11779 - Medieval History (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: acquires the methodological bases and the knowledge necessary for the study of the long medieval period; masters key themes of medieval history (e.g. the transition from the late ancient to the early Middle Ages, the Franks and Carolingian Europe, the affirmation and expansion of the Islam, the reform of the Church, the Italian Comuni, the new religious Orders); is able to engage critically with primary visual and written sources and to orient him/herself within the historiographic debate

Course contents

The module will discuss some of the main topics of the medieval period, providing a framework to interpret its dominant aspects. It will do so by focusing on a specific theme, in order to allow the students to get in touch with texts and material sources of the period. The chosen period is the high Middle Ages (V-XI century), while the specific theme (which will serve as leitmotif of the module) will be 'Medieval North: Angles, Vikings, Danes'. By focusing on the space of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, we will analyse the societies and cultures that lived, met, and clashed in that area between the VII and XI centuries. Through different types of sources (runestones, sagas, material objects, hagiographic texts) and, in particular, by reading the texts of a few medieval writers (Bede, Adam of Bremen, Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, Saxo Grammaticus), we will investigate the cultural and social contexts that produced this documentation and how it lets the voices and experiences of women and men from that time emerge. We will also discuss how the memory of these (real or mythical) events has been reused in later periods, until today.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS will need to prepare the following three parts:

1) A selection of chapters of the handbook M. Montanari (ed.), Storia medievale, Rome-Bari, Laterza, 2002 (alternatively, it is possible to use: C. Wickham, Medieval Europe, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2016 - available also in Italian), the chapters to study will be told during the lectures.

2) the materials discussed during the lectures (sources and short essays). They will be made available online during the module and, at the end of the module, the lecturer will provide the exact list of them on Virtuale.

3) one book chosen among the list here below or among those indicated by the lecturer during the lectures. Those marked with a star (*) are linked with the thematic topic.

 

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS will need to prepare the following three parts:

1) the handbook M. Montanari (ed.), Storia medievale, Rome-Bari, Laterza, 2002 (alternatively, it is possible to use: C. Wickham, Medieval Europe, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2016 - available also in Italian)

2) one book between E. Orlando, Medioevo migratorio: Mobilità, contatti e interazioni in Italia nei secoli V-XV, Bologna, il Mulino, 2022 (available online via the University library system) or Ch. De Hamel, Meetings with remarkable manuscripts, London, Penguin, 2018, chapters 1-3, 5, 8 and one of free choice (volume available also in Italian)

3) one book chosen among the list here below

 

List of books (since some are quite short, they have a supplement)

- G. Albertoni, L'elefante di Carlo Magno. Il desiderio di un imperatore, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2020 (available online via the University library system)

- E. Bozoky, Attila e gli Unni: Verità e leggende, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016 (available also in French)

- P. Brown, La formazione dell'Europa cristiana: Universalismo e diversità, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006, introduzione e capitoli 9-11, 14-16, 20 (available also in English: The Rise of Western Christendom) * 

- F.X. Fauvelle, Il rinoceronte d'oro, Torino, Einaudi, 2017 (available online via the University library system; volume available also in English and France)

- H. Houbert, I normanni, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015 *

- A. Luongo, La Peste Nera: Contagio, crisi e nuovi equilibri nell'Italia del Trecento, Roma, Carocci, 2022

- G.G. Merlo, Eretici ed eresie medievali, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2011 + G.G. Merlo, Streghe, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2006 (available online via the University library system)

- N. Prince, Vichinghi: Ritratto di un popolo tra storia e mitologia, Milano, Mondadori, 2022, pp. 224-483 (available in English as: The Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings) *

- L. Pubblici, La Rus' di Kiev: un crocevia fra Europa e Asia nel Medioevo, Roma, Carocci, 2025 *

- R. Simek, I vichinghi, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2020 + Saga di Ragnarr, a cura di M. Meli, Milano, Iperborea, 1993 *

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures + PowerPoint slides

During the lectures some source will be read and commented and key trends in the scholarship will be discussed, providing students with bibliographical references useful for further investigations.

Assessment methods

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

For attending students: Oral exam on the three types of materials of the module: the essays and sources discussed during the lectures, the book selected from the proposed bibliography, the chapters of the handbook. During the module, the lecturer will provide clear examples of the type of question of the exam.

For non-attending students, the oral exam will focus on the main themes of the medieval period (i.e. the handbook) and the two books selected from the proposed bibliography.

By asking in advance, the exam can be done also in English.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the sources and the secondary literature in the exam bibliography and their ability to find and use information and examples to explain and connect the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the topics;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the topics and the ability to use it effectively.

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 course and is able to summarise them satisfactorily, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

Minimal and correct knowledge of the contents of the module, yet with lack of significant details and deficiencies in the use of the appropriate terminology will lead to barely sufficient marks.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he/she displays significant errors in his/her understanding and fails to present the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Exam sessions are at least seven along the academic year and will be scheduled for the following months: September, October, January, February, March, June, and July. The exact dates will be announced gradually (link).

Teaching tools

Usually lectures will be supported by a PowerPoint.

For what is possible, the materials (sources, essays, and PowerPoint) will be accessible on virtuale.unibo.it

 

Students with specific learning disorders (SLD) and\or temporary or permanent disabilities are asked to contact the office responsible (link) 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 Pietro Delcorno