"History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in. I read it a little as a duty; but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilence in every page; the men so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all." [Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, 1803]
This elective will introduce you to some charismatic characters from across medieval Europe, with a view to proving Jane Austen - at least in part - wrong. There will be some quarrelling popes and kings, of course, but there will also be bossy women telling them what to do. Also magic, medicine, art, architecture, and baking.
This will not be a comprehensive survey course that tells you about all of the dates and battles of the Medieval Period! Instead, each week, we will look in depth at a figure who embodies some of the most important ideas in medieval history, and who challenges what we might have thought we knew about the period. As the elective title suggests, the purpose of our conversations will be to go beyond the idea of the 'Dark Ages': we'll discuss our preconceptions of the medieval period, where those ideas have come from, and possibly why some of them need to be discarded.
We'll also introduce you to primary source analysis, how to use secondary sources, and key theoretical approaches.
The course will be structured as follows:
- Class 1 - The Dark Ages
- Class 2 - Charlemagne
- Class 3 - Hildegarde of Bingen
- Class 4 - Frederick II
- Class 5 - Joan of Arc
- Class 6 - The Medievalist's Toolkit
There will be preparatory materials for each class, consisting of some/all of a combination of lectures, primary sources, secondary sources, and short videos.
Your final assessment invites you to step into the shoes of the figures we've met, by writing two letters 'as if' you were them, with a commentary explaining the decisions you made in the content and style of the letters, comparing and contrasting the two characters. You are encouraged to use secondary literature in your commentary.
Content warning: the nature of the subject means that issues around violence, religion, sex and gender will be discussed.
