READINGS
Required:
BECHER, Charlemagne
DUTTON (tr.), Charlemagne’s Courtier
: Einhard [= Ein.]
DUTTON (ed.), Carolingian
Civilization [=Civ.]
NEEL (tr.), Handbook for William
(Dhuoda)
Recommended:
ROSENWEIN, Short History of the
Middle Ages
SCHOLZ, Carolingian
Chronicles
RICHÉ, The Carolingians
Charlemagne
(Charles the Great, 775-814) is still revered as “the Father of
Europe”. In his
time as king of the Franks and then emperor of the West, we see for the
first
time with any clarity the shape of Europe as it would remain for a
millennium
and more, also of the structures and cultural mix that would
characterize “the
West” before there were a France, Germany or United Kingdom. The
“Carolingian
Renaissance” promoted a brief but fruitful burst of writings and
artifacts,
including an intimate if slippery Life of
Charlemagne and much better documentation of the public and – to an
extent
– even the everyday life of the age. By reading primary sources in
translation,
students can grasp a pivotal moment in Western Civilization, see how
historians
construct their categories, and learn the limitations of the historical
craft.
This is a reading seminar. It meets
twice a week and classes will revolve largely round the reading, in
class and outside, of primary sources on the Age of Charlemagne. I have
kept the basic readings relatively short in terms of page numbers,
in
order that you can read closely, and then come back and reread where
you need to. The other assignments are designed to optimize
class
discussion. I shall lecture a little, but after the start of term, only
where necessary to supplement your readings, to substitute for text
books as it were
.
Most of you will need to familiarize yourselves with the geography of
Western Europe at an early stage. Try Paul Halsall's
Map Quiz! The go to a Relief
map of Europe, and seek out both modern state frontiers and
natural
features
(incl. city, river names). The online Maps of Euratlas
can give you a snapshot of Europe at 100 year intervals. Many
of the other online atlases reproiduce old (though not useless)
publications. If you want to put in a bit of real study, got the Regnum Francorum
site, whicjh seems excellent, once you have figured it out. And
Olin
Reference
has all kinds of better atlases too.
Course Requirements:
1. Participation (20%): I expect you to
attend all meetings and to contribute what you 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 help this, after the first couple
of weeks, I will expect each student to write a
weekly report (
5%) on the readings of half a
page or so.
2. Two papers: The short paper
(4-6 pp.) will present a preliminary assessment of Einhard's
Life
(
25%),
due 12 noon, Friday Oct 8. The
longer one (10-15 pp.) will be on a question you think up
and agree with me (
40%),
due 12 noon, Friday Dec 3. I will
want to see an outline with a preliminary list of the sources you
expect to use (
5%)
by Week XI. Most secondary reading
can come from the books in
Uris Reserve, but I will offer
more specialized suggestions where I can. You can also search online,
eg through the
Carolingian
Bibliography. You will want a
Timeline
for your own use, and should compile one, for which you may use
the one in Becher,
by Week VI
(
5%).
3. Office Hours: I regard
Office Hours as an essential resource for all students, and expect to
see
you fairly often, and well in advance of any crises. In addition to
working with me on your longer paper, you can give me feedback and
raise any detailed problems which we did not reach in class.
NB
Plagiarism
Policy. Please
familiarize yourself with
Cornell’s
academic integrity code (see pamphlet “A Writer’s Responsibilities.”)
Unintentional
plagiarism
results
in
an “F” for the paper. Intentional plagiarism
results
in an “F” for the course, or worse. For further help on how to
avoid
any
appearance of plagiarism, click
this
link, consult the pamphlet “A Writer’s Responsibilities"
and/or talk to me. This will not be an issue to any student who works
in a reasonably sensible and positive way on the assignments.
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.
0. W Aug 25
Einhard,
Life,
preface
Anyone new to the period should start with
Rosenwein, chap. 3 (the section on the Franks is available on
Electronic Reserve); another good
introduction is a
Lynn
Nelson
lecture.
Einhard is held to have modeled his
Life in some sense on
Suetonius',
Twelve Caesars; you would do
well to take a look for comparison purposes at least at the
Life
of
Augustus. You may also find it helpful to look at my
Advice
on
Source Criticism
which was (NB) originally composed for a very different class.
I. MW Aug 30; Sept 1
Einhard, Life,
preface,
nos.
1-16
on wars
etc; Becher, Intro, chap. II and pp. 151-4 (Timeline).
II. W Sept
8 (M Sept 6 is Labor Day)
Einhard, Life,
nos.
17-27;
Becher,
chaps., 3-4.
Dutton, Civ., nos. 13. 1 (Saxon
Capitulary), 20. 4 (Alcuin to Charlemagne on converting the Saxons)
III. MW Sept 13, 15
Einhard, Life,
nos.
28-9
on
empire and
German-ness; Becher, chaps. I, V-VI;
Dutton, Civ.,
nos. 3-4 (Pippin's elevation, anointing), 11-12 (800)"Programmatic
Capitulary" of 802
(Dutton, Civ., no. 13. 2)
IV. MW Sept 22, 24
Einhard, Life,
nos.
30-33
on
death; Becher, chaps. VII-VII;
Dutton, Ein.,
pp. xi-xxiii & nos. 1. 14 (Walahfrid Strabo's new intro), 26.
1-7(Thegan's Life
of Louis the Pious) .
B.
Civilization and Renaissance
V. MW
Sept 27, 29
Einhard, Translation
and
Miracles,
bks. I-II (pp. 69-91);
Dutton, Ein..,
no.
13.
7
esp.
Charlemagne's circular "On the Cultivation of Letters", 20. 1-2 (Alcuin
letters)
VI. MW Oct 4, 6
Einhard, Translation
and
Miracles, bk.
III (pp. 92-111)
FALL BREAK
Sat-Wed, Oct 9-13
SHORT PAPER DUE
WEDNESDAY Oct 13
VII. W Oct 13
Einhard, Translation
and
Miracles, bk.
IV (pp. 111-31)
VIII. MW Oct 18, 20
IX. MW Oct 25,
27
Dhuoda, pp. 71-2 (5.8); 76-8 (6. 4); 79
(7. 1); 91-2 (9. 1-3); 95-106
(bks. 10-11).
X. MW Nov 1, 3
What economic data can you find in the
sources we have read so far?
XI. MW Nov 8, 10
Some (un)representative contemporary scholars
Alcuin
extracts in , nos. 20-22. A
page
from
his
bible
Agobard of
Lyons (c. 779 – 840)
On Injustices to
Mathfrid (ca. 822-February 828); On Hail and Thunder;(= Dutton, Civ.,
no.
33),
on "The
Insolence
of
the
Jews" 826-7,
On the
Deception of
Certain Signs,
and preaches c. 830 on
"the
Division of the Empire"
Theodulph
of
Orleans (750/60 - 821) Dutton,
Civ.,
nos.
16-19
(esp.
18, 2,
5-6) [19 is diocesan precepts]. There is pretty odd recording of
one of
Theodulph's hymns you can listen to online.
AGREE TITLE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR 2nd,
LONGER PAPER BY THIS WEEK
C. The
Legend (Nachleben)
XII. MW Nov 15, 17
XIII. M Nov 22
Einhard,
Vita,
c.
9;
Dutton,
Civ.,
9.
5 (55-6) ;
Song of
Roland , [extracts]
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Wed-Mon, Nov 24-9
