Saga of King Hrolf Kraki

Einhard and Notker the Stammerer, Two Lives of Charlemagne

Assorted online readings

Course Description and Goals:

Late antiquity and the Mediterranean world to 1000 AD. The transformation of Mediterranean civilization from late antiquity to its three heirs: Western Europe, Byzantine and Islamic Civilization. Topics include: late antique Christianity, monasticism, economic and trade structures, Islamic conquests, Carolingian civilization, Medieval archaeology and technology, and the origins of manorialism and feudalism.

This course traces the development of the Medieval world from the late Roman period, through the arrival of the Germanic barbarians of the west and Christianity from the eastern Mediterranean, into the synthesis of Roman-German-Christian cultures that arises during the Dark Ages and in the Carolingian empire. It will also trace the rise of the Byzantine civilization out of the Greco-Roman east, and the rise and spread of the Arab-Islamic civilization. Special emphasis will be placed the development of the Latin Catholic Church in the west, both as an institution and as a culture, as well as on the daily lives of all levels of men and women throughout the early medieval world, across a broad spectrum of social and economic classes.

Requirements:

This is primarily a lecture course, although discussion by students is strongly encouraged and at times required. Readings are assigned daily and are to be done BEFORE you come to class. All work is due on the assigned date; NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. Students are required to write a research paper, more detailed instructions on which will be given later, write two short book reports, and two one page prÈcis of a primary source from their sourcebooks. There will also be a final exam of short answer and essay questions.

Attendance / Tardy:

Attendance is mandatory and will be checked daily. You are allowed to miss two classes over the course of the semester. After those two absences, each subsequent absence will result in a loss of FIVE points from your final grade. If you miss more than four classes, you will receive an F for the course. Naturally, there are sometimes extenuating circumstances that will require you to miss a course. Each student must see me personally (or via email) if that is the situation.

Tardiness will not be tolerated. You are allowed to be tardy twice (which is defined as arriving after the class roll has been called); after two, you will lose five points from your final exam grade for each subsequent tardy. More than four tardies will result in an F for the course. If you are late to class, or must leave class early, please be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible.

Final Grade Components:

25% Research Paper (10-12 pages, typed)

25% Final Exam

15% (each) Two Book Reviews (5 pages, typed)ãbooks placed on reserve in library

5% (each) Two PrÈcis of Primary Sources

10% Participation

Grading Scale:

A 93-100 C 73-77

A- 90-92 C- 70-72

B+ 88-89 D+ 68-69

B 83-87 D 63-67

B- 80-82 D- 60-62

C+ 78-79 F 59 and below

Cell Phones:

Please turn off all cell phones or beepers before class begins. If your cell phone rings in class, you will be asked to leave and will miss that dayπs class.

Integrity and Scholarship:

DO NOT CHEAT! If you are caught cheating on a writing assignment, test, the final exam, or a daily quiz, or any other assigned work, you will receive an F for the course. You are held accountable for all university guidelines in regard to plagiarism and cheating.

Plagiarism:

≥Plagiarismãthe use of anotherπs personπs ideas or wording without giving proper creditãresults from the failure to document fully and accurately. Ideas and expressions of them are considered to belong to the individual who first puts them forward. Therefore, when you incorporate ideas or phrasing from any other author in your paper, whether you quote them directly or indirectly, you need to be honest and complete about indicating the source to avoid plagiarism. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism can bring serious consequences, both academic, in the form of failure or expulsion, and legal, in the form of lawsuits. Plagiarism is a violation of the ethics of the academic community.≤ William G. Campbell, Stephen V. Ballou, and Carole Slade, Form and Style: Thesis, Reports, Term Papers, 6^th edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982), p. 52. For more information on plagiarism, and the universityπs policy in regard to it, go to http://www.csus.edu/admbus/unanual/UMA00150.htm.

This syllabus can and may be changed at any time. Fear my power.

Reading and Writing Assignments

Tuesday 29 January Introduction to Course

Thursday 31 January Age of Constantine

Collins, Chapter 2, pp. 16-30

Rosenwein 1:1, 1:2, 1:3

Tuesday 5 February Wars: Frontier and Not-So-Civil

Collins, Chapter 3, pp. 31-46

Thursday 7 February The Huns are Coming! The Huns are Coming!

Collins, Chapter 4, pp. 47-60

Online: Tacitusπs Germania, excerpts

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus-germania-excerp.html

Tuesday 12 February The Incredible Shrinking West

Collins, Chapter 6, pp. 80-99

Thursday 14 February New Kingdoms of the Barbarians

Collins, Chapter 7, pp. 100-111

Online: Jordanes: Theodoric

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/jordanes-theodoric1.html

Paper Topics Due

Tuesday 19 February Divisions in the Christian World and Rise of the Papacy

Collins, Chapter 5, pp. 61-75

Rosenwein 1:5, 1:6, 2:16, 1:8, 3:15

Thursday 21 February Monks and Missionaries

Collins, Chapter 5, pp. 75-79, and Chapter 14, pp. 234-261

Rosenwein 1:9, 1:10, 1:11, 1:12, 1:13

Tuesday 26 February Early Merovingians

Collins, Chapter 7, pp. 111-115

Rosenwein 1:17, 1:15, 1:14

Thursday 28 February Visigoths

Collins, Chapter 10, pp. 153-161

Rosenwein 1:16

Online: Visigoths and the Jews of Spain

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jews-visigothic1.html

Tuesday 4 March Daily Life, Women in the Dark Ages

On Reserve

Rosenwein 3:19

Working Bibliography of Paper Due

Thursday 6 March Late Merovingians

Collins, Chapter 10, pp. 161-172

Rosenwein 2:14, 2:15

Tuesday 11 March Britain: Pagan to Christian

Collins, Chapter 11, pp. 173-195

Rosenwein 2:11, 2:12

Online: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (read 655 AD onward)

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Anglo/part1.html

Thursday 13 March Lombards

Collins, Chapter 12, pp. 196-217

Tuesday 18 March Byzantium to Justinian and the Italian Wars

Collins, Chapter 8, pp. 116-134, Chapter 13, pp. 223-233

Rosenwein 2:3, 2:4,

Online: The Nika Revolt

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/procop-wars1.html

Thursday 20 March Islam

Collins, Chapter 9, pp. 143-152

Rosenwein 2:7, 2:8, 3:7

Tuesday 25 March Islamic Expansion

Collins, Chapter 13, pp. 218-223

Rosenwein 2:9, 3:11

Online: Islamic Conquest of Spain

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/conqspain.html

Thursday 27 March Charles Martel and the Early Carolingians

Collins, Chapter 15, pp. 262-271

Online: Battle of Tours

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/arab-poitiers732.html

Online: Three Accounts of the Battle of Tours

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/732tours.html

Online: Letter to Charles Martel

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g2-martellet.html

Tuesday 1 April Spring Break

Thursday 3 April Spring Break

Tuesday 8 April Pippin the Height Challenged and Charlemagne

Collins, Chapter 15, pp. 271-290

Rosenwein 3:16

Online: Pepin is Made King

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lorsch1.html

Book Report on Einhard and Notker Due

Thursday 10 April Carolingian Empire

Collins, Chapter 16, pp. 290-308

Rosenwein 3:1, 3:18, 3:17

Tuesday 15 April Louis the Pious and the Late Carolingian Collapse

Collins, Chapter 18, pp. 333-349

Online: On the division of the Empire

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/830agobard.html

Thursday 17 April Capetians and Later Empire

Collins, Chapter 18, pp. 349-363

Online: Election of Hugh Capet

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/987capet.html

Tuesday 22 April Manorialism and Feudalism

On Reserve

Online: Fief Ceremonies

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/feud-fief1.html

Thursday 24 April Vikings and Frankland

Collins, Chapter 19, pp. 364-378

Rosenwein 4:18

Online: Going Berserk

http://alexm.here.ru/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/145.html

Online: Vikings Ravage Francia

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/843bertin.html

Book Report on Saga of King Hrolf Kraki due

Tuesday 29 April Later Anglo Saxons

Collins, Chapter 19, pp. 378-389

Rosenwein 4:16, 4:17

Thursday 1 May Ottonians and Expansion into Byzantine East

Collins, Chapter 20, pp. 390-422

Rosenwein 4:13, 4:14

Online: Mission to Constantinople

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/liudprand1.html

Thursday 6 May Class Canceled

Thursday 8 May Class Canceled

Tuesday 13 May Spain

Collins, Chapter 17, pp. 309-332

Rosenwein 3:12, 3:13, 3:14

Paper Due

Thursday 15 May Society and Culture c. 1000

On Reserve

Hollister 3:13, 4:5

Tuesday 20 May Final Exam 12:45 ≠ 2:45 PM

PrÈcis Instructions

--Single-spaced, one FULL page of typed text: no more than two pages total. Make sure that it

is a full page of text.

-- PrÈcis are due ON or BEFORE the day the document is assigned. For instance, if you want to

write a prÈcis on Urban IIπs speech at Clermont, the prÈcis is due on or before

Tuesday, 30 November.

--PrÈcis are to be written on primary sources. DO NOT write a prÈcis on your textbook readings.

Only write prÈcis on your Riley sourcebook or online primary source readings.

--Simple header: your name, title and author of text being summarized

--First paragraph should be a simple and BRIEF summary of what the text actually says,

including identifying the author (if known) and civilization the text is from (even if

you think it is obvious, STATE IT). Make sure you read the introduction to the source

in your Riley book or online.

--Second and third paragraphs (fourth if necessary) should analyze what the text tells us about

the culture it is from.

--Analysis should answer the following questions:

--What genre is the text? Is it law, literature, religious, myth, etc.?

--Who wrote the text and what does the text tell us about him or her personally? Does the

author's personality come through in the text? If it is anonymous, or the author is

unknown, ask yourself if that is deliberate and why.

--Was the text written for a specific purpose? Why?

--What details about the culture can be picked out of the text? What impression of the

culture does the text give you?

--Try to keep your own opinions out of the prÈcis. Write in third person; no first or second

person.

--PROOFREAD! Which means more than just running a spell-check program.