History 234: France in the Making, 987-1460

William North
Leighton 203B (on the left, just before the History Dept)
x4210 (office)//645-7807 (home: between 7 am-10 pm)
Office Hours: M 8:30-10; W 8:30-10; 3:10-5; F 8:30-10 & by appointment
email: WNorth@carleton.edu


This course will examine the political and social transformations and cultural developments that conspired to make the kingdom of France one of the most influential and dynamic polities in the medieval world. Among the topics to be addressed: the ideals and practice of kingship; the formation of "French" national identity; France as a center of European intellectual and cultural life; forms of religious life, dissent, and persecution (monastic movements, the Albigensian Crusade, treatment of the Jews, and Trial of the Templars); and the ideals and realities of social relations (courtly romance; the rise of the merchant class; the status of women). In pursuing these topics, we shall work with a variety of primary source materials (in translation) ranging from history and royal biography to letters and treatises to images and music.


Materials for Purchase
Required Texts
Optional Texts and Materials
Course Reserves
Assignments and Grading
Class Participation 25%
Weekly primary source analyses (1 p.-2 pp. max) 15%
Map/Geography Quiz 10%
Midterm Essay  (5-7 pp) 10%
Final Research Essay (10-12 pp) 20%
Modified Take-Home Final Exam 20%

The Written Word
Weekly Primary Source Analyses

The weekly primary source analysis requires you to a) select a passage that you find significant, revealing,puzzling, or problematic; b) transcribe this passage (the selected passage should be a half page or less single spaced; c) explain as fully but also as succinctly as possible what you find interesting, puzzling, etc. about the passage and its possible historical implications, significance, and/or connections. References to the source may be done as follows (p.9) if the source is clear; otherwise, (Abelard, Ethics, p. 9)

Essays

Papers should be submitted by the specified day and time and may be turned in at the History Dept, my office, or my home (109 Winona). Submissions via email attachment are also acceptable but you bear full responsibility for making sure that the paper you wrote is the one I receive (e.g.,, if there aren't footnotes in the one I read, they don't exist as far asI am concerned and I'll comment and grade accordingly). Please send your file in Word or Wordperfect (.pdf is also acceptable). I am happy to do test runs for those who want to pursue this option but have anxieties.

  • Midterm Essay (5-7 pages)    Due by 5 pm on January 25

    This essay will address a question/problem/thesis posed by me in terms of a specific text or set of texts.

  • Final Essay (10-12 pages)    Due by 5 pm March 1

    Topics for this essay will either address change and continuity over the timespan of the course or ask for an in depth analysis of a problem in the context of a single source; students will be responsible for selecting the primary source(s) on which they base their argument and their specific approach to the topic.
Map/Geography Quiz    January 11 (in class)
Modified Take Home Exam   Due by 6 pm on March 16

This exam will consist of two to four questions from which you will choose one to answer. It is called "modified" because, in contrast to many take home exams, which do not restrict the time during which you write the exam, this one does - on the honor system. Basically the deal is this: you have the final questions in advance and can prepare as much as you wish: gathering evidence and arguments from primary sources and secondary materials; outlining your response; even discussing the questions with your colleagues. When you get ready to write the exam, however, you are allowed (again on the honor system) only a single sheet with an outline (remember that sheets of paper have two sides) and an unlimited number of pages of quotations or paraphrases from primary sources/secondary works (the former should greatly predominate); this evidence should be properly annotated. Go to the place you work best and write for no more than 3 hours. Hand in the exam (handwritten or typed) along with all the materials that you used.

Some Fine Print on Grading

(borrowed with minor adaptation from Princeton University's History Department: http://www.princeton.edu/~history/)

The following represents a succinct articulation of my general approach to grading the various kinds of work that you will submit over the course of the term. You will note that nowhere does it mention "getting the right answer"; please take the larger meaning of this absence seriously. For me, the ultimate quality of written assignments and oral comments depends not on their proximity to a predetermined "answer" but on the imagination, knowledge of the materials, and rhetorical and logical presentation of the argument. Some of the best essays and comments in class may well be ones with which I, personally, disagree wholeheartedly; I may even attempt to refute them in my comments. But a good argument is a good argument, and an insightful and rigorous interpretation of the sources that raises fruitful questions is the essence of historical thought and writing. Finally, improvement over the term will be noted.

In-Class Discussion (similar standards apply to caucus discussion)

  • A student who receives an A for participation in discussion in class usually comes to every class with questions about the readings already in mind. An 'A' discussant engages others about ideas, respects the opinions of others, and consistently elevates or advances the discussion.
  • A student who receives a B for participation in discussion in class does not come to each class with questions about the readings in mind. A 'B' discussant waits passively for others to raise interesting issues. Some discussants in this category, while courteous and articulate, do not adequately listen to other participants or relate their comments to the direction of the conversation.
  • A student who receives a C for discussion in class regularly but typically is an infrequent or unwilling participant in discussion.

N.B. Attendance is mandatory. One unexcused absence will therefore result in a drop of one full letter grade in class participation; two unexcused absences will result in a drop of an additional two full letter grades in class participation; three will result in a letter grade of F for class participation. The message is simple: if you are or have been forced for legitimate reasons to miss a class, let me know immediately and we can make alternative arrangements.

Weekly Primary Source Responses
++ Interesting primary source selection; creative, insightful close analysis/interpretation; well-organized and articulate presentation.
+ Same criteria as above but analysis is not as full as the text deserved or presentation flawed.
check mark Satisfactory interpretation, good passage but does not go much beyond description; does not explain interpretation with sufficient clarity; writing problems
0 Unacceptable assignment (a summary of a text; extensive writing problems; not based primarily on a specific passage but on the primary source in general). One such assignment may be redone for a new grade.

Papers and Exams (Late Papers w/o prior consultation will be automatically graded down one letter grade)

  • An A or A- paper or exam is clearly written and well-organized. It demonstrates that the writer has conducted a close and critical reading of texts, grappled with the issues raised in the course, synthesized the readings, discussions, and lectures, and formulated a perceptive, compelling, independent argument. The argument shows intellectual originality and creativity and is supported by a well-chosen and fairly interpreted examples from the primary sources.
  • A B+ or B paper or exam demonstrates many aspects of A-level work but falls short of it in either the organization and clarity of its writing, the formulation and presentation of its argument, or the quality of research. Some papers or exams in this category are solid works containing flashes of insight into many of the issues raised in the course. Others give evidence of independent thought, but the argument is not presented clearly or convincingly.
  • A B- paper or exam demonstrates a knowledge of the course material but shows weaknesses in writing, argument, organization, or use/interpretation of evidence.
  • A C+, C, or C- paper or exam offers little more than a mere a summary of ideas and information, does not respond to the assignment adequately, suffers from frequent factual errors, unclear writing, poor organization, or inadequate primary research, or presents some combination of these problems.

Whereas the grading standards for written work between A and C- are concerned with the presentation of argument and evidence, a paper or exam that belongs to the D or F categories demonstrates inadequate command of course material.

  • A D paper or exam demonstrates serious deficiencies or flaws in the student's command of course or research material.
  • An F paper or exam demonstrates no competence in the course or research materials. It indicates a student's neglect or lack of effort in the course.


Our Journey/ Notre Pélerinage

Week I Introduction

1/4 Course intro. Discussion of physical geography; language zones; basic political and ecclesiastical vocabulary. Brief lecture on the Carolingians.
  • Optional Reading: Hallam, c.1, pp. 1-31

Week II Beginnings

1/7 From Carolingians to Capetians
Readings:
  • Fulbert of Chartres, Letter 51 to William V of Aquitaine. In The Letters and Poems of Fulbert of Chartres, ed. & trans. F. Behrends. Oxford: The Clarendon Press 1976. Pp. 90-93.
  • Conventus between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan, trans. Susan Reynolds, Jane Martindale, & Paul Hyams.
  • Helgaud, Life of Robert the Pious,trans. Philippe Buc (Stanford University) , 40 pp. in typescript (reader).
  • Rodulfus Glaber, Histories, trans. J. France, in Rodulfus Glaber. Opera, ed. N. Bulst, J. France, P. Reynolds. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: The Clarendon Press 1989. Books II.1-3 (pp. 49-61); III.5-8 (pp. 105-111); III.26-36 (pp. 139-159); IV.9-17 (pp. 185-199).
  • Optional Reading: Hallam, c.3, pp. 83-94

1/9 Ecclesiastical Reform and the Preaching of the Crusade
Readings:
  • Urban II, Sermon at Clermont,(Version of Robert the Monk), trans. A.C. Munro. In The First Crusade. The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, ed. E. Peters. Philadelphia: UPenn Press 1971. Pp. 2-5.
  • Guibert of Nogent, Deeds of God Through the Franks, trans. Robert Levine, Woodbridge: Boydell Press 1997, Preface and Books I & II. P.p. 24-56.

1/11 Remembering Carolingians, Imagining Knighthood in the Age of Crusade
**Map/Geography Quiz**
Readings:
  • The Song of Roland, trans. W.S. Merwin, pp. 3-119.
  • Optional Reading: Hallam, c. 3, 95-140

Week III The World of Peter Abelard

1/14 Approaches to Learning in the Twelfth Century
Readings:
  • Peter Abelard, The Story of His Adversities, trans. J.T. Muckle S.J., Medieval Sources in Translation 4. Toronto: Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies 1992, pp.11-80.
  • Hugh of St. Victor, The Didascalicon bks II & III, trans. J. Taylor. New York: Columbia University Pres 1991, pp.61-101.

1/16 Where lies sin? Abelard's Internalization of Ethics
Readings:
  • Abelard, Ethics I. §§1-112, in Peter Abelard, Ethical Writings, trans. Vincent Spade, Indianopolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company 1995, pp. 1-25.
1/18 Christians and Jews in the Twelfth Century

Week IV New Orders, New Sensibilities

Optional Reading for Weeks IV-V: Hallam, c. 4, pp. 145-256.

1/22 Experimenting with Monks and Knights: Cistercians and Templars
Readings:
  • Bernard of Clairvaux, Praise of the New Knighthood,trans. M. Conrad Greenia. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications 2001. Pp. 33-48.
  • Description of Clairvaux, trans. P. Matarasso. In The Cistercian World. Monastic Writings of the Twelfth Century. New York: Penguin 1993. Pp. 287-92.
1/24 Aesthetics of Piety, Aesthetics of Honor: Cistercians & Benedictines
Readings:
  • Bernard of Clairvaux, Apologia to Abbot William, trans. M. Casey, Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications 1970, pp. 33-69.
  • Bernard of Clairvaux, Letter 1 in The Letters of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, trans. Bruno S. James. Chicago: Henry Regnery Co. 1953, pp. 1-10.
  • Suger,. On the Consecration, trans. Erwin Panofsky, in idem, Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St-Denis and Its Art Treasures, 2nd ed. Gerda Panofsky-Soergel, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1979, pp.83-121.
1/26 Listening to Feudal Society in Literature
Readings:
  • Marie de France, Lais of Marie de France, pp.40-126.

Midterm Essay due at 5 pm on Friday, January 26.

Week V The Faces of Royal Power

1/28 Royal Power and Its Discontents
Readings:
  • Suger, Life of Louis the Fat, trans. R. Cusimano & J. Moorhead. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press 1992. Pp. 23-159.
1/30 Louis VII and Capetian Consolidation
Readings:
  • Odo of Deuil, On the Journey of Louis VII to the East, trans. V. Berry, New York: WW Norton 1948, Book I (pp. 2-19); Books VI-VII (pp. 103-143) (half of these pages are in Latin)
  • Video (in-class) Light on the Stones: Church of Vezelay (1991) (24 min)
2/1 Administration and Persecution in the Age of Philip Augustus
Readings:
  • Rigord, The Life of Philip Augustus, trans. W. North from the edition of (selections)
  • Guillaume le Breton,. Prose Chronicle, trans. Georges & Andrée Duby. In Georges Duby. The Legend of Bouvines, trans. C. Tihanyi. Berkeley: UC Press 1990. Pp. 37-54.

Week VI Religion and Politics in the Age of Philip Augustus

2/4 No class meeting (midterm break) 2/6 Cathars and Crusaders in the World of the Troubadours
Reading:
  • J. Strayer, The Albigensian CrusadesAnn Arbor: U of Michigan Press 1992. Entire monograph (1-174) Please read the selection of documents at the end first (pp. 241-262).
2/8 Two Years (1248-1249) in the Life of a 13th Century Norman Bishop
Reading:
  • Register of Eudes de Rouentrans. Sydney Brown; ed. & annotated by J. O'Sullivan.. Records of Civilization 72. New York: Columbia University Press 1964. Pp. 1-76.

Week VII Louis IX: King and Saint?

Optional Reading: Hallam, c. 5, pp. 263-345.

2/11 Louis IX: Origins, Piety, and Crusading
Readings:
  • Jean de Joinville.Life of Louis IX, trans. M. R. B. Shaw. New York: Penguin Classics 1963. Pp. 163-316.
2/13 Translatio studiorum: Centers of Learning and Centers of Heresy in the Thirteenth Century
  • Video (in-class) Beauvais Cathedral: Architecture of Transcendence (2000) (10 min)
2/15 Louis IX: The King at Home
Readings:
  • Joinville, Life of Louis IX Pp. 317-353.
  • Video (in-class) Notre Dame, Cathedral of Amiens: The Power of Change in Gothic (1996)  (12 min.)
Evening Film: Cathedral (1986) (1 hr in length)

Week VIII  Philip the Fair and the Expansion of Capetian Dominance

Optional Reading: Hallam, c. 6, pp. 351-415.

2/18 Music in the Age of Scholasticism (Guest: Steve Kelly)
Listening:
  • The Age of Cathedrals. Music from the Magnus Liber Organi. Paul Elliot, Alan Bennett, and Paul Hillier (Theatre of Voices). Harmonia Mundi 1996.
2/20 Philip the Fair and the French Nation
Reading:
  • M. Barber, The Trial of the TemplarsCanto Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1993. Pp. 1-154 & Appendix A.
2/22 Inquisition and the Unmaking of an Order
Reading:
    M. Barber, The Trial of the Templars. Pp. 155-247.

Week IX The End of the Capetians and the Coming of the Valois

Optional Reading: Hallam, Conclusion, pp. 422-427.

2/25 The Time of Troubles: France in the Fourteenth Century
Reading:
  • Jean de Venette, Chronicle, trans. J. Birdsall, New York: Columbia University Press 1953, pp. 31-142.
2/27 The Hundred Years War: Origins, Conduct, Implications
Reading:
  • Honoré Bonet, The Tree of Battles, trans. G. Coopland, Liverpool: The University Press 1949, prologue (pp. 79-80), book IV (pp. 125-213).
3/1 Music in an Age of Uncertainty (Guest: Steve Kelly)
Listening:
  • Guillaume de Machaut, Remede du Fortune (Michael Coliver/John Fleagle performers). New Albion 1994. (CD)

Final Essay Due by 5 pm on March 1.

Week X  Culture and Society in an Age of Crisis

3/4 A Room of One's Own: Christine de Pisan and Possible Worlds for Women
Reading:
  • Christine de Pisan, The Treasure of the City of Ladies, pp. 31-180.
3/6 Poetry, Music, and History (Guest: Steve Davis)
Readings:
  • TBA
3/8 Contested Paris/Contested France: Joan of Arc and the End of the Hundred Years War
Readings:
  • Bourgeois of Paris, A Parisian Journal, 1405-1449, trans. Janet Shirley, Oxford: The Clarendon Press 1968, pp. 142-166; 227-274.
  • Christine de Pisan, Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc, trans. R. Blumenfeld-Kosinski, in The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan, New York: WW Norton 1997, pp. 252-262.
  • Régine Pernoud, Joan of Arc by Herself and Her Witnesses, Boston: Scarborough House 1994, 165-194.
Film:  Carl Dreyer, The Passion of Saint Jean (1928) (82 minutes)

Week XI  La France

3/11 Charles VII, Louis XI, and the French Nation.
Conclusions and a forward glance.

Take Home Final Due on Last Day of Finals by 6 pm.

Maintained by William North  Email William North

Last Updated December 31, 2001