undergraduates, graduate
students are also expected to familiarize themselves with current scholarship
in the field of medieval Christianity and to develop a critical understanding
of the relevant issues in scholarship. Additional reading for graduate
students includes the following two articles and any three books from the
graduate reading list.
John Van Engen, "The Christian Middle Ages as an Historiographical
Problem," American Historical Review 91 (1986), 519-52 (access
on line via JSTOR) and Van Engen, "The
Future of Medieval Church History" Church History 71 (2002),
492-522 (also available on JSTOR).
Graduate students will write three- to four-page reviews of the three
additional books and will be asked to make brief (5-10 minute) presentations
to the class summarizing the work and placing it within the context of
the general course syllabus. In lieu of the undergraduate research paper,
graduate students will write a twelve- to fifteen-page bibliographic review
essay examining the state of scholarship on a topic chosen in consultation
with the instructor. Graduate students are not responsible for the undergraduate
exams, but they are responsible for the three analytical papers, which
will be judged by a standard appropriate to graduate level work.
Schedule:
Week I Reconstructing Medieval Christianity
9/2 First class
9/4 J. Lynch, The Medieval Church, pp. 19-29; F. Van Liere, "Was the Medieval
Church Corrupt?"
Week II Monasticism
9/7 Labor Day: No class
9/9 Lynch, 29-34; 129-132; St. Benedict, Rule
for Monasteries; Caesarius of Arles, Rule for Nuns [blackboard
site]
9/11 J. LeClercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, 11-24
[blackboard site]; William
of St. Thierry on Lectio Divina
Week III The Conversion of Europe
9/14 Lynch, 35-53
9/16The
Apostles' Creed; The
Nicene Creed; The
Conversion of Clovis
9/18 Bede, On the
Conversion of England; Life
of St. Columban Chapters 6-22; St.
Columban's Boat Song; Jane Tibbets Schulenberg, Forgetful of Their
Sex, 177-209 [blackboard site]
| View the Lindisfarne
Gospels at the British Library on line: click on link for "pinnacle
of Anglo Saxon art" |
Week IV Sacraments of the Church
9/21 Lynch, 273-302
9/23 The
Seven Sacraments; Sermon
stories on the Eucharist; Sermon
stories on Penance
9/25 Joseph
Dyer, "The Medieval Mass and Its Music" (Introduction through
the Table 1)
Week V Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Final Judgment
9/28 No Class Meeting, but read Lynch, 256-272
9/30 "Tundale's Vision," in Eileen Gardiner, Visions of Heaven
and Hell before Dante,
149-180 [blackboard
site]
10/2 Gardiner, Visions of Heaven and Hell, 180-195
Week VI Medieval Church and State
10/5 Lynch, 59-72; 118-129; 136-145
10/7 Pope Leo the
Great: On the Petrine Doctrine; Einhard, The Life
of Charlemagne
10/9 B. Tierney, The Crisis of Church and State, excerpts [blackboard
site]
Week VII Saints, Relics and Pilgrimage
10/12 NO CLASS: Columbus Day
10/13 (Tuesday) Bernard of Angers, "The Miracles of St. Foy"[blackboard
site]; Aquinas
on Veneration of Relics [ARTICLE 6 ON THE PAGE]
10/14 Jacob Voragine, The Golden Legend: On the Translation
of the body of the Apostle James, son of Zebedee to Compostela in Spain; A Pilgrim's
Guide to Santiago de Compostela [blackboard
site]
10/16 Sharan Newman, Strong
as Death
Week VIII Violence: Christian and Unchristian
10/19 MIDTERM EXAM
10/21 T. Head and R. Landes, eds., The Peace of God. Social Violence
and Religious Response in France around the Year 1000, 327-342 [blackboard
site]
10/23 Bernard of Clairvaux, In
Praise of the New Knighthood; Excerpts from Housley, Fighting for
the Cross: Crusading to the Holy Land [blackboard
site]
Week IX Urbanization and Religious Revival
10/26 Lynch, 183-215; 228-238; Images
of Chartres Cathedral
10/28 "Our Lady's Tumbler" [blackboard
site]; Thomas Celano, The Life of St. Francis; Giotto's
Images from the Upper Church at Assisi (from "artist" link at top of page
select Giotto, then select "Frescoes at San Francesco," then "St. Francis
Legend")
10/30 Darleen Pryds, "Rose of Viterbo: A Thirteenth-Century Street Preacher"[blackboard
site]
Week X Dissent
11/2 Lynch, 216-227; Glossary of dissenters
11/4 E. Peters, ed., Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, 139-163
[blackboard site]; The
Conversion of Waldo; Selections from the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): A-general; B-heresy; C-Jews
11/6 David Burr, Introduction
to Inquisition and translation of Peter
Olivi, Apocalypse Commentary and Bernard Gui, Manual
for inquisitors; the Trial
of Na Prous Boneta
Week XI Intellectual Culture (Theology)
11/9 Lynch, 239-255; Anselm's Proslogium;
Peter Abelard, Excerpt
from Sic et Non; The
Story of My Calamaties
11/11 NO CLASS: Veterans' Day
11/13 Aquinas Reading [blackboard site]:
Summa, Part I, Question 13
Week XII Courtly Culture (Romance)
11/16 Quest for the Holy Grail, 31-66 [blackboard
site]
11/18 Quest for the Holy Grail, 80-94 [blackboard
site]
11/20 Quest for the Holy Grail, 269-284 [blackboard
site]
Week XIII Urban/Popular Culture (Drama)
11/23 R. Beadle, and P. King, eds., York Mystery Plays: a selection
in modern spelling, ix-xxx, 8-14; 48-58, 267-279 [blackboard
site]; computer
simulation of the York production
11/25 NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
11/27 NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
Week XIV From Reform to Reformation
11/30 Lynch 315-345
12/2 Jean Gerson,
"Sermon at the Council of Constance"[blackboard
site]; Condemnation
of John Wycliff and Wycliff's Response
12/4 Martin Luther, "Preface to the
Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans" [blackboard
site]
Week XIV
RESEARCH
PAPER DUE Monday, 12/7 |
12/7 Student Presentations
12/9 Student Presentations
12/11 Student Presentations
Final Exam: Thursday, December 17, 3-5 PM
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