History 126
The Early Middle Ages
Tuesday
& Thursday,
Rutherford
B. Hayes Hall 109 Office: Seitz House, Room 11
Fall 2005 Office
Phone: x5322
Email:
larsonp@kenyon.edu
Office
Hours: TR 10-11:30 a.m., 1-2 p.m.
Webpage: &
by appointment
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/History/larson/welcome.htm
Course Description and Objectives
This course will survey the history
of the early Middle Ages from 300 A.D. to 1000 A.D., primarily covering western
Europe but with attention paid to events in eastern Europe and the
As with any basic survey, there necessarily
must be a strong emphasis on the basic political history of the period: major events,
dates, and personages, as well as on relevant geography. While this will form the core of the course, we
will also examine other aspects of history, including religion, art,
architecture, and social and cultural trends, and how these related to
political events and to the development of Latin Christendom. Less prominent groups, such as women,
peasants, and minorities also had their place in history, and due attention
will be paid to the interactions of these groups with dominant groups and how
the balances of power changed over time.
Required Texts
The
following textbooks are required, and may be purchased from the Kenyon College
Bookstore.
The
following book is recommended, and may be purchased from the Kenyon College
Bookstore.
Course Assignments
Assignments and Grading
Conduct in the Course
There is no separate grade for
participation and attendance; I expect you to attend all classes, read the required
readings, and participate actively in discussions, that is, to act
professionally.
Failure to attend and participate will
affect your final grade. You are allowed
three absences; starting with the fourth absence, you will lose 1 point off
your final grade. Only College-excused
absences are acceptable after the third absence; if you miss a class due to
illness, it will only be excused if your name is on the list released by the
Papers
The practice of history requires
good analytical and writing skills. During
this course, you will write two short (4 to 6 pp.) papers on assigned topics
(TBA). These should be double-spaced,
typed, in a normal-sized font. Please
follow either Chicago or MLA style guides; the most student-friendly version of
the
A week or so before each paper is
due, there will be an in-class peer review session. You are required to bring two copies of a
substantial rough draft, which you will trade with other students in the class. I will provide handouts on what to look for
when critiquing each other’s work.
Exams
There will be an in-class midterm
and a 2-hour final exam. Both exams will
consist of a mixture of short IDs, multiple-choice questions, and essays. There will be no separate map segment, but
your geographical knowledge will be tested in the other questions.
Quizzes
Five times during the semester, I
will administer a short (15-20 minute) quiz; the format of the quizzes will
vary, but will most likely be short IDs or multiple-choice. These will be unannounced; missed quizzes may
be made up at my discretion. I will
discard the lowest grade when calculating grades.
Grades
So that there is no confusion about
grades, here are the criteria that I use when assigning letter grades on
assignments, and for your final grade. Note
that I am under no obligation to round up your grade.
92.00 to 100
= A 77.00
to 79.99 = C+
90.00 to
92.00 = A- 73.00 to 76.99 = C
87.00 to
89.99 = B+ 70.00 to 72.99 = C-
83.00 to
86.99 = B 60.00 to 69.99 = D
80.00 to
82.99 = B- 59.99 and below = F
Other Course Policies
Office Hours
You can always find me in my office
during my stated office hours. I
frequently am in my office at other times; if the door is open, feel free to
drop by at this time to discuss anything related to class,
Late Papers & Extensions
There is no penalty if the paper is
turned in by 5pm the day of class. Otherwise,
you have up to one full week to turn it in, with a penalty of one full letter
grade. After that, late papers will not
be accepted. Extensions on deadlines are
at my discretion; you are far more likely to get an extension if you contact me
before the paper is due.
A Note on Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation
(conscious or unconscious) of someone else’s words or ideas as your own. Plagiarism is not limited to published works;
it includes other students’ papers and web sites. You are certainly allowed to quote works by
others (though use of such quotations should be minimal) when proper reference
is given, but under no circumstances should you incorporate someone else’s work
into your own. If you refer to someone
else’s idea, or paraphrase them, even if there is not a direct quote, you must
cite where you found that information; unreferenced paraphrasing is plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a serious offence. If I detect plagiarism, the assignment will
receive a 0 (the same as if you failed to turn in your work) and I shall refer
the case to the Dean. More information
on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism at Kenyon can be found at http://www.kenyon.edu/x11747.xml.
Disability
Statement
If you have specific physical,
psychological, medical, or learning disabilities that require accommodation for
you to carry out the assigned coursework, contact the Office of Disability
Services (ext. 5145) and the Coordinator, Erin Salva (salvae@kenyon.edu), will
review your concerns and help determine what accommodations are
appropriate. I am happy to provide
whatever accommodation is necessary, but you must go through the Office. Everything you tell them is confidential.
Rosenwein’s A Short History is
the basic textbook. This book will
provide some basic background, to be fleshed out by lectures and primary source
readings. The textbook is useful for
studying, for the papers, and in case you miss a class, but it does not replace
the lectures (or vice versa). Some
material on the exam will come solely from the textbook, some solely from
lectures.
Most of your readings will be
primary sources in translation; some are short documents, while others are
portions of entire works. Originally in
Latin (occasionally in an earlier form of English), these are what historians
use to form interpretations of history – and there is much room for
interpretation. You will have to make
your minds up for yourselves.
This is a history course and thus is
reading intensive. I have tried to keep
the readings manageable, but there will be weeks with heavy loads. Keep an eye on upcoming weeks and plan ahead.
Schedule
T 30 Aug. Introduction;
The
I. Late Antiquity
R 1 Sept. Imperial
Crises; Christianity, Constantine, and the Christian Empire
Rosenwein: 19-30
Eusebius, On the Conversion
of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/conv-const.html
Notitia Dignitatum (skim briefly – just
get a sense of the document)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/notitiadignitatum.html
T 6 Sept. The
Early Medieval Church: Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Canons from
the Council of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/nicea1-sel.html
R 8 Sept. Culture
and Society in Late Antiquity: The Greco-Roman Inheritance
Rosenwein:
30-39
Geary:
Theodosian Code; Augustine, City of
Jerome, on
Classical Learning
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/jerome1.html
T 13 Sept. Fall
of the
Rosenwein: 39-48 [stop at “now based largely on land.”]
Geary: Tacitus,
R 15 Sept. TBA
T 20 Sept. Fall
of the
Rosenwein:
Gregory
of
Sidonius
Apollinaris, A Civilized Barbarian and a
Barbarous Roman
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/sidonius2.html
II. Heirs of the Roman Empire – early Medieval
Europe and the Mediterranean
R 22 Sept. Monasticism
Rosenwein:
48-49
Geary: St. Benedict, Rule for Monasteries
Gregory
of
T 27 Sept.
Rosenwein: 75-81
Geary:
Letters to
Gregory
of
R 29 Sept. Germanic
Society and Culture
Rosenwein: 75-78
Geary:
Tomb of Childeric; Hildebrandlied; Salic Law
Gregory
of
T 4 Oct.
Rosenwein: 81-82
Geary: Laws
of Ethelbert; Theodore, Penitential
Bede:
65-97, 116-149
R 6 Oct. The
Rosenwein: 49-54
Procopius, On the Wars,
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/procop-wars1.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/procop-factions.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/550byzsilk.html
De Aedificiis, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/procop-deaed1.html
Justinian, Corpus Iuris http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/corpus1.html
T 11 Oct. Reading
Day – No Class
R 13 Oct. Midterm Exam
III. A New Direction for
T 18 Oct. Heraclius;
Birth of Islam
Rosenwein: 59-64, 66-75
Gregory
of
Pact of Umar
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jews-umar.html
R 20 Oct. The Anglo-Saxon Golden Age & the Conversion of
Rosenwein: 82 (bottom of page) -87
Bede:
256-330; skim entire book
T 25 Oct. Rise
of the Carolingians; Charlemagne
Rosenwein:
111-114
Charlemagne’s
Courtier : 1-39.
Three
Accounts of the
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/732tours.html
The Donation
of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/donatconst.html
R 27 Oct. The
Carolingian Renaissance
Rosenwein:
119-129
T 1 Nov. Iconoclasm
Rosenwein:
65-66
John of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/johndam-icons.html
Iconoclastic
Council, 754 (read up to Excursus)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/icono-cncl754.html
R 3 Nov. Discussion
and Peer Review Session
T 8 Nov. Carolingian
Society
Geary:
Capitularies
Charlemagne’s
Courtier: 63-168.
R 10 Nov. Charlemagne’s
heirs and the creation of
Rosenwein:
115-119
Paper 1 Due
IV.
A Dark Age? The Vikings
T 15 Nov. The
Vikings as Raiders and Traders
Rosenwein:
143-146
Geary: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Annals of
Xanten
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/xanten1.html
Annals of
St. Bertin
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/843bertin.html
R 17 Nov. The
Vikings as Settlers and Kings
Rosenwein:
136-138,
T 22 Nov. - R
24 Nov. Thanksgiving Break
T 29th Nov.
Rosenwein:
147-151, 156-162
Richer, Election
of Hugh Capet
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/987capet.html
R 1 Dec. Discussion
and Peer Review Session
T 6 Dec. Alfred
the Great and the Unification of
Rosenwein:
152-156
Geary: Asser’s
Life of Alfred the Great; King Alfred, Dooms
R 8 Dec.
Rosenwein:
95-110, 131-136
Liudprand of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/liudprand-embassy-excerpts.html
Paper 2 due
T 13 Dec. Europe
on the eve of Y1K
T 20 Dec. Final Exam, 1:30pm