70746 - STORIA MEDIEVALE

Learning outcomes

The discipline aims to educate students to know and comprehend the political, institutional, social, and cultural phenomena, which led to the construction of the special identity of Medieval Europe and of its documental and monumental patrimony.

Students will learn to understand the principal political-institutional and socio-cultural processes of the Medieval Age (in their essential lines); to critically analyse the impact on European civilization of these processes; to apply these elements to the analysis of written sources and to the problems of the preservation and valorisation of the material patrimony, both documental and monumental.

Course contents

The first part (prof.ssa Elisa Tosi Brandi)

The first part aims to provide methodologies and basic knowledge for the study of the Early Middle Ages period by following the most relevant themes of European and Mediterranean history, from the crisis of the Roman Empire to the Church Reform (5th-12th centuries), which will be discussed with the support of a selection of historical sources.

The main topics will concern (20h):

• The concept of the Middle Ages and medievalism
• The sources
• The end of the ancient world and the arrival of the "barbarians"
• Lombards and Franks
• The Mediterranean in the Early Middle Ages
• The Carolingian Empire
• Feudal Europe and local powers
• The Empire and the Papacy

Case studies (10 h):

Political and Religious Iconography. Ravenna mosaics. The statues of Theoderic and their reuse. The image controversy.

The second part (prof.ssa Elisa Tosi Brandi)

The second learning module focuses on the analysis of some fundamental themes of the late medieval civilization (20 h):

• Western European kingdoms and the formation of the Modern state. Regional states in Italy.
• The Papacy and the Empire.
• Urban society: social-economic and political-institutional dynamics. Comune and Signoria.
• The 14^th century.
• Geographical discoveries and commercial routes. Humanism and Renaissance.

Case studies (6 h):

The medieval towns.

• The representation of the city: the fresco cycle painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico (1338-1339).
• Good government vs bad government.
• Urban economy: trades and guilds; workshops and craftsmen.

Readings/Bibliography

Students must study for first part (prof.ssa Elisa Tosi Brandi):

1) Medieval history handbook of A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Torino, Utet, 2022;

2) the sources and teaching materials uploaded to "Virtual";

3) ) C. Ferrari, La statua di Teoderico ad Aquisgrana: storia, arte e memoria tra antichità e Medioevo, in "Reti medievali Rivista" 23/2 (2022)(in open access: http://www.serena.unina.it/index.php/rm/article/view/9383/9986) and Piero Piccinini, Immagini d'autorità a Ravenna, in Storia di Ravenna, II/2, Venezia, Marsilio, 1992, pp. 31-78.

For second part (prof.ssa Tosi Brandi):

In addition to the medieval history handbook (A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Torino, Utet, 2016), and the sources and teaching materials uploaded to "Virtual", students are required to know:

C. Frugoni, Paradiso vista Inferno. Buon governo e tirannide nel Medioevo di Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019.

Teaching methods

During the lectures a selection of sources will be presented, read and discussed in order to deepen certain themes and learn about the cultural heritage produced in the Middle Ages.

Assessment methods

he final assessment consists of an oral examination by questions to test the student's knowledge of the topics covered in the lectures and contained in the books. The elements that contribute to the assessment include detailed knowledge of the content of the texts on the syllabus, language property and above all the ability to organise information into  answers that demonstrate knowledge of the sources, critical and argumentative capacity. Participation in seminars and conferences in the field of medieval studies indicated by the lecturer during the course are also assessed positively.

The students will present, before the exam, a paper (approximately ten pages) on a topic agreed with the professor. The paper must be submitted before the exam, and should contain a list of the principal sources and bibliography used.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skills displayed by the student in handling the sources and the secondary literature in the exam bibliography and his/her ability to find and use information and examples to explain and connect the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the topics;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the topics and the ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the course and is able to summarise them satisfactorily, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

Minimal and correct knowledge of the contents of the module, yet with lack of significant details and deficiencies in the use of the appropriate terminology will lead to barely sufficient marks.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he/she displays significant errors in his/her understanding and fails to present the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Lectures will be supported by a PowerPoint with images, graphics and maps.

The teaching materials (sources and PowerPoint) will be accessible on virtuale.unibo.it

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA) needing compensatory tools will be able to communicate their needs to the Teacher in order to be addressed to the referents and agree on the adoption of the most appropriate measures.

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it/per-studenti

Office hours

See the website of Elisa Tosi Brandi