Learning objectives

The introductory course of Medieval History pursues the objective - shared with other teachings of the historical area - to enable the student to critically evaluate a historical testimony, placing it in the spatial and temporal coordinates of the European Middle Ages. The aim of the advanced course of Medieval History is to guide the student to the critical analysis of historical sources and to develop his / her capacity to analyze a historical problem in its complexity. Overall, the two courses - introductory and advanced - aim to provide students with the necessary skills to orient themselves independently in a problem of medieval history. In the introductory course, therefore, the teacher underlines some aspects that will be then deepened and recalled in the progress course. During the advanced course, a direct analysis of medieval sources and documents is foreseen (translated into Italian).

Prerequisites and basic notions

No prerequisites required

Program

The course aims to provide students with a general overview of the Middle Ages, a period often misunderstood and therefore subject to negative stereotypes, yet one that influenced the formation of our culture and institutions. The main political and institutional events and long-term phenomena (social, economic, and cultural) that characterize the Middle Ages will be analyzed in class. The main sources of the period will be presented, read, and commented on during the lectures. For attending students: 1. One textbook of your choice from the following: - L. Provero, M. Vallerani, Storia medievale, Milan, Le Monnier-Mondadori, 2022; 2) The texts and sources discussed during the course; 3) An essay to be published shortly. For non-attending students: 1) One textbook of your choice from the following: - L. Provero, M. Vallerani, Storia medievale, Milan, Le Monnier-Mondadori, 2022; 2) One book of your choice from: - G. Sergi, The Idea of the Middle Ages. Between History and Common Sense, Rome, Donzelli, 2005 - F. Senatore, The Middle Ages. Instructions for Use, Milan 2018 3) One book of your choice from: - S. Gasparri, Voices of the Dark Ages. A Journey through the Sources of the Early Middle Ages, Rome, Carocci, 2017. - C. Wickham, Sleepwalkers to a New World: The Rise of the Italian Communes in the Twelfth Century, Rome, Viella, 2017 - S. Balossino, The Podestàs on the Banks of the Rhone. Arles and Avignon in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, Rome, Viella, 2015. - J. Le Goff, (ed.), Medieval Man, Rome-Bari, Laterza, 1987. - L. Tanzini, F.P. Tocco, A Mediterranean Middle Ages. A Thousand Years between East and West, Carocci, Rome, 2020. - A. Fiore, A. Poloni, The Medieval Economy: A Historical Profile, Rome Carocci, 2024.

Didactic methods

The course will be held through lectures.

Learning assessment procedures

Assessment will be through a written exam or oral examination. The teacher will provide instructions regarding this well in advance.

Evaluation criteria

By the end of the course, students should: - understand the issues, as well as the main facts and contexts characterizing the period studied; - understand the main types of sources useful for studying medieval history; - be able to adequately connect and compare the various historical processes of the period in question; - communicate what they have learned, using appropriate vocabulary.

Exam language

italiano