- Course contents:
The course firstly analyses the idea of the Middle Ages as it has been developed over the centuries to deconstruct the interpretations, especially the 19th-century nationalist ones, which are still associated with the medieval millennium and are at the basis of contemporary medievalisms. The main features of medieval Europe (5th-15th centuries) will be examined by focusing on political, social, and economic history: the transformation of the Roman world and the post-Roman kingdoms, the birth and expansion of Islam, the Carolingians and the following political fragmentation, the European economic expansion, the 11th-century Reform of the Church, the chivalry and the Crusades, the communes, the formation of European monarchies, and the crisis of the 14th century.
- Target skills and knowledge:
The aim of the course is to provide students with:
1. a solid knowledge of the most important problems of medieval history from the 5th to the 15th century;
2. a basic knowledge of the most relevant historiographical debates;
3. an introduction to the main problems in dealing with medieval written sources;
4. the knowledge to place events and historical processes in the correct chronological sequence, by identifying the causal links that caused the development of political, social, and economic transformations between the 5th and 15th centuries.
The course firstly analyses the idea of the Middle Ages as it has been developed over the centuries to deconstruct the interpretations, especially the 19th-century nationalist ones, which are still associated with the medieval millennium and are at the basis of contemporary medievalisms. The main features of medieval Europe (5th-15th centuries) will be examined by focusing on political, social, and economic history: the transformation of the Roman world and the post-Roman kingdoms, the birth and expansion of Islam, the Carolingians and the following political fragmentation, the European economic expansion, the 11th-century Reform of the Church, the chivalry and the Crusades, the communes, the formation of European monarchies, and the crisis of the 14th century.
- Target skills and knowledge:
The aim of the course is to provide students with:
1. a solid knowledge of the most important problems of medieval history from the 5th to the 15th century;
2. a basic knowledge of the most relevant historiographical debates;
3. an introduction to the main problems in dealing with medieval written sources;
4. the knowledge to place events and historical processes in the correct chronological sequence, by identifying the causal links that caused the development of political, social, and economic transformations between the 5th and 15th centuries.
Categoria A.A. 2025 - 2026 / Corsi di laurea / ITALIAN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES
- Docente: Giulia Zornetta