http://www.web.pdx.edu/~ott/hst355remote/index.html

John S. Ott
Department of History
Portland State University
Spring 2021

HST 355U: Late Medieval Europe, 1100-1450
Remote, Asynchronous Course offered via D2L

How to connect with instructor:

Zoom in to optional weekly check ins (time TBD). Links will be sent out to class weekly.

Zoom in to virtual Office Hours (time TBD). Links will be sent out to class weekly

E-mail: ott@pdx.edu

Phone (less effective than e-mail): 503.725.3013

NOTE: I am happy to set up individual meetings with students using Zoom. E-mail me any time for an appointment

How instructor will connect with you:

Via regular announcements and videos on D2L course page – please check regularly

I will also make regular use of the course Google-group e-mail. Make sure that if you do not regularly use your Odin e-mail that you set up a “forward mail” from your pdx.edu account to your preferred e-mail account.

Through Zoom-ins mentioned above!

Where to find course materials and readings:

Readings are found via Course Reserves at the library; some are also online. See syllabus for details. Textbooks may be purchased at the PSU Bookstore or elsewhere.

Weekly overviews of readings and course objectives, as well as course materials (syllabus, videos, weekly discussions) are available through D2L course shell

Textbooks may be purchased via the PSU Bookstore or elsewhere online (see below)

Senior auditors (must be registered through SALC):

Auditors are welcome to follow along in the course

Instructor will not accept/grade auditor work or assignments

An ‘Auditor Only’ discussion board has been prepared in the D2L shell – you are welcome to use that for your discussions of the readings, and to follow discussions on class shared discussion board

Course overview

This course surveys the cultural, political, social, intellectual, and religious development of continental Europe between 1100 and approximately 1450, a period that encompasses the high and late Middle Ages. We will survey the expansion and transformation of Europe, with special analysis given to the medieval Church and Christian religiosity on one hand, and, on the other, the impact on Christian Europe as its physical and intellectual boundaries were expanded and reconfigured by the rediscovery of classical tradition and through encounters with the peoples and cultures beyond its borders. We will also consider the transformation of government and the emergence of the state, the changing status and place of women and the lower social orders of Europe, the impact of ecological disaster on European mentalities, and other topics. This course is not a simple political/military history of the Middle Ages, and gives little to no attention to the Italian Renaissance, as that subject is covered in HST 356U: Renaissance and Reformation Europe, 1400-1600.

Course objectives

To gain a reasonably broad and deep content knowledge of late medieval history;

To develop and cultivate proficiency at reading primary sources critically and historically;

To develop source analysis and writing skills through reading responses and analytical essays based on course content;

To appreciate the cultural and religious alterity of the medieval world, and to understand its ideas and beliefs on its own terms;

To enhance written communication skills through weekly group discussion of the sources via D2L.

Course evaluation

Student evaluation will be structured around on-line discussion of and response to pre-circulated reading questions and written assignments. As the structure and success of the class depend on individual preparation and participation in online group discussion, each individual’s contribution to the class dynamic will be weighted in the assessment of grades. Guidelines for all assignments will be posted on-line (accessible via both D2L and the online course syllabus) in advance of deadlines. Student performance will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Participation in online class discussion – 250 points (25%), or 25 points X 10 weeks. Points are assigned based on student participation in online discussions, and on degree to which the posts conform to course standards (refer to D2L page and online syllabus). Point distribution will be as follows:

Your individual, weekly response to readings. Your post may start a new thread OR respond in detail to an existing thread (10 points)

Respond to at least one other post by a group member (5 points)

Put up group post to Class discussion board. Posts will be put up on a rotating basis by individual group members – all group members receive points based on quality of group post (5 points)

Individual response to one other group post (5 points) by following Wednesday

Map quiz – 100 points (10%). Taken at home (honor system!) and posted no later than Sunday, April 18, by 11:59. Map template will be circulated in advance to course e-mail list. Using a blank template, you will take the quiz without notes and submit it to D2L or e-mail it to me. You can either scan it and send as an attachment or send a digital photo. Guidelines for Quiz

Three (or 4) Primary-Source response papers (3-4 pp. each) – 450 points total (150 points each) (45%). Due via Assignment Response Dropbox on D2L. Students are required to submit three response papers, but you may do a fourth for extra credit. They may be submitted any time between the following dates (all dates/times are inclusive): Guidelines for response papers.

Response paper #1 – due between April 4 and April 25 at 11:59 PM

Response paper #2 – due between April 11 and May 9 at 11:59 PM

Response paper #3 – due between May 2 and May 23 at 11:59 PM

Response paper #4 – due between May 9 and June 6 at 11:59 PM

At-home final exam (open note) – 200 points (20%). Due by Wed., June 9, at 11:59. See online course syllabus for guidelines (to be posted later in term).

Plagiarism policy

Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is an intolerable infraction in any setting where ideas are exchanged and discussed, and constitutes a violation of PSU’s Honor Code. Papers that can be shown to have been plagiarized will automatically receive a grade of “0”. Students will be required to resubmit their papers, and will be deducted in their grade an amount appropriate to the late paper policy given in the assignment guidelines. Repeated or particularly egregious offenses may be the cause for additional action. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, you may test yourself at this web site maintained by Indiana University. Work completed for other classes may not be submitted for HST 355 and is considered by PSU a breach of academic honesty. Remember, ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism is no excuse for doing it!

Accessibility notice

If you have, or think you may have, a disability that may affect your work in this class and feel you need accommodations, contact the Disability Resource Center to schedule an appointment and initiate a conversation about reasonable accommodations (https://www.pdx.edu/drc). Students who require additional consideration for the timely completion of any of the course requirements due to accessibility needs should speak to the instructor at the beginning of the term, and must be registered with PSU’s Disability Resource Center.

Title IX statement

Federal, state, and PSU policies require faculty members to mandatorily report any instances of sexual harassment, sexual violence and/or other forms of prohibited discrimination. PSU faculty are required by law to file a report if they have reasonable cause to believe that a child with whom they come into contact has suffered abuse, or that any person with whom they come into contact has abused a child. These reports are not confidential. Campus resources where reports may be made confidentially may be found by following this link.

Use of E-mail with instructor

E-mail can be a superb tool by which students communicate with the instructor with questions about the course material, the content, and the assignments. But please bear in mind the following:

I consider 48-72 hours to be a reasonable period in which to respond to inquiries. I am usually much faster than this, but not always.

I will not, in general, respond to student e-mails received after 5:00 p.m. until the following day(s), nor will I generally respond to student e-mail sent after 5:00 on Friday until Monday morning. Please plan accordingly.

Please remember to identify yourself and state your query as clearly as possible.

Texts and materials

The following texts are required, and are available for purchase at the PSU Bookstore as well as online through booksellers.

Guibert of Nogent, Monodies and On the Relics of Saints. The Autobiography and a Manifesto of a French Monk from the Times of the Crusades, trans. Joseph McAlhany and Jay Rubenstein (Penguin, 2011)

William C. Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages (Penguin, 2001)

Also, please note that several of our readings this quarter are available online or through Course reserves through Millar Library, and may be downloaded to computers or other devices.

Lectures

While is HST 355U is a ‘lecture’ course, the remote format necessitates some amendments to the typical in-class lecture. The instructor will record brief (< 20 minutes) mini-lectures to supplement the weekly readings and provide historical context. Students should read the assigned pages in Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, for further background.

Syllabus
**Note: A typical course “week” will run from Monday to Sunday (ending at Midnight), with a final discussion response due on the following Wednesday (by Midnight).

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Week I (March 29 – April 4). Introduction to HST 355: The Eleventh-Century Crucible

    Do this week:

Read through (1) course syllabus; (2) online learning compact

Watch introductory (1) welcome video and (2) opening lecture video: “Mobility, anxiety, and the reform of Christian society: the eleventh century”

    Post:

Introduce yourself on class discussion board, and post using D2L question prompts

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 5-19, 85-99 (background)

“The Dictatus papae (1075)”; “Admonition to Henry (1075)”; “Response to Gregory’s Admonition (1076)”; “Account of Canossa by Lampert of Hersfeld (ca. 1077),” all in Maureen C. Miller, ed., Power and the Holy in the Age of the Investiture Conflict. A Brief History with Documents (Boston, 2005), pp. 81-100 (find in Course reserves)

    Objectives:

Familiarize yourself with course layout, organization, and expectations

Know where to locate course assignment guidelines, readings, and discussions online

Be sure you understand new or unfamiliar terms from the reading (e.g., serf, fief,…) and key figures like Henry IV of Germany and Pope Gregory VII

Identify and explain the principal ideological differences between papal (religious) and secular (royal or imperial) conceptions of authority and rule

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Week II (April 5 – April 11). Self, society, and history in medieval France

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 113-124 (to bottom of page);

Guibert of Nogent, Monodies, Book I, chaps. 1-7, 12-19 (= pp. 3-21, 30-67);

Guibert of Nogent, Monodies, Book II, chaps. 1-4 (= pp. 83-97), and Book III, chaps. 1-6 (pp. 107-125)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #1 (on Guibert of Nogent and his writings)

    Watch:

Instructor lecture/video: The medieval outlook: learning, intellect, and the uses of the past in twelth-century Europe

    Discuss:

Post to the Week II question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by April 11 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by April 14 at 11:59 PM

    Get/print:

Map quiz template is available on D2L and will be sent to class G-mail list – for you to practice on!

    Objectives:

See D2L weekly modules for course objectives for Weeks II-X

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Week III (April 12 – April 18). Urbanization and unrest / belief, wonder, and science

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 124-126 (on medical knowledge), pp. 181-193 (chap. 12);

Guibert of Nogent, Monodies, Book III, chs. 7-14 (pp. 125-164, on disaster at Laon);

Lorraine Daston and Katharine Park, Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750 (New York, 1998), pp. 21-39 (Course reserves);

Guibert of Nogent, Monodies, Book I, chs. 24-26 (pp. 75-82), AND On Saints and their Relics, Book I, pp. 193-206 (to bottom of page);

Hildegard of Bingen, Holistic Healing / Causes and cures, trans. M. Pawlik, et al. (Collegeville, Minn., 1994), pp. 66-69 (Course reserves)

    Watch:

Instructor lecture/video: Urban transformation and European expansion: wonders, miracles, and the order of nature

    Discuss:

Post to the Week III question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by April 18 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by April 21 at 11:59 PM

    Submit:

Take (at home, honor system) the Map Quiz and submit via D2L

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Week IV (April 19 – April 25) The First Crusade (1095-1101) and the Byzantino-Islamic Mediterranean

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 100-112, 169-176;

The Deeds of the Franks and Other Jerusalem-Bound Pilgrims: The Earliest Chronicle of the First Crusade, trans. Nirmal Dass (Lanhan, 2011), pp. 100-108 (“Arrival at Jerusalem”) (Course reserves);

Robert the Monk, Historia Iherosolimitana (History of the First Crusade), trans. Carol Sweetenham (Ashgate, 2005), pp. 75-84, 196-203 (Course reserves);

Anna Komnena, The Alexiad, trans. E. R. A. Sewter (London, 1969), pp. 326-331 (Course reserves);

Usama Ibn Munqidh, The Book of Contemplation. Islam and the Crusades, trans. Paul Cobb (London, 2008), pp. 43-44, 76-81, 141-155 (Course reserves)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #2 (on the Crusade texts, Anna Komnena, and Usamah ibn Munqidh)

    Watch:

Instructor lecture/video on the Crusades and the Eastern Mediterranean World

    Discuss:

Post to the Week IV question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by April 25 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by April 28 at 11:59 PM

    Submit:

You must submit Response Paper #1 on D2L by April 25 at Midnight

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Week V (April 26 – May 2). Jews and Judaism / The Transformation of Religious Piety

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 106-107 (on Jewish life; re-read), 201-203 (on Franciscans);

Documents on the Jewish Martyrs of Blois (1171): (1) Ephraim ben Jacob of Bonn, Book of Historical Records (Sefer Zekhirah), trans. J. Marcus, and (2) Robert of Torigny, Chronicle, trans. J. S. Ott (Course reserves);

Poem on the martyrs of Blois (1171), trans. Susan Einbeinder, in Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology, ed. Thomas Head (New York, 2001), pp. 547-551, 556-558 (Course reserves);

“The Host and Libels against the Jews (1303),” in Medieval Popular Religion, 1000-1500, ed. J. Shinners (Peterborough, 1997), pp. 105-108 (Course reserves);

Thomas of Celano, “The Faith of St. Francis of Assisi,” in Medieval Popular Religion, 1000-1500, ed. J. Shinners (Peterborough, 1997), pp. 40-55 (Course reserves);

The Rule of the Franciscan Order (On-line)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #3 (parts 1-2) (on Jews, Judaism, and medieval antisemitism and Francis of Assisi)

    Watch:

Instructor lecture/videos on medieval Judaism and the cultural effects of medieval urbanization

    Discuss:

Post to the Week V question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by May 2 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by May 5 at 11:59 PM

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Week VI (May 3 – May 9). Inquisition and pursuit of heretics

    Read:

Guibert of Nogent, Monodies, Book III, chs. 16-17 (pp. 166-171);

Bernard Gui, Manual of the Inquisition of Heretical Depravity (trans. Janet Shirley as The Inquisitor’s Guide: A Medieval Manual on Heretics [Welwyn Garden City, UK, 2006]), pp. 77-88, 149-155 (Course reserves);

Thomas Aquinas, On Politics and Ethics, trans. P. E. Sigmund (New York, 1988), pp. 61-63 (excerpts concerning heresy and unbelief) (Course reserves)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #3 (part 3) (on heresy and the medieval Inquisition)

    Watch:

Instructor lecture/video on the medieval Inquisition

    Discuss:

Post to the Week VI question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by May 9 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by May 12 at 11:59 PM

    Submit:

You must submit Response Paper #2 by May 9 at Midnight

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Week VII (May 10 – May 16). Late Medieval Monarchies: the Papacy and Kingdoms of Europe

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 143-160, 194-212, 226-242;

Jean of Joinville, The Life of Saint Louis, trans. M.R.B. Shaw in Chronicles of the Crusades (London, 1963), pp. 161-179, 191-194, 331-350 (Course reserves);

Decrees of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) (excerpts), ed. Norman P. Tanner in Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, vol. 1 (Georgetown, 1990) (Course reserves), pp. 239-40, 242-245, 251-251, 267 (= canons 9-11, 13-21, 34-38, 70-71);

Collected letters on marriage by Pope Innocent III (from 1203-1204) (On-line)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #4 (on Louis IX of France and the late medieval papacy)

    Watch:

Instructor video/lecture on later medieval law, papacy, and monarchy

    Discuss:

Post to the Week VII question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by May 16 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by May 19 at 11:59 PM

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Week VIII (May 17 – May 23). A Distant Mirror: Pandemic and Institutional Decline

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 213-225, 289-301;

William of Ockham, A Short Discourse on the Tyrannical Government, ed. and trans. A. S. McGrade (Cambridge, Eng., 1992), pp. 3-16 (Course reserves);

Bartolus of Sassoferrato, On the Tyrant (= "Treatise on City Government, c. 1330") (On-line);

Gabriele de’ Mussis, Historia de Morbo, trans. in Rosemary Horrox, The Black Death (Manchester, 1994), 14-26 (Course reserves);

Gilles le Muisit, “Pious Responses to the Black Death in Tournai,” ed. J.-J. de Smet, in Medieval Popular Religion, 1000-1500, ed. J. Shinners (Peterborough, 1997), pp. 418-437 (Course reserves)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #5 (on later medieval political philosophy and plague)

    Watch:

Instructor video/lecture on later medieval philosophy and pandemic

    Discuss:

Post to the Week VIII question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by May 23 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by May 26 at 11:59 PM

    Submit:

You must submit Response paper #3 on D2L by May 23 at Midnight

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Week IX (May 24 – May 30). Chivalry, War, and Peasant Unrest

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 302-313;

Jean Froissart, Chronicles, ed. and trans. Geoffrey Brereton (Harmondsworth, 1968), pp. 138-50, 280-84, 373-81 (Course reserves);

Christine de Pizan, “The Lamentation on the Evils that have Befallen France” and “The Letter on the Prison of Human Life”, both in The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan, trans. R. Blumenfeld-Kosinski and K. Brownlee (New York, 1997), pp. 224-229, 248-252 (Course reserves);

‘The Ordinance of Labourers, 18 June 1349” and “An episcopal response to the Ordinance,” both in Rosemary Horrox, trans., The Black Death (as above, Week VIII), pp. 287-91 (Course reserves);

Jean Froissart, Chronicles, trans. Brereton (as above), pp. 151-55, 211-29 (Course reserves)

    Optional reading:

Paul Freedman, Images of the Medieval Peasant (Stanford, Calif., 1999), pp. 15-39 (chap. 1) (Course reserves)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #6 (Froissart and Peasants) | Reading Guide #7 (on Christine da Pizan)

    Watch:

Instructor video/lecture on warfare and peasant life

    Discuss:

Post to the Week IX question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by May 30 at 11:59 PM

Respond to at least one other group’s post by June 2 at 11:59 PM

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Week X (May 31 – June 6). The Passionate Intensity of the Later Medieval World

    Read:

[Textbook] Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages, pp. 314-325;

The Book of Margery Kempe, trans. B. A. Windeatt (London, 1985), pp. 33-76, 83-84, 122-127 (Course reserves);

Johan Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, trans. R. J. Payton and U. Mammitzsch (Chicago, 1996), pp. 1-29 (chap. 1), “The Passionate Intensity of Life” (Course reserves)

    Consult:

Reading Guide #7 (on Margery Kempe)

    Watch:

Instructor lecture/video on later medieval women’s life and spirituality

    Discuss:

Post to the Week X question prompts in your designated group discussion board, and (2) respond to at least one other post by a fellow group member. You may also choose to respond to two posts.

Choose a group member to (1) synthesize your individual posts into a brief narrative (250-500 words) and (2) post to Group Discussion area by June 6 at 11:59 PM

For extra credit (+10) you may respond to at least one other group’s post by June 9 at 11:59 PM

    Submit:

You must submit Response paper #4 on D2L by June 6 at midnight

***FINAL AT HOME EXAM IS DUE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, AT MIDNIGHT***