HISTORY
214
Crusade,
Heresy, and Inquisition in the Medieval
SPRING 2007
GS
181
TR 1:25 - 2:40
The authoritative text
of this
prospectus is at http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/prh3/214/index.html.
It
is updated periodically.
Be sure to check all details (especially dates for assignments)
there!
PROFESSOR HYAMS
Tel. 257-3168; Net-ID: prh3@cornell.edu
Office Hours MG 307 -- Thursday 3-4 pm, and by
appointment.
Required:
Shirley
Song of the Cathar Wars
Sibly
&
Sibly History
of the Albigensian Crusade
Sumption Albigensian
Crusade
Recommended:
Peters
Inquisition (1989)
Peters
Torture
Rosenwein,
Short
History of the Middle Ages
Wakefield & Evans Heresies
of The High Middle Ages
All
these are available for purchase through the
Campus Store and elsewhere. They can also be found, along with other
books you
may need for the term paper and reference, on class reserve
in Uris
Library.
“Crusade” and “Inquisition” are
words from the distant past that are still current today. The decades
around
1200 saw the notion of crusade expand greatly from its earlier use as
holy war
against Islam to license, among other things, ideological war against
Christians and, especially, Christian heretics. This seminar focuses on
the
Albigensian Crusade waged from 1209 against the Cathars of
south-western
France, followers of a faith imported from the eastern
“Assiduous and frequent
questioning is indeed
the first key to wisdom…for by doubting we come to investigation (inquisicio!)
and through investigation we grasp the truth.”
(Peter Abelard, Sic et Non, introduction)
Since
this is not a FWS, the class will
not pivot round detailed writing instruction. (I may be the wrong
person for
that, anyway, since my native tongue is British English, Britspeak!) I will, however, take up writing points in
class, as they arise, and expect to spend time with each of you
individually
during Office Hours working on the improvement of your writing ability.
(See the
Course Requirements.) The course premise is that good academic writing
(ie
history papers) derives from intensive and focused reading and much
thought at
the paper preparation stage. We shall certainly work on all this in
class. You may consult my own Tips on Writing History
Papers.
The
course focuses on Southern France and the
Course
Requirements:
1.
Participation (20%): I
expect each
student to attend all meetings and to contribute what s/he can to the
discussions. One useful way is to put good questions to the others.
(Then they
will focus on your choice of issues.) To aid in this, I will expect
each
student to write a weekly report (10%) on the
readings of
half a page or so, and to submit these to me electronically by Tuesday
morning.
These may consist of points that have struck you or just of questions
you want
answered. But they should be written in the clearest and most
persuasive
English you can muster.
2. Timeline (10%): You
should compile a Timeline for your own use and submit it to me
by
Week VI. You may use any sources
for this you find helpful – there are models online as well as in some
of the
books. But you will want to add to it, flesh it out as you study the
subject
further. You may if you choose then at the end of the term submit an
extended
version for extra credit.
3.
Term Paper: The term paper (40%) will be due 12 noon, Friday
May 4. You will need to think up
and formulate the question you wish to write about, discuss and agree
it with
me by Friday March 9. I want
to see and, again, discuss with you an extended
outline
(10%) of the paper (including a preliminary list of sources) by
fRIDAY mARCHMost secondary reading can come from the books in
Uris Reserve, but I
will
offer more specialized suggestions where I can, and Cornell’s excellent
libraries still contain printed books, an ancient but as yet unrivalled
information resource. You can also search online.
4. Office Hours: I regard
Office Hours as an essential resource
for the class, and expect to see you fairly
often (10%), and well in advance of
any crises. (This should already be evident from item # 3 on the Term
Paper.) In
addition to working with me on your paper, you can give me feedback and
raise
any detailed problems which we did not reach in class.
In
this course we respect University policies on racial and ethnic
discrimination,
sexual harassment, assistance to handicapped, visually/hearing impaired
students, and rules on religious holidays and plagiarism. You are
responsible
for familiarizing yourself with the relevant university regulations,
and should
raise any questions or concerns well in advance of any crises.
PART I: INTRODUCTORY
Skip
Knox gives a brief
overview of the Albigensian Crusade
Chanson,
laisse 1; PVC, ss. 1-4
Study Aids
II.
Jan 30, Feb 1 Introduction and
Heresy in
Chanson,
laisses 2-15 (pp. 11-18); PVC,
ss. 5-6 + ss. 55-65 (if time)
Sumption
chaps. 1-3
Study Aids
III.
Feb 6, 8 Heresy to 1215
Innocent
III letter on canon 3 (PVC, # F (v), pp. 311-2); PVC, ss. 7-19 on
Cathar
origins
PART II: THE ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE
IV.
Feb 13, 15 Launching
Chanson, 15-62; Sumption, chaps. 4-5 Study Aids
V.
Feb 20, 22 Béziers,
Chanson,
16-22; PVC, ss. 82-91 & pp. 289-94; Caesarius of Heisterbach (.pdf)
Sumption, chap. 6
VI.
Feb 27, Mar 1 Crusade, 1209-12
SUBMIT
CRUSADE TIMELINES
Chanson, 63-131; Sumption, chaps. 7-9
Statute of Pamiers 1212: PVC, ss. 362-6 & text on pp. 321-9
The hymn "Veni
Creator Spiritus" must have been good for morale (cf. Chanson,
laisse 114, PVC, s. 226 etc.); there are settings to listen to online.
VII.
Mar 6, 8 From Muret to 1224
Chanson, 132-151; Sumption, chaps. 10-13
FRI MAR 9 DEADLINE FOR PAPER TOPIC AND TITLE
Troubador
Culture in Languedoc and the Concept of
Paratge
VIII. Mar
13, 15 Paper Outlines
SPRING
BREAK Sat 17-Mon 26 March
IX.
Mar 27, 29 Muret:
Chanson,
135-41; PVC, ss. 446-86 and pp. 330-3 (Wm. of Puylaurens)
There is an extra account of the battle (in addition to those listed in PVC, 203-4, n. 5) by King Peter's son in his own Book of Deeds, transl. Smith & Buffery (2003) (Olin DP129. J3513 2003).
X.
Apr 3, 5 Treaty of
Treaty text (.pdf); William Pelhisson (.pdf);
Sumption, chap. 1; 1290 Council Ban on
Lay Bibles
PART III: INQUISITION AND
TORTURE ETC.
XI.
Apr 10, 12 The Inquisition and its
Methods
Thursday: Video "The
Sorceress" from 1:15
pm.
This movie is based (I believe) on the book by
Jean-Claude Schmitt, The Holy Greyhound:
Guinefort, Healer
of Children,
which in turn springs from the
text translated at http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/prh3/262/texts/Guinefort.html.
Peters,
Torture, Intro
for definition, and pp. 24-39 on legal origins
Edward Peters, Inquisition
(1989) is an
excellent alternative account available online
Pennington "Innocent until
Proven Guilty: The Origins
of a Legal Maxim”, http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Law508/InnocentGuilty.htm.
Bernard
Gui's Inquisitor's Manual from
the 1320s nicely illustrates a more developed stage of the inquisitor's
craft. This link gives you a translation of the part on the
Beguines only,
but Janet Shirley has now
translated the whole manual.
XII.
Apr 17, 19 Expansion of the Inquisition
Hanilton, chaps. 6-7; Peters, Inquisition
(1989), chap. 2
Testimony
from
XIII. Apr
24, 26 The Question of Torture
Peters, Torture
chap.
2
(& perhaps also chap.
1)
St. Augustine; Innocent
IV's Decretal "Ad Extirpanda";
1274
Inquisitiorial Torture session; Various
Confessions from Fournier’s Register (14th cent.)
Some
20th cent. texts pro torture
XIV. May
1, 3 Conclusions:
Modern Apology for the
Inquisition: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/madden200406181026.asp
STUDY PERIOD Sun-Wed May 6-9
EXAMS Thurs 10 to Friday 18 May
