14431 - Economic History of the Middle Ages (1)

Academic Year 2019/2020

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in History (cod. 0962)

    Also valid for First cycle degree programme (L) in History (cod. 0962)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students should acquire a basic knowledge of the economic history of European Middle Ages, also considered in its social and cultural implications. They should read critical texts and data, and communicate in oral and written form on the subject of the discipline using a specific terminology.

Course contents

Economic and social frameworks in the Middle Ages
Paesants and Lords in the early Middle Ages

The course, strictly integrated to Storia sociale del Medioevo, examines the economic history of Lombard, Carolingian and post-Carolingian centuries (VIIIth-XIth) taking into particular account the development and achievement of the “azienda curtense” (manor system), the most characteristic way – even if not unique – of labour organization in European countrysides of the time, with significant consequences in power relations and ideological representations.

During lectures, the main features and evolution of labour relations and agrarian contracts will be discussed, so as the forms of lords’ power, tensions and conflicts in rural society.

Readings/Bibliography

The exam includes a written test and an oral test.

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For the written test, all students - attending and not attending - will study:

- B. Andreolli, M. Montanari, L’azienda curtense in Italia. Proprietà della terra e lavoro contadino nei secoli VIII-XI, Bologna, Clueb, 1983.

The written test, identical for everyone, will be based on this book.

*


The oral exam will consist of a discussion about the written test results.

Attending students will have to study the lecture notes and materials (Powerpoint and documents) that will be loaded on AlmaDL-Campus.

Non-attending students will bring a text to be chosen from those indicated in this list:

-B. Andreolli e M. Montanari (a cura di), Il bosco nel Medioevo, Bologna, Clueb, 1985.

-G.Duby, Le origini dell’economia europea. Guerrieri e contadini nel Medioevo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1975.

Teaching methods

Lectures, with presentation of various materials (documents, texts, images).

Assessment methods

The course, together with Storia sociale del Medioevo, constitutes the integrated course "Storia economica e sociale del Medioevo".

Therefore the final exam is conceived as unique, with one written test, common for both courses, followed by an oral test, in the presence of both teachers.

The two tests can be taken in the same scheduled exam date but it’s also possible to take the oral test in a succeeding scheduled exam date.

To access the oral exam you must have obtained in the written test a score of at least 18/30.

The written test for 12 credits exam is composed of six open questions, whose score is 0 to 5. The maximum possible result is 30/30.

The oral test consists of a free conversation about the course topics (notes, readings and documents submitted during lectures, or, for not attending, the chosen book).
The score assigned to the oral test is 30/30.

Language skills, understanding of the topics discussed, ability to propose connections between the different topics will be taken into account for evaluation.

The final mark will come out from the average between the result of the written test and the result of the oral examination. A mention of praise can be added, subject to the discretion of the teacher.

*


The student attending only Storia economica del Medioevo will study only the specific half-program of the integrated course. In this case, the questions for the written test will be three instead of six, whose score is 0-10.

The oral test consists of a free conversation about the course topics (notes, readings and documents submitted during lectures, or, for not attending students, the chosen book).
The score assigned to the oral test is 30/30.

Language skills, understanding of the topics discussed, ability to propose connections between the different topics will be taken into account for evaluation.

The final mark will come out from the average between the result of the written test and the result of the oral examination. A mention of praise can be added, subject to the discretion of the teacher.

Teaching tools

The University's repository will be used for the distribution of teaching tools: power points for the synthesis of lesson contents, pdf files of sources and further readings.

Office hours

See the website of Massimo Montanari