Learning outcomes

Why is still actual the study of the Middle Ages? Why can the study of the Middle Ages help us in interpreting and understanding our present time? Starting from these basic questions, and through methodological specific competences, this course aims giving students the conceptual, methodological and cultural basis in order to understand the main topics of the European civilization in the medieval period. The focus of this course is also to show the topical interest of many aspects related to the Middle Ages; it also aims giving students autonomous skills in order to critically study the books that are in the program. A specific attention will be given to the comprehension of how books on medieval history constructed; they will be partially compared with original sources in order to see differences and recognise interpretations. In s the second part of the course the outstanding figure of Charlemagne, and the period during which he lived, will be investigated under different perspectives. This will allow students to focus on different aspects of social European medieval history during the Carolingian period, with a special attention also on local history.
Prerequisits: Students are asked to have a general knowledge of the medieval history according to their secondary school career, and a curiosity on our past and its many different aspects.

Program

After a short introduction during which general concepts like Middle Ages, historical sources, and typologies of sources 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 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 in order 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)

In the last section of the course the outstanding figure of Charlemagne will be taken into exam, starting with a short analysis of the book in the program; the deeds of the Carolingian ruler will be studied also within the Veronese context, through the study of some original sources that will be translated by the lecturer. These last lectures will be followed by two didactical excursions to which students are asked to take part on a voluntary basis, since those activities will probably exceed the total amount of the course hours. The taking part to these activities will be positively evaluated during the final exam.
Students attending the lectures will receive at the beginning of the course a complete calendar of the didactical activities, with date and subjects of every single lecture. During the academic year the lecturer will receive students during the office hours, published on the web page and in the announcement place; students are recommended to fix via e-mail an appointment with the lecturer.
Literature: All students, attending the 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 Medieval History with a manual to be chosen among the following titles: G. Vitolo, Medioevo. I caratteri originali di un’età di transizione, Milan, Sansoni, 2000; T. Lazzari, G. Albertoni, Introduzione alla storia medievale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015; A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Novara, Utet, 2016. Students with good school knowledge can choose the more complex: R. Bordone, G. Sergi, Dieci secoli di medioevo, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.
The program is completed by the study of: A. Barbero, Carlo Magno. Un padre dell’Europa, Bari, Laterza, 2000.
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.

Students not attending lectures can receive help by the lecturer in order to define the program and to study the manual. All students not attending lectures will be asked to choose an additional book among the following titles: P. Brown, Il riscatto dell’anima. Aldilà e ricchezza nel primo cristianesimo occidentale, Torino, Einaudi, 2015; T. Lazzari, Le donne nell’alto Medioevo, Milano-Torino, Bruno Mondadori, 2010; S. Gasparri, Voci dai secoli oscuri. Un percorso nelle fonti dell’alto medioevo, Roma, Carocci, 2017; 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; 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; P. Freedman, Il gusto delle spezie nel Medioevo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009. 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.

Didactical methods: frontal lectures on main subjects will be followed by discussions with students; on some subjects texts and sources will be read and analysed, followed by a discussion on their content.

Examination Methods

Literature: All students, attending the 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 Medieval History with a manual to be chosen among the following titles: G. Vitolo, Medioevo. I caratteri originali di un’età di transizione, Milan, Sansoni, 2000; T. Lazzari, G. Albertoni, Introduzione alla storia medievale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015; A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Novara, Utet, 2016. Students with good school knowledge can choose the more complex: R. Bordone, G. Sergi, Dieci secoli di medioevo, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.
The program is completed by the study of: A. Barbero, Carlo Magno. Un padre dell’Europa, Bari, Laterza, 2000.
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.

Students not attending lectures can receive help by the lecturer in order to define the program and to study the manual. All students not attending lectures will be asked to choose an additional book among the following titles: P. Brown, Il riscatto dell’anima. Aldilà e ricchezza nel primo cristianesimo occidentale, Torino, Einaudi, 2015; T. Lazzari, Le donne nell’alto Medioevo, Milano-Torino, Bruno Mondadori, 2010; S. Gasparri, Voci dai secoli oscuri. Un percorso nelle fonti dell’alto medioevo, Roma, Carocci, 2017; 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; 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; P. Freedman, Il gusto delle spezie nel Medioevo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009. 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.

Evaluation: the oral exam consists in questions on subjects that are to be found in books and manuals in the program, as well as in the didactical material on the e-learning platform (free access will be given only to those students who will attend lectures). The exam will last the necessary amount of time in order to determine an adequate knowledge of contents, as well as the ability of express them appropriately, the ability to create links between different subjects, the ability of analysis and of reasoning. The active participation to lectures and to further analysis will be positively evaluated. An in-itinere exam could be agreed with the lecturer at the beginning of the course in order to facilitate the final exam. The finale evaluation is counted in thirtieth, and will be expressed on the entire program.

Erasmus students are asked to write or to visit the lecturer at the beginning of the course in order to choose the best didactic activities and the final exam methodology.