66782 - History of Medieval Europe (LM)

Course contents

The course provides an introduction to medieval culture and historical writing and to historical-chronological narratives, both in terms of self-representation of society and in terms of the representation of otherness. The evolution of political-institutional and spatial-territorial arrangements, the relations between secular and ecclesiastical powers, the reflection on prevailing social patterns and their ideological crystallisation will be analysed on the basis of the texts, in order to highlight their dynamics and reciprocal interactions.

The first part of the course will be devoted to providing the main tools for analysing medieval historical production, providing a taxonomy of sources and a series of targeted methodological indications. The second part of the course will be devoted to the analysis of a number of case studies, on the basis of which the narrative modes of the thematic focuses highlighted can be empirically verified with respect to the description of the events, the role of the actors involved, and the differences in representation linked to the political orientation of the authors considered. Through the examination of specific cases, relating to events and figures of wide resonance in the medieval West, the various mechanisms of cultural memory construction will be highlighted, following Jan Assmann's methodological perspective.

Readings/Bibliography

PROGRAMME FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Attending students will prepare the readings and deliver individual or group presentations following the schedule which will be distributed at the beginning of the course. Most teaching materials will be made available to students in the dedicated Virtuale platform.

The following reading list is divided into five parts, roughly corresponding to the five weeks of classes. Students are strongly encouraged to prepare the readings carefully, in order to be able to participate to class discussions. Please note that:

(1) the readings marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory for CLASS DISCUSSION.

(2) the FINAL EXAM will be based on the entire reading list from Week 1 to Week 4; a weekly preparation of all these readings is encouraged.

(3) each student will deliver an individual or group PRESENTATION on one of the primary sources of Week 5. Proposals of DIFFERENT SOURCES are welcome.

Week 1: Historical writing, cultural memory, spatial networks

E. Hobsbawm, Introduzione, in L'invenzione della tradizione, a c. d. E. J. Hobsbawm-T. Ranger, Torino 2002, pp. 3-17

(*) Jan Assmann, La memoria culturale. Scrittura, ricordo e identità politica nelle grandi civiltà antiche, Torino, 1997, Introduzione; cap. I

Week 2: Historical writing in the Middle Ages

(*) O. Capitani, La storiografia medievale, in La storia. I grandi problemi dal Medioevo all'Età contemporanea, dir. M. Firpo, N. Tranfaglia, I. Il Medioevo, 1, I quadri generali, Torino 1988, pp. 758-792

B. Smalley, Storici nel Medioevo, Napoli 1979, cap. I,II, III

(*)F. Delle Donne, Cronache in cerca d’autore: l’autoconsapevolezza come misura della professionalizzazione dello storiografo, in Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII-XV, a c. di F. Delle Donne, P.Garbini, M. Zabbia, Roma 2021, pp. 13-28

(*) F. Roversi Monaco, Linguaggio politico e scrittura storica nel basso Medioevo. Alcune riflessioni metodologiche, in «PHILOSOPHICAL READINGS», 2020, XII, pp. 86 - 92

Week 3: The memory of origins

B. Smalley, Storici nel Medioevo, Napoli 1979, cap. IV

(*)P. Geary, Il mito delle nazioni. Le origini medievali dell'Europa, Roma 2009 capp. III, IV

Week 4: Contemporary memories

(*) M. Zabbia, Sulla scrittura della storia in Italia (secoli XIII-XV), in Tra storiografia e retorica: prospettive nel basso medioevo italiano, a c. di M. Zabbia, Reti Medievali Rivista, 19, 1 (2018) <http://rivista.retimedievali.it>

M. Zabbia, La cronachistica cittadina al tempo di Salimbene de Adam, in Salimbene de Adam e la «Cronica»,Atti del LIV Convegno storico internazionale, Todi 2017, Spoleto 2018, pp-219-232

(*) D. Cappi, Strategie autoriali nelle cronache volgari del Trecento, in Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII-XV, a c. di F. Delle Donne, P.Garbini, M. Zabbia, Roma 2021, pp. 113-133

F. Roversi Monaco, Il « dolcissimo » Annibale: rappresentazioni di Annibale I Bentivoglio nella storiografia bolognese tardomedievale, in «SAPIENS, UT LOQUATUR, MULTA PRIUS CONSIDERAT», Studi di storia medievale offerti a Lorenzo Paolini, Spoleto 2019, pp. 435 - 448

Weeks 5: First-hand witnesses: from national histories to the 15th century (student presentations)

Each student will deliver an individual or group presentation based on one of the following primary sources (to be agreed in class). Please note that you can refer to ANY OTHER EDITION OR TRANSLATION of the above mentioned texts. Proposals of DIFFERENT SOURCES are welcome.

The provisional list includes:

Iordanis, Romana et Getica, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica, ed. Theodorus Mommsen, Berolini apud Weidmannos 1882, https://digiliblt.uniupo.it/xtf/view?query=;brand=default;docId=dlt000522/dlt000522.xml

Paolo Orosio, Le storie contro i pagani, 2, a c. di A. Lippold, Milano 1976 (rist. 2001)

Paolo Diacono, Storia dei Longobardi, a c. di L. Capo, Milano 1992

Beda Il Venerabile, Storia degli Inglesi, II, a c. di M. Lapidge, trad. di P. Chiesa, Milano 2008

Ottonis episcopi Frisingensis Chronica sive Historia de duabus civitatibus, in MGH, Scrip- tores Rerum Germanicarum, ed. a cura di A. HOFMEISTER, Hannover-Leipzig, 1912

Ottonis et Rahevini. Gesta Friderici I imperatoris, in M.G.H., Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum, ed. a cura di G. WAITZ e B. VON SIMSON, Hannover-Leipzig, 1912

Saxonis Grammatici Gesta Danorum, ed. A. Holder, Stuttgart 1886

Raimundi De Agiles Canonici Podiensis, Historia Francorum Qui Ceperunt Jerusalem, https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/raymond-cde.asp

L'Alessiade di Anna Comnena porfirogenita cesarea, a c. di G. Rossi, Milano 1846 , https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_zk63YeO0NGcC/bub_gb_zk63YeO0NGcC_djvu.txt (traduzione inglese https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/annacomnena-alexiad00.asp)

Giovanni Villani, Nuova Cronica, a c. di G. Porta, Parma 1991

Salimbene de Adam, Cronica, a c. di G. Scalia, Turnhout 1998-99

Cherubino Ghirardacci, Della Historia di Bologna Parte Terza, in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, ed. A. Sorbelli, Città di Castello, https://archive.org/details/p1arerumitalicar23card

PROGRAMME FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Students who cannot attend classwork must read FOUR chapters/articles and TWO books from this list (to be agreed with the teacher in advance):

CHAPTERS/ARTICLES:

E. Hobsbawm, Introduzione, in L'invenzione della tradizione, a c. d. E. J. Hobsbawm-T. Ranger, Torino 2002, pp. 3-17

J. Assmann, La memoria culturale. Scrittura, ricordo e identità politica nelle grandi civiltà antiche, Torino, 1997, Introduzione; cap. I

O. Capitani, La storiografia medievale, in La storia. I grandi problemi dal Medioevo all'Età contemporanea, dir. M. Firpo, N. Tranfaglia, I. Il Medioevo, 1, I quadri generali, Torino 1988, pp. 758-792

F. Delle Donne, Cronache in cerca d’autore: l’autoconsapevolezza come misura della professionalizzazione dello storiografo, in Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII-XV, a c. di F. Delle Donne, P.Garbini, M. Zabbia, Roma 2021, pp. 13-28

F. Roversi Monaco, Linguaggio politico e scrittura storica nel basso Medioevo. Alcune riflessioni metodologiche, in «PHILOSOPHICAL READINGS», 2020, XII, pp. 86 - 92

M. Zabbia, Sulla scrittura della storia in Italia (secoli XIII-XV), in Tra storiografia e retorica: prospettive nel basso medioevo italiano, a c. di M. Zabbia, Reti Medievali Rivista, 19, 1 (2018) <http://rivista.retimedievali.it>

M. Zabbia, La cronachistica cittadina al tempo di Salimbene de Adam, in Salimbene de Adam e la «Cronica»,Atti del LIV Convegno storico internazionale, Todi 2017, Spoleto 2018, pp-219-232

D. Cappi, Strategie autoriali nelle cronache volgari del Trecento, in Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII-XV, a c. di F. Delle Donne, P.Garbini, M. Zabbia, Roma 2021, pp. 113-133

F. Roversi Monaco, Il « dolcissimo » Annibale: rappresentazioni di Annibale I Bentivoglio nella storiografia bolognese tardomedievale, in «SAPIENS, UT LOQUATUR, MULTA PRIUS CONSIDERAT», Studi di storia medievale offerti a Lorenzo Paolini, Spoleto 2019, pp. 435 - 448

BOOKS:

1. B. Smalley, Storici nel Medioevo, Napoli 1979
2. P. Geary, Il mito delle nazioni. Le origini medievali dell'Europa, Roma 2009
3. Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII-XV, a c. di F. Delle Donne, P.Garbini, M. Zabbia, Roma 2021
4. Storici per vocazione. Tra autobiografia e modelli letterari, a c. di M. Zabbia, Roma 2021
5. P. Zumthor, La misura del mondo. La rappresentazione dello spazio nel Medioevo, Bologna 1995

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures, students' presentations and class discussion.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Students attending has to attend the course regularly, prepare the assigned readings, participate actively in class discussions and deliver a presentation, engaging critically with the materials agreed with the professor (50% of grade). Please note that those who will miss more than 4 classes will have to take the exam as non-attending students.

The preparation of the reading materials will be evaluated on the basis of an oral exam (50% of the grade).

The grade assigned on class participation will be based on:
- Regularity of participation
- Regular preparation of the reading materials and engagement in class discussion
- Oral presentation: critical skills, clarity, and command of the specific language
- Active participation during other students' presentations

The grade assigned on the oral exam will be based on:

- knowledge of the reading materials
- critical skills
- command of the specific language

Students non attending the course will be evaluated on the basis of an oral exam. They will be asked questions aimed to assess their knowledge of the reading materials. The questions will also aim to evaluate the students' command of the specific language, their critical skills, and capacity of re-organizing the acquired information.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

In-depth knowledge of the reading materials, with good analytical and critical skills and command of the specific language will qualify for a good/excellent mark.

Acceptable and more mechanical knowledge of the reading materials, and/or not always appropriate use of the language will lead to a sufficient/fair mark.

Fragmentary knowledge of the reading materials, weak critical skills, and/or insufficient command of the specific language and will lead to a failure or to a pass mark.

NB: The course (6CFU) is part of the integrated course "SPAZI E INCONTRI TRA CULTURE NEL MEDIOEVO (C.I.) (LM)". If a student has the Integrated Course (12CFU) in his/her study plan, the final grade will be the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two components ("Spazio e cultura storica nel medioevo (1) (LM)" and "Cross-cultural encounters in the medieval world" (1) (LM)")

Teaching tools

Frontal lectures and seminarial discussions will be supported by Power Point presentations aimed to show visual and textual materials.

Links to further information

https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/francesca.roversi/

Office hours

See the website of Francesca Roversi Monaco