29689 - Civilisations of the Late Middle Ages (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows the cultural, social, economic, and political complexities of late medieval civilization, and can critically juxtapose sources and data to evaluate their impact on storiographic discourse.

Course contents

The course aims to examine the main processes of political, economic, and cultural transformation that shaped late medieval society, with particular attention to the gradual crisis of the political order founded on the two universal powers, the Papacy and the Empire.

The first 8 hours of lectures will be devoted to reconstructing the general institutional framework and to examining one of the key developments in the political history of the late Middle Ages: the decline of the universal powers, namely the Empire and the Papacy.

The central part of the course (12 hours) will focus on the analysis of the Italian communal experience through the reading and discussion of the volume by Chris Wickham listed in the bibliography.

The final part of the course (approximately 10 hours) will examine the institutional and political developments of the major European monarchies in the process that led to the emergence of national monarchies, as well as the gradual decline of the Italian communes, marked by the rise of urban signories and the formation of the regional states.

Readings/Bibliography

Students attending the course will prepare for the examination on the basis of the following bibliography, supplemented by the teaching materials and lecture notes made available during the course and accessible via virtuale.unibo.it:

• G. G. Merlo, Basso Medioevo, Turin, UTET, 2010, pp. 38–87, 90–103, 114–128, 131–143, 157–165, 178–179, 183–189 only.
• C. Wickham, Le due facce del Comune. Governare ed essere governati nell’Italia comunale, 1150–1225, Rome, Viella, 2026.

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

 

Students who do not attend the course will prepare for the examination on the basis of the following bibliography:

• G. G. Merlo, Basso Medioevo, Torino: UTET, 2010, pp. 38–87, 90–103, 114–128, 131–143, 157–165, 178–179, 183–189 only.
• C. Wickham, Le due facce del Comune. Governare ed essere governati nell’Italia comunale, 1150–1225, Roma: Viella, 2026.

In addition to the required readings for attending students, non-attending students must also prepare one of the following volumes:

• F. Delle Donne, Federico II. L’ultimo imperatore, Roma: Salerno, 2026.
• M. T. Dolso, Gli ordini mendicanti, Roma: Carocci, 2021.
• E. Di Stefano, Tra le Marche e Roma, Roma: Carocci, 2025.

Teaching methods

Alongside a general historical overview, the course will include the reading and discussion of primary sources considered particularly significant for the in-depth study of the topics covered.

Assessment methods

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

The final exam will be an oral one, with questions aimed to verify the student's knowledge of the themes discussed during frontal lessons (only for students that participated in classwork) as well as those treated in the program's texts. Among the elements that concur in the final evaluation there are: detailed knowledge of the book's content, property of language, and especially the capacity of organizing the information into complex answers showing expositive and critical skills.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary.
A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

This 6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course “MEDIEVAL INSTITUTIONS AND CIVILISATIONS (C.I.) (LM)”. If the student has the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in his/her study plan, the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts (“CIVILIZATION OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES (1) (LM)” and “LATE MEDIEVAL POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS (1) (LM)”).

Students taking only the Civilisations of the Late Middle Ages examination (6 cfu) will have eleven examination sessions available during the academic year, with one session each month except August.

Please note: students enrolled in the Integrated Course are required to take the examinations for both modules during the same examination session.

Students taking the 12 cfu examination may sit the exam during the following examination sessions:

• September 2026 (for students with outstanding examination requirements only)
• November 2026 (for students with outstanding examination requirements only)
• January 2027 (for students with outstanding examination requirements only)
• May 2027 (open to all students)
• June 2027 (open to all students)
• July 2027 (open to all students)

Teaching tools

During the lectures, historical texts and primary sources will be analysed and discussed with the support of PowerPoint presentations, charts, images, and maps.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Berardo Pio