HISTORY 3346: THE AGE OF CHIVALRY

Section 001; CRN 49410
Spring 2017: MWF11:00-11:15
Holden Hall 111

TEACHER
John Howe, Professor of History, Co-Director, Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center
Office
: 143 Holden Hall,    
Office Hours:  MW 9:30-10:30;  Tu 9:00-11:00am; and by appointment
Telephone: 834-7544                    E-mail: john.howe@ttu.edu                    Web: http://myweb.ttu.edu/jhowe                    FAX:  806 42-1060                                                                                      
                                                             

PURPOSES OF THE COURSE
            To acquire a general knowledge of medieval Western European civilization from ca. 1000 to ca. 1400.  To examine in detail medieval Western Europe's martially oriented aristocratic culture, its effects on almost all aspects of society, and its changes made under the influence of social and technological developments.  To gain self-knowledge by recognizing vestiges of chivalry remaining today.

 Expected Learning Outcomes
               
“Students graduating from Texas Tech University should be able to think critically and demonstrate an understanding of the possibility of multiple interpretations, cultural contexts, and values.”
Upon successful completion History 3346 students will be able to:
                    1.  Describe major events and individuals associated with the high medieval Latin West;
                    2.  Discuss the documentary foundation that underlies this historical narrative;
                    3.  Appreciate in more detail how the development of the high medieval Latin West relates to basic themes and developments of “Western Civilization”;
                    4.  Appreciate human behaviors and ideas in greater depth by studying chivalry and nobility as manifested in epic and romance literature and in social institutions; and
                    5.  Achieve greater proficiency in the following genres of historical writing:  essay examination and short research paper.

 Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes
            The Expected Learning Outcomes of the course will be assessed through examinations, a term paper, class discussions, and miscellaneous classroom assessment activities that may include non-graded quizzes, reaction papers, polling the class, and other techniques.

 
COURSE REQUIREMENTS 

Required Texts
                   
Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval: The Story of the Grail. Trans. by Ruth Cline.  Athens, GAUniversity of Georgia Press, 1985.
                    Maurice Keen, ChivalryNew Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
                    Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages.  Fourth edition. Toronto:  University of Toronto Press, 2014.
                    Song of Roland.  Trans. by Glyn Burgess.  New York:  Penguin, 1990.
            Documents taken from the Web are also required. You can "click" to these directly when you access this syllabus via the internet. Print out texts a few days in advance to avoid last minute server or network problems.

Required Reading
            Reading assignments for each class are given in the “Reading and Lecture Schedule.”  Each assignment is the subject of the class listed just below and to the left.  Read so that you are prepared to explain, praise, criticize, and question.  Readings are manageable if read on schedule, overwhelming if neglected. 

Class Attendance
            Attend class.  In the classroom difficult reading assignments are interpreted, additional subject matter is introduced, and visual materials are displayed.  Part of the course grade is based on class participation, and you cannot participate when absent.  If you cannot attend at least 80% of the classes, then you should not be enrolled.

 Examinations
            Midterm tests are scheduled for Wednesday, February 22; and Friday, March 31.  Each will include multiple choice questions, identifications, and a single essay (to be selected from two or more choices), and perhaps map work.   If, for good reason, a test is missed, a make-up test may be taken in HH40 at 3:30-430 pm on Monday, May 8.  Students receiving a grade below "C" on a midterm are expected to discuss that examination with the teacher (not doing so affects the class participation grade).
            The final examination on Monday May 15 at 1:30 - 4:00 pm will feature multiple-choice, identification questions, and perhaps map work on the material covered since the second midterm, and also several essay questions covering the material of the entire course.  Bring blue books for the final.          

Term Paper
           
Each student will write a 10-12 page, double-spaced, typed paper about a medieval person, analyzing whether or not he or she was "chivalrous.” A list of possible candidates will be provided.  Each paper should use at least two primary and four secondary sources.  For aid in locating sources, see the internet help page.  The paper should also demonstrate knowledge of relevant points in the required readings.  Subjects must be chosen by Wednesday, February 22. The papers are due on Wednesday, April 12.  Late papers will be penalized one letter grade, and no first draft papers will be accepted after Wednesday, April 19.  Papers received by the due date will be returned with corrections by April 19.  Students may keep the grade earned or rewrite the paper for a higher grade, but no rewritten papers will be accepted after 5:00pm on Wednesday, May 17.

 GRADING
         
The course grade will be computed as follows:  30% from the midterm tests (that is, 15% from each); 25% from the paper; 10% from class participation; and 35% from the final.
            The class participation grade is determined in this way.  At the end of the semester, students are divided into three groups on the basis of attendance, class preparation, and class contributions:  1) individuals who were outstanding; 2) individuals who were generally average; and 3) individuals who were well below average.  In computing the course grade, the first group gets the class participation component credited as an ‘A’; the second group has these points dropped out (so they neither help nor hurt); and the third group has them credited as an ‘F’. 
 

OFFICIAL NOTICES

            Necessary Accommodations
:  Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible so that necessary accommodations can be made.   

            Observance of a Religious Holy Day:
Texas House Bill 256 requires institutions of higher education to excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day. The student shall also be excused for time necessary to travel. An institution may not penalize the student for the absence and allows for the student to take an exam or complete an assignment from which the student is excused. No prior notification of the instructor is required.

            Plagiarism"It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and a high standard of integrity.  The attempt of students to present as their own any work that they have not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension"  (Texas Tech University Catalog).Academic integrity violations are outlined in the Code of Student Conduct, Part X. B3 of the Student Handbook.  Because we live in an imperfect world, it is necessary to undergird ideals with enforcement mechanisms: be aware that Texas Tech mandates specific disciplinary outcomes for academic integrity violations. See TTU Student Judicial Programs.   
 

 

READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE                               

F  Jan 20       Introduction

Rosenwein xv, 1-5, 24, 94, 101; Eurasia; Map of the divided Carolingian Empire; Europe 900 

M  Jan 23     Geography

Rosenwein 127-30; Annals of the Abbey of Xanten; “Wolves”, Viking  Ship

 [Tu Jan 24    Last day for student-initiated Drop/Add]

W  Jan 25     The Last Invaders of the West

Rosenwein 131-35; Encastellation ; Motte and Bailley Castles

F  Jan 27      Europe Recovers

Rosenwein 135-51;  Germany in mid 10th cent ;  Italy in Early Eleventh Century 

M  Jan 30    New-Style Kingships

Rosenwein 153-64

W   Feb 1    A Wider World

Rosenwein 164-6; Truce of God;  Howe, "Nobility's Reform of the Medieval Church,"American Historical Review, 93(2) (1988): 317-339 [access through JSTOR]

F   Feb 3     Religious Reform

Rosenwein 166-70; Henry IV to Gregory VIIGregory VII to Henry IV 

 [F  Feb 3    Last day to drop without penalty; last day to drop and receive a refund]

M  Feb 6    Empire and Papacy

Rosenwein 170-178 ; Ekkehard ; Fulk

W  Feb 8    The Expansion of Europe

Rosenwein  178-81; Richer ; Guibert

F  Feb 10    New Schools

Keen  ix-x, 1-23

M   Feb 13   The Problem of Chivalry

Keen  23-43

W  Feb 15   Secular Origins of Chivalry

[W Feb 15   Last Day to Withdraw from the University with a Partial Refund]

Keen  44-82

F  Feb 17   Chivalry and the Church

Keen  83-101

M  Feb 20   The Rise of the Tournament

 Study; choose the subject of your term paper

W  Feb 22   Midterm No. 1

 Roland 7-49; Rosenwein 182-93; Life in a Medieval Castle ; Romanesque Architecture

F  Feb 24    Romanesque Architecture

Roland 51-104

M  Feb 27   Epic Literature

Roland 104-44

W  Mar 1    Epic Themes / Discussion

Roland 144-203

F  Mar 3     Discussion of Roland

Keen  102-42

M  Mar 6    Chivalric Learning

Rosenwein 197-208;  Trade ; Exchequer ; Magna Carta

W  Mar 8    The Birth of the State in Western Europe: England, Spain, France

Rosenwein 208-13; Guilds & Taxes ; Florence's Treaty with San Gimignano

F  Mar 10     Empire and City States

Rosenwein 213-18;  Perceval ix-xxix

[Mar 11-19 Spring Vacation]

M  Mar 20  Romances

Perceval 2-20

W Mar 22   Perceval Meets Chivalry

Perceval 21-81

F  Mar 24   Perceval Becomes a Knight

Perceval 82-167

M  Mar 27 The Grail Quest

Perceval 168-244

W  Mar 29 The Arthurian Cycle

[Th  Mar 30 Last day for student-initiated drop (with penalty); last day to declare pass/fail intentions]

Study

F Mar 31   Midterm #2 

Rosenwein 218-28; Amiens

M Apr 3    The Gothic Style

Rosenwein 228-39;  Innocent III Biography  ; Innocent III

W  Apr 5   Roman Leadership in the Church

Francis:  The Authoritative Life

F  Apr 7     Mendicants and Universities  

 Rosenwein 241-52

[Th  April 6- Tu Apr 25   Summer/fall advance registration for currently enrolled students]     

 M  Apr 10 Future Shock  

Rosenwein 252-58; finish the semester paper    

W  Apr 12  Stronger Monarchies 

Rosenwein 258-66; Tips on Reading AquinasSumma Theologiae         

F  Apr 14   The Scholastic Synthesis and Its Fraying

 [M  Apr 17   Easter Holiday:  Day of No Classes]

Rosenwein 267-75; Butcher of Abbeville ; Chaucer's Wife of Bath

W  Apr 19 Later Medieval Lay Literature

Everyman

F  Apr 21   Later Medieval Drama

 Rosenwein 276-301; James Masschaele, "The Renaissance Depression Debate:  The View from England," History Teacher 27 (1994): 405-16 [from JSTOR]

M Apr 24  Plague, Violence, Economic Depression

Rosenwein 302-04

W  Apr 26 The Church in Crisis

 [W Apr 26 Open registration begins]

Rosenwein 304-13

F  Apr 28  Renaissance?  

Keen 143-78

M  May 1  Nobility in the Later Middle Ages

Keen 179-99 

W  May 3   Secular Orders of Chivalry 

 [Th May 4 Last Day to withdraw from the university]

Keen 200-218; Jacques de Lalaing

F May 5      Late Medieval Chivalry

Keen 219-53

M  May 8    Chivalry and Ourselves

[M  May 8   Make-Up Test in HH 40 at 3:30-4:30 pm]

[W May 10   Dead Day]          

Study

M May 15 at 1:30 - 4:00 pm               FINAL EXAMINATION

W May 17 at 8:30am                          Deadline for submitting rewritten papers

May 19-20  Friday Saturday  Graduation