Lecturing with Chapter 14

Last week of classes. Yay!

On Tuesday, I traced the political history of late medieval Europe. Here’s the outline:

From Feudal Kingdoms to Nation States

1. What’s the difference? I talked about centralization, coherence, and abstract loyalties.

2. How was it accomplished? I talked about bureaucratic growth, new economic powers, new ideological functions (nationalism), new religious powers, and powers from combating what I called “enemies within.”

On Thursday, I looked at “medieval” in relation to “modern.” Here’s the outline:

1492 and all that . . .

1. Europe and the “New World”. I traced yet again medieval baggage about “others” that shaped how Europeans encountered Americans; I talked about impetuses, technological and economic; and I traced what contact meant for both Europe and the Americas.

2. Back in Europe: Inquisitions and “Enemies Within”. Spanish Inquisitions, with a bit of gory detail. Medieval precedents acknowledged and modernity stressed.

3. Back in Europe: Witch-Hunting. More gore, with medieval precedents acknowledged and modernity stressed.

4. The “Medieval Other” (one last time). I reviewed once again how all the characteristics we associate with modernity have their opposite in fantasies about the Middle Ages. Moral: any past = different, but not “other.”

Done!

Quiz Questions for Chapter 14

After 1347-50, the proportion of literate people
(a) increased.
(b) fell.
(c) was unchanged for the next 150 years.

Hans Behem
(a) preached radical ideas.
(b) invented the telescope.
(c) sailed around the coast of Africa.

Francesco Petrarch died in
(a) 1274.
(b) 1374.
(c) 1474.

The gothic architecture of the Later Middle Ages stressed
(a) height and decoration.
(b) simplicity.
(c) creating open spaces for paintings and processions.

Which of the following was NOT a late medieval trend in political thought?
(a) the clericalist position (different jurisdictions for church and state) gained more support than before.
(b) a practical interest in nitty-gritty matters of governance developed.
(c) the divine right of kings became the predominant justification for royal power.

Which of the following statements about William of Ockham is NOT true?
(a) he favored papal supremacy.
(b) he severed the bonds between revelation and reason.
(c) he was a radical empiricist.

Marsilio Ficino translated the works of
(a) Galen.
(b) Aristotle.
(c) Plato.

Donatello’s David expresses
(a) the concept of redemptive suffering.
(b) the influence of Greco-Roman traditions.
(c) late medieval misogyny.

Lecturing with Chapter 13

Only one lecture this week, and I decided to reward the few students who tend to show up on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving with a one-off lecture on sex and sexuality. In the event, most of my students came. The lecture ranged over many matters, none of them particularly pertinent to chapter 13. For what it is worth, here's the outline:

MEDIEVAL SEX AND SEXUALITIES
1. Preliminaries
2. "Good" Sex
3. "Bad" Sex
4. Prostitution
5. Chastity

Quiz Questions for Chapter 13

“Sovereignty” means
(a) divine right of kings.
(b) unchallenged authority over a state.
(c) maintaining the gold standard.

In consolidating power, late medieval kings faced two main challenges. Which was NOT a major challenge?
(a) papacy.
(b) aristocracy.
(c) peasantry.

Which of the following statements about the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) is correct?
(a) It pitted France against the Holy Roman Empire.
(b) It led to the independence of Scotland.
(c) It provoked the intervention of Joan of Arc.

Louis XI (r. 1461-1483)
(a) was mad.
(b) subdued the aristocrats of France.
(c) claimed the English throne by right of his wife, Mary Tudor.

Who dominated Russia c. 1500?
(a) Mongols.
(b) Muscovite princes.
(c) Swedes.

The story of William Tell is a symptom of the growing importance of
(a) paternalism.
(b) nationalism.
(c) capitalism.

The Hapsburg dynasty first took root in
(a) Italy.
(b) Spain.
(c) the Holy Roman Empire.

Lecturing with Chapter 12

This was the week for fourteenth-century disasters. I managed it as follows:

1. Europe Before the Great Plague
--Great Famine—population pressure, bad weather, cattle murrain, royal exactions, etc.
--quick survey of pre-1348 challenges for papacy, monarchies, intellectuals, and towns

2. During the Plague
--What was it? I told the usual story; then elaborated on Sam Cohn’s critics; then used the most recent DNA reports (see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/health/01plague.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=yersinia&st=cse) to concede the bubonic fight; I then discussed Mike Baillie’s recent arguments, based on ice cores and dendrochronology, about comets and cosmic impacts.
--What did it do? All the usual gory stuff. I put Boccaccio’s description to good use.
--How did people react? I discussed hyper-religiosity (esp. flagellants) and attacks on Jews, lepers et al.

3. After the Plague. This was basically a (possibly misguided) romp through the later middle ages. I covered these topics:
--recurrences of plague
--low population
--mentality—fashion, excess, death, and the like
--improved opportunities for peasants and wage-earners
--manorial reaction
--mercantile reaction and then expansion
--woes in the Church

Good stuff, but everyone is exhausted. One of my student students nodded off today. Sigh.

Lecturing with Chapter 11

This week's lectures had remarkably little to do with the content of Chapter 11. On Tuesday, I relaxed while my excellent Teaching Assistant gave a great lecture on the crusades (what they were; what happened; with what consequences). On Thursday, my lecture attempted to artfully mingle three discrete tasks: (a) preparing the students for our transition to "late medieval" and the intersections with modernity raised thereby, (b) "renaissance," humanism and the "othering" of an intervening dark age, and (c) background on Christine de Pizan, whose Treasure of the City of Ladies is this week's assignment for discussion groups.

Quiz Questions for Chapter 11

Which match is NOT correct?
(a) Hildegarde of Bingen: mysticism.
(b) Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica.
(c) Averroes: founder of Oxford University.

With its vaulted ribs, pointed arches, and flying buttresses, Gothic cathedrals were able to
(a) support flat roofs.
(b) let in more light.
(c) eliminate supporting columns in the nave.

Compared to lyrics, epics, and romances, fabliaux were enjoyed by audiences that were
(a) more monastic.
(b) more humble in social rank.
(c) more female.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) wrote The Divine Comedy. He also wrote lyrics inspired by
(a) his Cathar faith.
(b) the Chanson de Roland.
(c) his unconsummated love for Beatrice.

Which statement about Roman law principles is most accurate?
(a) They were never applied in Church courts.
(b) They were especially influential in English law.
(c) They became more important in the medieval West after 1100.

The debate over universals concerned whether
(a) the pope could be a universal monarch over all the kings of Europe.
(b) Roman and Byzantine Christians could be united in a universal Church.
(c) Platonic archetypes (or ideals) were real.

Robert Grossteste and Roger Bacon were important
(a) lawyers.
(b) theologians.
(c) scientists.

Peter Abelard died in 1142. Thomas Aquinas died in
(a) 1074.
(b) 1174.
(c) 1274.