HISTORY 4347/5341 (37890/38050):
HISTORY OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

First Summer Term 2016

MTuWThF at 12:00 -1:50 pm, HH 155

TEACHER
        John Howe Professor of History, Co-Director, Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center, TTU
        Office: 143 Holden Hall, Department of History
        Office Hours (June 7 through July 8): MW 2:00-3:00; TuTh 9:30-10:30; and by appointment
        Telephone: 806 834-7544        E-Mail: john.howe@ttu.edu         Web: http://myweb.ttu.edu/jhowe       Fax:  806 742-1060


PURPOSES OF THE COURSE

        To acquire a general knowledge of the medieval Church from Constantine through the fourteenth century.  To introduce the underlying documentary sources, and to understand how historians analyze them.  To develop increased skill in historical writing. To introduce the problems posed by potential conflicts between aesthetics and substance in both historical writing and film making.
 

Expected Learning Outcomes

       Upon successful completion of this class students will be able to:

1. Describe major events and individuals associated with the medieval Church.

2. Discuss the documentary foundation that underlies this historical narrative.

3. Relate the development of the medieval Church to the development of other major social institutions in the medieval Latin West.

4. Recognize the origins of contemporary debates about ecclesiastical organization and church-state relations.

5. Be more proficient in the following genres of historical writing:  essay examination, book review, and research paper.

 

Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes

        The Expected Learning Outcomes of the course will be assessed through:  examinations, a paper (with its component deadlines), class discussion, and miscellaneous classroom assessment activities that may include quizzes, reaction papers, polling the class, and other techniques.



COURSE REQUIREMENTS
 

Required Texts
        Robert Brentano, Two Churches: England and Italy in the Thirteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
        Peter Brown. Augustine of Hippo: A Biography. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.

        John Howe, Before the Gregorian Reform: The Latin Church at the Turn of the First Millennium. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016.
       Joseph H. Lynch, and Phillip C. Adamo. The Medieval Church: A Brief History. 2nd ed.  New York: Routledge, 2014.
        Also required are some documents available on the Web.Their URLs are electronically linked to the Web version of this syllabus. It is best to print these documents in advance, because computer, server, or network problems can thwart last minute consultations.

Required Reading
       
Specific reading assignments for each class are listedat the end of this syllabus in the READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE, with each set of assignments placed just ahead and to the right of the lecture date by which it should be completed. Each assignment is the subject of the following class. Read so that you arrive prepared to explain, praise, criticize, and question. When read on schedule, the assignments are manageable; when neglected, they quickly become overwhelming.  Summer classes, like all other classes, assume two hours of work outside of class for each hour spent in class--but in these hours can accumulate quickly in summer.

Class Attendance
       
Success in this course requires regular attendance. During class time, difficult reading assignments are interpreted and contextualized, additional subject matter may be introduced, and audio-visual materials may be used. Absences are especially damaging in summer because summer school terms move so rapidly, You should not be enrolled if you cannot attend at least 80% of the classes (that is, do not miss more than four).

Research Paper
        Students will produce a typed, double-spaced, fifteen- to twenty-page research paper (ca. 5000 -7000 words) concerning any aspect of the medieval Church. However, the topic needs to be approved in advance by the instructor in order to confirm its suitability and whether the requisite primary sources will be accessible. The paper must cite at least four primary and six secondary sources (these are minimum numbers, not maximum numbers), which should be listed in a bibliography that features separate sections for "Primary Sources" and "Secondary Sources."  The paper should cite, when appropriate, the required readings of the course.  Many medieval sources are available in translation electronically, and these may be used so long as they are cited properly.
        A tentative research area must be chosen by Monday June 13; a sheet listing your name, proposed topic, a tentative title, a brief research plan, and the name of a scholarly book related to the project must be presented in class on Friday, June 17; a preliminary draft of the paper MUST BE SUBMITTED on Tuesday June 28 (failure to submit some sort of draft on that day will result in a failing grade for the entire paper assignment).  Graded papers will be returned no later than Friday, July 1. Either the initial grade can be kept or the paper can be rewritten and resubmitted for a new grade.  However, no rewritten papers will be accepted after 10:00 am on Monday, August 11.

Medieval History in Film
        A "film festival" on Francis of Assisi is scheduled for the evening of June 30, from 6:00-9:30 pm in Holden Hall 155 (pizza provided), which, except for a comic book biography of Francis, will substitute for all homework assignments due the following day.  You have ample advance notice of this scheduled event: please arrange your calendar so that you can attend. The films shown will be discussed in class on Friday, August 1, and are part of the required materials of the course.. 

[Note to Graduate Students enrolled for H5341 Credit
        Students taking this course for Graduate Credit will meet with the instructor at the end of the first scheduled class. The result has been the chpice of two discussion topics for which book lists are provided: twelfth-century religious orders and sacred landscapes.  Students will choose one book from each list and write two two-page reviews. These reviews will be presented at two additional graduate class meetings, with twelfth -century religious orders discussed on Monday, June 28, at 8:00am in HH155, and sacred landscapes discussed on Tuesday July 5 sat 9:00am in HH155.

Examinations
        Midterm tests are scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, and Friday, June 24. 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, it may be made up at 2:30 pm on Tuesday, July 5. Students receiving a grade below "C" on a regularly scheduled midterm should meet with the teacher as soon as possible.
        The final examination will feature multiple choice and identification questions on the material covered since the second midterm, and several essay questions covering the material of the entire course. Two of the essay questions will be chosen out of a group of four or five options; another will be: "Was the medieval Church a success or a failure?" Bring one or more blue books to the final.

UNIVERSITY NOTICES

 

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

Observance of a Religious Holy Days: 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.

 

Academic Integrity: "Texas Tech is committed to creating an exciting university atmosphere that is free of academic dishonesty. All members of the university community, including faculty, students, and staff, are upheld to the standard of having integrity in the work they produce. The standard is for all members of the Texas Tech community to contribute to the campus environment in an ethical, fun, and honest manner. Integrity matters because student success matters." 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 sometimes 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. 

GRADING
        The course grade will be computed as follows: 30% from the midterm tests (that is, 15% from each); 30% from the final; 30% from the research paper (5% for a sheet listing the topic, a tentative title, a research plan, and the name of a good relatively scholarly book related to the project; 25% for the completed paper); and 10% from class participation. The class participation grade is based on attendance, class preparation, and class contributions. Students outstanding in these get the class-participation percentage credited as an `A'; those adequate but undistinguished have the points dropped out of the average (so that they neither help nor hurt); those below acceptable standards have them credited as an `F.'

[For graduate students the midterms together will count 25%; the final 25%; and the additional book reviews 5% each.  The term paper assignment may be adjusted for graduate students who need to substitute thesis or dissertation chapters or formal thesis or dissertation proposals.]
  

   

 

 

 

READING

AND

LECTURE

SCHEDULE

 

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Tu June 7   Course Introduction / Overview of the Medieval Church

Lynch viii-xiii,1-24; Brown vii-xi, 3-61; "Chronology"; Edict of Milan; Christian Laws1, Christian Laws2.  For geographical orientation, in addition to the maps of North Africa and Italy in Brown 4-5, see Diocletian's Rome and the Empire in 395

W June 8   Christianity Becomes Rome’s Official Religion

Brown 63-150

Th June 9 Augustine's Conversions

Lynch 24-29; Brown 151-283; Sardica; Gelasius ; Fourth Century Fathers

F June 10  Ecclesiastical Structures / The Fathers (and Mothers) of the Church

[F June 10 Last day to drop a course and to get a full refund]

Lynch 32-36; Brown 285-353 and 392-437; Roman Empire at 400AD. Identify term paper topic area and be able to name it in class on Monday.

M June 13 Augustine's Final Work/ The "Fall" of the Western Roman World

Brown 439-520; Lynch 29-31, 43-47; Page from Cesena MS of new Augustine Sermons;  Europe in 476  

Tu June 14  Brown’s Augustine as "History" / Benedictine Monasticism

Study for first midterm

W June 15 Midterm # 1 / Eastern Empire

Lynch 52-71; Life of Martin ; Conversion of ClovisConfession of St. Patrick ; Bede on the Conversion of England; Map of Europe AD 600Elf Charms

Th June 16 Conversion of the Countryside / Conversion of the Barbarian Kingdoms

Lynch 72-104; Pope Gregory II to Charles MartelAnnals of Lorsch; Einhard's "Charlemagne"; Map of Europe in 800; Byzantium and Islam ca. 800.  On a sheet of paper, to be turned in at the start of Friday's class, write your name, paper topic, title, research plan, and the name of one good scholarly book on your topic 

F June 17   The Roman Revolution / Charlemagne

Lynch 105-28; Howe 1-49; Treaty of Verdun Map.

M June 20  The Carolingian Renaissance / The Carolingian Church / Destruction?

Lynch 128-36; Howe 50-146;  Map of Europe in 900 ; Wharram Percy Parish Church; Foundation Charter of Cluny

Tu June 21  Rebuilding the Latin Church

Lynch 137-55; Howe 147-266

W June 22  Forms of Worship / Church Organization

Lynch 156-80; Howe 267-313;  Peace of God;   Gregory VII to Henry IV ; Concordat of Worms

Th June 23  Reform / Howe’s Before the Gregorian Reform as "History"

Study

F June 24   Midterm #2 / The "Gregorian Reform"

Lynch 205-40, 267-83; Statutes for the University of Paris ; Jacques De Vitry on Student Life ; Aquinas Summa    

M June 27 at 8:00am in HH155  Graduate student meeting to discuss reports on twelfth-century religious orders

M June 27  Apostolic Life / The Rise of Universities

[M June 27 Last day to declare Pass/Fail, to drop a course, or to receive a grade of W for courses dropped.]

Lynch 189-204; 241-66; preliminary draft of the paper due no later than noon on Tuesday, June 28

Tu June 28 Papal Monarchy / Canon Law

Brentano 3-115

W June 29  Two Churches:  Connections, Administration

Brentano 174-237

Th June 30   Bishops and Saints

Francis: The Authoritative Life; attend the "Francis of Assisi Film Festival"

 

Th  Evening, June 30, 6:00-9:30 pm in HH 155: "Francis of Assisi Film Festival" 

[pizza provided ]

F July 1     Mendicants and Other Medievals in Film

                        Lynch 216-27; Brentano 238-251, 291-345

M July 4     Independence Day Holiday]

Tu July 5 at 9:00am in HH155  Graduate student meeting to discuss reports on sacred landscape

Tu July 5   Medieval Heresies / Ecclesiastical Culture

[Tu  July 5, 2:30-3:30  Make-Up Exams]

Brentano 345-380; Lynch 308-328

W July 6   Brentano's Two Churches as "History" / Late Medieval Church Crises

Lynch 329-351; review of Duffy's Stripping of the Altars

Th July 7   The Late Medieval Church on the Eve of the Reformation

Study

F July 8 at 11:00-1:30 pm : FINAL EXAMINATION

Complete any paper revisions

M July 11 at 9:00 am DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING REWRITTEN TERM PAPERS

[Rewritten Papers can be turned in to Holden Hall 131 or slipped under the door of my office in HH 143]