[University of Mississippi] [Department of History]
[Jeffrey Watt] [hswatt@olemiss.edu]
Department of History
Spring 2008
History 355: Europe in the Late Middle Ages and
Renaissance, 1300-1517
In
this course, we will study the important political, economic, and social developments
of late medieval/Renaissance Europe. Special attention will be given to
cultural, intellectual, and artistic currents of this period—we will be reading
the works of some important late medieval/Renaissance thinkers, and several
lectures will concentrate on the legacy left by architects, painters, and
sculptors from the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.
Professor:
Dr. Jeffrey R. Watt
Bishop 332 (915-5805)
Office hours: 2:00-3:15 MWF (and by
appointment)
Required
readings:
Norman
Cantor, In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made
Dante,
Inferno
Margaret
L. King, Women of the Renaissance
Machiavelli,
The Prince
Lauro Martines, Fire in the
City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence
Giorgio
Vasari, Lives of the Artists, vol. 1
Recommended
textbook: De Lamar Jensen, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation
Attendance:
Attendance at lectures is required.
Poor attendance will result in a reduction in grade by an amount to be
determined by the professor.
Exams,
quizzes, and paper assignments:
All
students taking this class will write a mid-term and a final examination. There
may be quizzes on some or all of the six required readings. STUDENTS WILL TAKE
THE EXAMINATIONS AND QUIZZES AT THE SCHEDULED TIMES. There will be no make-ups
for quizzes. Only under circumstances beyond the student’s control that are well
documented will a student be allowed to take a make-up exam. All those who
receive permission to make up the mid-term exam will take the make-up at 2:00
p.m. on Friday, May 2.
Students will also be required to do a paper assignment which may be fulfilled in the two following ways:
I.
Option one: Choose two of the following six paper topics. Papers are to
be typed, double-spaced, and roughly four to six pages in length. They must be
turned in on the respective due dates listed below. Late papers will not be
accepted. Students choosing this option must write at least one paper before
the mid-term exam.
1)Dante,
Inferno. The Divine Comedy is generally regarded as the greatest
literary achievement of the entire medieval period. In what ways can Dante’s Inferno
be said to sum up the values, both spiritual and mundane, of this entire age?
On the basis of his voyage through hell, discuss some of Dante’s attacks on
popular vices and on religious and political figures, both past and
contemporary, real and fictional. What are some of the things that you find
most striking about the various levels of hell where different misdeeds are
treated? Due date: January 28.
2)Norman
Cantor, In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made.
Write a critical analysis of Cantor’s work. This is not simply a summary
of the content of the book! In analyzing this work you should identify the
author’s thesis, i.e., what he is trying to prove. How successful is he in
defending his thesis? What sources has he consulted in undertaking his
research? What are the strengths of this work? Are there any weaknesses?
Comments on the author’s style and ability to engage the reader would be
appropriate. Due date: February 11.
3)Martines,
Fire in the City. Write a critical analysis of this work. (See number 2
above.) Due date: February 25.
4)Giorgio
Vasari, Lives of the Artists, vol. 1. An accomplished painter and
architect in his own right, Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) is best remembered for his
brief biographies of various artists of the Italian Renaissance. In what ways
did he believe that there definitely was a Renaissance in art in Italy? That
is, how did he describe changes in art and architecture from the thirteenth
into the fifteenth centuries? How did he distinguish artists of the High Renaissance
(those described in Part Three) from their predecessors? Be sure to refer to
specific artists. Due date: March 24.
5)Machiavelli,
The Prince. Machiavelli is often described as the first modern political
theorist. Does his view of humanity in The Prince seem to be in line
with the attitudes of prominent Renaissance humanists? In what way does The
Prince seem to be a Renaissance work? In what ways, if any, does
Machiavelli reflect the concerns and methods of Renaissance humanists? How does
The Prince seem to be incompatible with Renaissance ideals? Due date:
April 7.
6)King,
Women of the Renaissance. Write a critical analysis of this work. (See
number 2 above.) Due date: April 21.
II.
Option two: Write a research or term paper (roughly 10-12 pages) on a topic
chosen with the consent of the instructor. You must choose this topic no later
than February 15. The paper will be due April 25. Late papers will not be
accepted.
Final
grades:
Final
grades will be determined roughly as follows:
mid-term examination 15%
paper(s) 40%
final examination 30%
class
participation/quizzes 15%
Tentative
Lecture Schedule:
Week 1
(January 16-18)
Introduction
Political
and Social Structure of Late Medieval Europe
(Recommended reading assignment: text,
Introduction and chapter one)
Week 2
(January 23-25)
Religious
Conflicts
Late
Medieval Political Thought
Week 3
(January 28-February 1)
*Dante
Lay
Piety and Mysticism
(Reading
assignment: Dante; recommended: text, chapter seven)
Week 4
(February 4-8)
Late
Medieval Heresy
Schism
and Conciliarism
Renaissance
Papacy
Week 5
(February 11-15)
*The
Plague
Politics in Late Medieval Northern
Europe
(Reading
assignment: Cantor; recommended: text, chapter three)
Week 6
(February 18-22)
Growth
of National Monarchies
Political
Structure of Renaissance Italy
(Recommended
reading assignment: text, chapters eight and two)
Week 7 (February 25-29)
*Renaissance
Florence
Renaissance
Diplomacy
(Reading
assignment: Martines; recommended: text, chapter nine)
Week 8
(March 3-7)
Early Italian Humanism
MID-TERM
EXAMINATION: March 7
(Recommended
reading assignment: text, chapter four)
Week 9
(March 17-19)
The
High Renaissance
Northern
Humanism
(Recommended
reading assignment: text, chapter eleven)
Week 10
(March 24-28)
*Renaissance
Art
(Reading assignment: Vasari; recommended:
text, chapter five)
Week 11
(March 31-April 4)
The
Development of Vernacular Literature
The
Courtier
(Recommended
reading assignment: text, chapter twelve)
Week 12
(April 7-11)
*Renaissance
Political Theory
Science
and Technology in the Renaissance
(Reading assignment: Machiavelli; recommended:
text, chapter six)
Week 13
(April 14-18)
Overseas
Expansion
The
Late Medieval Family
(Recommended
reading assignment: text, chapter ten)
Week 14
(April 21-25)
*Renaissance
Women
Popular
Culture
(Reading assignment: King)
Week 15
(April 28-May 2)
Connections between the
Renaissance and the Reformation
Renaissance
Music
Final
Examination—Monday, May 5, 4:00 p.m.