OURSE
WEEKLY TOPICS
Week 1 (August 22-26): Introduction. How high
can the Middle Ages go? [Barber 5-23, 375-398]
Week 2 (August 29-September 2): Agriculture and rural society [Barber
24-56]
Week 3 (September 5-9): The revival of commerce [Barber 57-79]
Week 4 (September 12-16): Urban economy and freedom 
- Medieval cities, urban economy, and guilds [Andrea
246-258
(rules
of the Southampton guild of merchants, John of Viterbo, Jews of
Speyer); Atlas
151-154, 156-157, and 255-257]; the
law of the fullers and weavers of Winchester (1209), the law
revision of the garment cutters' guild of Stendal (1231), the
charter
of the shearers of Arras (1236) and Medieval
English Towns
- Urban communities and communes [Andrea
258-259]; see also the
suppression of the Etampes commune by Philip II Augustus (1199-1200)
, an account
of the setting up of self-government in Ipswich (1200), and Guibert
of Nogent on the commune of Laon (1115)
Week 5 (September 19-23): West European Christianity in the High Middle Ages [Barber 155-176]
Week 6 (September 26-30): Monasticism and the reform of the Church [Barber
83-111, 131-154]
Week 7 (October 3-7): Crusades and crusaders [Barber 112-130; 353-372]
Week 8 (October 10-14): Western
Christendom and the
wider world [Barber
445-461]
Week 9 (october 17-21): The world of thought and art [Barber 399-444]
Week 10 (October 24-28): The community of the realm [Barber 247-274]
Week 11 (October 31-November 4): Centralization and war [Barber
275-304]
Week 12 (November 7-11): On the fringes [Barber
305-352]
Week 13 (November 14-18): Monarchs and popes in conflict [Barber 179-205, 229-246]
Week 14 (November 21-25): Crisis and expansion
- Crisis and expansion [Andrea
380-388,
422-426, 454-463; Atlas 244-246, 260-261, 276-277, and
289-291];
see also Petrarch's
letter to posterity
- Friday, November 25: Thanksgiving (no classes)
Week 15 (November 28-December 2): The Late Middle Ages
- Late medieval Church and lay religiosity [Andrea 389-397]
- Great Schism
- Early Renaissance [Andrea 417-426]
Week 16 (December 5-7): Revision for the Final exam
Final exam: Friday, December 16, 10:00 to 12:00To return to the course syllabus, click here 