66782 - History of Medieval Europe (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will know the essential characteristics of the political-institutional and socio-economic history of mediaeval Europe, with the help of various testimonies . Students will gain skills methodology in organizing autonomous research.

Course contents

Lombards, Franks and Carolingian Empire

After decades of conflict, in 680, peace reigned in the Italian Peninsula between the Lombard and Byzantine kingdoms. In the South, the Italic elites were in friction with the Eastern Empire, while the Longobard kingdom was firmly established and well placed under the control of public officials. The crisis of the Longobards' dominion would have compromised all the two centuries of their presence in a part of the Peninsula. The course will serve precisely to frame the history of the Longobard presence in Italy in the light of the overall European panorama with the end of the Longobard period, the affirmation of Frankish rule over a part of the continent and the birth of Charlemagne's empire.

At the end of the course, students will have the ability to evaluate the orientations of historiography as regards the subject matter of the course, and they will be able to read and interpret hand written as well as published documents, they will learn to contextualize general issues by working on specific research cases. Students will be aware of the importance and historicization of concepts linked with the attempt by the Franks to build a European unit, and will be able to interpret the lexicon as well as its analytical categories.

Readings/Bibliography

S. GASPARRI, Italia longobarda. Il regno, i Franchi, il papato, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2020 (also available in ebook)

Teaching methods

Lectures

Seminars and critical analysis of documents

Assessment methods

This exam is an oral exam through which the critical and methodological abilities acquired by the student during the course will be evaluated; the student will be invited to discuss the issues addressed during the course. The following abilities will be evaluated positively: a student's ability to familiarize him/herself with bibliographical material and sources with the aim of selecting information from the literature that can be used to illustrate aspects and areas of culture pertaining to the discipline.

The ability to reach a critical and systematic vision of the discipline and the ability to demonstrate the possession of a descriptive command and of appropriate field-specific language will be rewarded with a mark of excellence.

A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the language, a superficial ability to synthesize and analyse information, and/or a language that is correct but not always appropriate will lead to a moderate mark; knowledge gaps and/or inappropriate language – albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the material required for the exam – will not lead to a pass mark.

Knowledge gaps, inappropriate language and a lack of familiarity with the bibliographical material provided during the course will not receive a pass mark.

Teaching tools

the course has the collaboration of Dr. Stefano Calonaci as Tutor. Mail

stefano.calonaci@unibo.it

stefano.calonaci@live.it

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Pirillo