11379 - Medieval History (A-L)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will know the essential of the Middle Age; he is able to contextualize and to study with criticism trends or events with the capability to explain differences occurring during the time; he is able to recognize the different historical sources.

Course contents

The program is divided into two parts: the first of an institutional nature, the other of a monographic study.

Institutional part:

a) The concept of middle age

b) The sources of medieval history

c) The end of the ancient world

d) Monasticism

e) The Mediterranean in the early Middle Ages

f) The rise of the Carolingians

g) The eleventh century

h) The "Comune" in medieval Italy

i) The Papacy and the Empire in the 13th century

l) The Fourteenth Century

m) Political arrangements of the late Middle Ages

Reference book: the Manual of Andrea Zorzi indicated in the "texts" section.

Monographic part:

- Church and Heresy in the Middle Ages.

Reference book: the volume on the relationships between Church and heretics indicated in the "texts" section.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students will prepare the final exam following this bibliography with the support of materials and notes provided in class:

A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Torino, UTET, 2016.

L. Paolini, Le piccole volpi. Chiesa ed eretici nel medioevo, Bologna, Bononia University Press, 2013.

Non-attending students will prepare the final exam following the previous bibliography with the support of one of the following additional readings:

- R. Parmeggiani, L' Inquisizione a Firenze nell'età di Dante. Politica, società, economia cultura, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018.

- R. Rao, I paesaggi dell’Italia medievale, Roma, Carocci, 2015.

- P. Rosso, La scuola nel Medioevo. Secoli VI-XV, Roma, Carocci, 2018.

Teaching methods

Lessons (general approach to the subject); reading and comment of the principal sources.

Assessment methods

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.

Teaching tools

We will use power point slides with images, graphics and geographics maps.

Office hours

See the website of Riccardo Parmeggiani