Teaching code

4S01294

Academic staff

Marco Stoffella, Attilio Stella

Coordinator

Marco Stoffella

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-STO/01 - MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Period

CuCi 1 A, CuCi 1 B

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

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

Students will be asked to have a basic knowledge of the social and political history of the Middle Ages and curiosity about the past and its complexity.

Program

After a short introduction, during which general concepts like the Middle Ages, historical sources, and their various typologies will be discussed, the course will synthetically analyse the following topics:
- Late Antiquity and the diffusion of Christianity (the growth of new religious communities that became a fundamental element in the Roman Empire and at the same time a tool of government)
- Western Europe in the early Middle Ages and his regna (the end of the Western Roman Empire, migrations, the birth of new political kingdoms based on ethnic distinctions)
- the Byzantine and Islamic Mediterranean (the progressive rupture of the unity of the Mediterranean See under the Arabic expansion and the role of Byzantium)
- Carolingian Europe (Lombard Italy, the Frankish expansion, Charlemagne and the supposed roots of contemporary Europe)
- the seigniorial order (post-Carolingian Europe, the “feudal society”, the control over work and security in the cities and in the countryside)
- Church reforms (the ideological and political conflicts related to the growth of papal prestige and of the Communal autonomy)
- Empire and Papacy in the Late Middle Ages (conflicts related to different concepts and practice of power between political and spiritual authority)
- political institutions of the Late Middle Ages (political experimentations to give equilibrium to representation and participation within society)
- society and culture in the Middle Ages (the various aspects related to knowledge, its access, and its administration)
- Religious experiences in the Middle Ages (principal religious movements that led to reforms and to very different experiences) - the economies of the Middle Ages (the organisation of work and commerce, with a long-lasting perspective)
Some lectures might be thought by specialists; according to the pandemic situation, during the last teaching weeks some excursions could take place. All practical aspects regarding the excursions will be discussed with those attending lectures.
During the academic year the lecturer will receive students during the office hours, published on the web page and in the announcements place; students are recommended to fix via e-mail an appointment with the lecturer.
READINGS FOR ALL STUDENTS:
All students, attending lectures or not, will be asked to study the introductory book: G. Sergi, L’idea di medioevo. Fra storia e senso comune, Rome, Donzelli, 2005.
All students must learn a handbook in Medieval History to be chosen among the following titles: L. Provero, M. Vallerani, Storia medievale, Firenze, Lemonnier, 2022 (second edition); Introduzione alla storia medievale, a cura di G. Albertoni, S.M. Collavini, T. Lazzari, Bologna, il Mulino, 2020 (second edition); A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Novara, Utet, 2021 (second edition); P. Grillo, Storia medievale. Italia, Europa, Mediterraneo, Milano, Pearson, 2024 (seconda edizione). Students with a good school knowledge of the Middle Ages might choose the more complex: R. Bordone, G. Sergi, Dieci secoli di medioevo, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.
Finally, the program includes at least one scientific essay, to be chosen on personal interest, on one of the main topics of the Medieval History, and that will be available in a folder in the Moodle of the introductory course.
Students attending lectures, and the one inscribed to the course, will receive didactical material related to the lectures on the e-learning platform; these materials are considered part of the exam program; they do not substitute the study of the essay written by Sergi, and the study of one of the handbooks listed above.
Students not attending lectures can receive help by the lecturer to better define the program. All students not attending lectures will be asked to choose an additional book among the following titles: P. Brown, P. Brown, Il riscatto dell’anima. Aldilà e ricchezza nel primo cristianesimo occidentale, Torino, Einaudi, 2015; A. Barbero, Carlo Magno Un padre dell’Europa, Bari, Laterza, 2000; A.A. Settia, Castelli medievali, Bologna, il Mulino, 2017; J.M.H. Smith, L’Europa dopo Roma. Una nuova storia culturale 500-1000, Bologna, il Mulino, 2008; G. Milani, I comuni italiani. Secoli XII-XIV, Bari, Laterza, 2005; C. Wickham, Sonnambuli verso un nuovo mondo. L’affermazione dei comuni italiani nel XII secolo, Roma, Viella, 2017; P. Grillo, Le guerre del Barbarossa. I comuni contro l’imperatore, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2014; J.C. Maire Vigueur, E. Faini, Il sistema politico dei comuni italiani (secoli XII-XIV), Milano-Torino, B. Mondadori, 2010; A. Zorzi, Le signorie cittadine in Italia (secoli XIII-XV), Milano-Torino, B. Mondadori, 2010; C. Wickham, L’Europa nel Medioevo, Roma, Carocci, 2020; N. D’Acunto, La lotta per le investiture. Una rivoluzione medievale (998-1122), Roma, Carocci, 2020; L. Provero, Contadini e potere nel Medioevo, Roma, Carocci, 2020; G. Melville, Le comunità religiose nel Medioevo. Storia e modelli di vita, a cura di N. D’Acunto, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2020. The choice of the additional text can be made autonomously; differently it can be discussed with the lecturer during office hours or per e-mail.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teaching, lasting a total of 36 hours (6 CFU), takes place in the classroom on broad themes and with the aid of guided readings of sources, followed by discussions with the students in order to exemplify and delve into the historical processes. The teaching will be delivered by two teachers: the first part, relating to late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, will be taught by Marco Stoffella, while the second part, from the central Middle Ages to the late Middle Ages, will be held by Attilio Stella.

Learning assessment procedures

The verification of the learning of the main contents and concepts relating to the medieval age takes place during an oral interview lasting approximately twenty minutes. During the interview, the teacher verifies the complete progress of the exam program starting from the introductory text, then moving on to the manual and any additional essays.

Evaluation criteria

The target of the final oral exam is to verify the achievement level of this course. Questions will be based on knowledge acquired through the study of handbooks and material provided by the lecturer and published in the Moodle. The exams last the time necessary to understand the quality and the width of students' knowledge.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The oral exam will be expressed in thirtieth and will divided into two parts: in the first part students will be asked to answer to general questions on the main topics of the Middle Ages according to the essay of Sergi, on the topics discussed during lectures or on topics acquired through the study of the handbook. The second part will devotes to further knowledge acquired through the study of essays.

Exam language

Italiano o eventualmente in altra lingua in caso di Erasmus

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