Tentative Schedule
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Date |
Title |
Online response assignment |
Readings |
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Jan. 20 |
Introduction |
Introduction; origins of Christianity in the Roman Empire Writing history, then and now |
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Jan. 27 |
Primary and secondary sources; scholarly history-writing The Christian Church in the Roman Empire |
Read all the primary and secondary sources, come to class prepared to work with them |
Primary sources Bible (any version), Book of Acts Eusebius, The Conversion of Constantine Secondary sources Fletcher, Chapter 1, "Who is it for?" Fletcher, ch. 2, "The Challenge of the Countryside," pp. 34-65 Barnes, Timothy D., "The Conversion of Constantine," pp. 371-391 (1985). |
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Feb. 3 |
What is conversion? What is religion? Paper topics assigned; bibliographies distributed |
For each article, note how the author uses and defines the following concepts: - belief - ritual - faith - behavior - conversion Which concepts do the authors think can be applied to the Middle Ages? |
Cusack, C. Conversion Among the Germanic Peoples, ch. 1, "The nature of conversion," pp. 1-29 (1998). Wickham, C. "The Comparative Method and Early Medieval Religious Conversion," pp. 13-39 (2016). Richter, M. "Models of Conversion in the Early Middle Ages," pp. 116-128 (1995). |
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Feb. 10 |
Pagan religion I: texts |
For each primary source, note the following: - when was this written down by the author - are the activities from the author's direct observation? if not, how long ago did they occur? Do Church and Wood take their primary sources literally, or not? Can you apply their ideas to Ibn Fadlan, Saxo, and Snorri's texts? |
Primary sources Bede: The Conversion of England Ibn Fadlan, selections from the Kitab, on the Rūsiyyah Thietmar of Merseburg, Chronicon: read VI.22-24 Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum XIV, 39 Snorri Sturleson, selections from the Poetic Edda Secondary sources Church, S. D. "Paganism in Conversion-Age Anglo-Saxon England: The Evidence of Bede's Ecclesiastical History Reconsidered." History 93 (2008): 162-180. Wood, I. "Pagan Religion and Superstitions East of the Rhine from the Fifth to the Ninth Century," pp. 253-68. (1995)
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Feb. 17 |
Pagan religion II: archaeology and material culture |
How far can we get from objects without any texts to help explain them? How much does each of the three items inform you about pagan religion? Do Hoggett and/or Dierkens identify archaeological material that is "pagan"? Do you find their interpretations of this convincing?
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Primary sources The Sutton Hoo Mound 1 ship burial Secondary sources Hoggett, R. "Charting Conversion: Burial as a Barometer of Belief?" pp. 28-37. (2007) Dierkens, A. "The Evidence of Archaeology," pp. 39-64. (1998) |
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Feb. 24 |
Debate: text or archaeology? Short papers due |
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Mar. 3 |
France, England, and Ireland Book reports Short papers handed back with comments |
How much does Fletcher go beyond narratives such as those of Gregory of Tours and St. Patrick, to describe what happened in France and Ireland?
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Primary sources Gregory of Tours, the Conversion of Clovis Secondary sources Fletcher, ch. 3, "Beyond the Imperial Frontiers," pp. 66-96 (Goths and Ireland) Fletcher, ch. 4, "The New Constantines," pp. 97-129 Fletcher ch. 5, "An Abundance of Distinguished Patrimonies," pp. 130-159 |
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Mar. 10 |
The Germans, from Boniface to Charlemagne Book reports |
The conversion of the Germans is described by almost everyone as violent. What are the factors, in both the primary and secondary sources, that lead to this interpretation? |
Primary sources Letters to and from St. Boniface Charlemagne: Capitulary for Saxony, 775-790 Secondary sources Fletcher, ch. 7, "Campaigning Sceptres: the Frankish Drive to the East," pp. 192-227. Mazo Karras, R. "Pagan Survivals and Synchretism in the Conversion of Saxony." Catholic HIstorical Review 72 (1986): 553-572. |
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Mar. 17 |
Slavonic Christianity: Moravia, Bulgaria, Russia Book reports Short papers rewrites due |
In today's primary sources, we see the whole range of conversion narratives - from missionaries to queens - and a few new ones. Do you think any of these sources take features from earlier ones? Given what you learn from Ziemann about pagan resistance in Bulgaria, would you say that other regions we have studied might also have experienced resistance to Christianity? Are there any hints of this in the Vita of Methodius or the account of the Russian conversion?
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Primary sources The responses of Pope Nicholas I to the questions of the Bulgars, AD 866, selections The Christianisation of Russia (988) from the Russian Primary Chronicle Secondary sources Fletcher ch. 10, "A certain Greek Named Methodius," pp. 327-368 Ziemann, D. "The rebellion of the nobles against the baptism of Khan Boris (865-866)," pp. 613-624. (2007) |
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Mar. 24 |
WELLNESS DAY - NO CLASS |
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Mar. 31 |
Central Europe: Bohemia, Poland, Hungary Book reports |
Dynastic marriages are made largely for political reasons. In what ways do you think that the religious aspects of such marriages are intertwined with the political? Or are they separate? |
Primary sources Thietmar of Merseburg, Chronicon: read IV.55-56
Secondary sources Fletcher ch. 12, "The Eastern Marches from Wenceslas to Nyklot," pp. 417-450. |
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Apr. 7 |
Scandinavia Book reports Annotated bibliography due |
This saga, written 200 years after the fact, tells a dramatic story; what elements have we seen before, and what is new? Do Fletcher and the modern schola you have been assigned take this story as "true"? |
Primary sources Snorri Sturleson, selections from the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason Secondary sources Fletcher ch. 11, "Scandinavians Abroad and at Home," pp. 369-416. You will be assigned one of the following Bagge, S. "The Making of a Missionary King: The Medieval Accounts of Olaf Tryggvason and the Conversion of Norway." Journal of English and Germanic Philology 105 (2006): 473-513. read only pp. 503-513! Janson, H. "Adam of Bremen and the conversion of Scandinavia," pp. 83-88. (2000) Gräslund, A.-S. "The role of Scandinavian women in Christianisation: the neglected evidence," pp. 483-496. (2003) |
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Apr. 14 |
The Wends and the Baltic Crusade Book reports |
In the primary sources, what kinds of motivations are given for the actions of Christians to convert the Baltic people to Christianity? Does Fletcher offer different motivations than those expressed by Henry of Livonia and Pope Eugenius? |
Primary sources Pope Eugenius III, April 11, 1147, Divini dispensatione II The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia (selections) Secondary sources Fletcher ch. 14, "The Sword Our Pope: the Baltic and Beyond," pp. 483-507 |
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Apr. 21 |
Presentations |
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Apr. 28 |
Presentations |
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May 5 |
TERM PAPER DUE IN CANVAS at 5 pm |
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