Learning objectives
- Knowledge of the key events and themes in the history of Medieval Europe (5th – 15th century)
- Understanding of some key concepts and terms of medieval history (fief, heresy, knighthood, etc)
- Development of a critical attitude towards information and documentary sources
- Getting used to consider institutional, social and economic structures, power relations and ideologies not as “natural” elements but as the outcome of transformations which occurred within specific contexts
- Learning precision in the use of language, concepts and categories, as well as understanding of the terminology, of the analytical skills and of the methodology of the discipline
Course unit content
The history of medieval Europe: an outline
The course will provide the basic informations and tools for a critical understanding of the economic structures, of the social dynamics and of the religious and cultural life from the 5th to the 15th century. Special emphasis will be given to the political and institutional aspects and to the forms of organization of the human communities which during the period taken into account contributed to shape the distinctive features of Europe
Bibliography
- A. Cortonesi, Il medioevo. Profilo di un millennio, Roma, Carocci 2008
- B. Ward Perkins, La caduta di Roma e la fine della civiltà, Roma-Bari, Laterza 2005
- M. Modzelewski, L’Europa dei barbari. Le culture tribali di fronte alla cultura romano-cristiana, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri 2008
- P. Geary, Il mito delle nazioni. Le origini medievali dell’Europa, Roma, Carocci 2009
- A. Barbero, Carlo Magno. Un padre dell’Europa, Roma-Bari, Laterza 2000
- J. Flori, Cavalieri e cavalleria nel medioevo, Torino, Einaudi 1999
- G. Duby, La domenica di Bouvines, Torino, Einaudi 2010
