History 279 (Fall 2005): Heresy and
Popular Religion in the Middle Ages
This course looks at popular religious beliefs and practices in medieval
Europe, including miracles, martyrdom and asceticism, saints and their shrines,
pilgrimages, relics, curses, witchcraft, and images of heaven and hell. It
seeks to understand popular religion both on its own terms, as well as in
relationship to the Church hierarchy. It also examines the basis for religious
dissent in the form of both intellectual and social heresies, which led to
religious repression and the establishment of the Inquisition in the later
Middle Ages.
Books
The following books are
available for purchase:
* Edward Peters,
Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe
* Thomas Head (ed.),
Medieval Hagiography
Joseph H. Lynch, The
Medieval Church: A Brief History
William Cook and Ronald
Herzman, The Medieval World View
Benedicta Ward,
Miracles and the Medieval Mind
Aron Gurevich,
Medieval Popular Culture
R. I. Moore, The
Origins of European Dissent
R. I. Moore,
The Formation of a Persecuting Society
The books are also available on
reserve, although asterisked (*) books will be used in class.
Requirements and Grading
Grading will be based on the
following five components:
¨
A Primary Source Paper (app. 5 pages) (20%)
¨
A Take Home Final (app. 10 pages) (20%)
¨
A Book Report, to be presented in class (20%)
¨
4 Short Response Papers (20%)
¨
Class Participation (20%)
HIST 279 Course Conference
I have set up a course conference on First Class where you can find the course syllabus, e-reserves, paper topics, instructions for writing papers, and changes in reading assignments. Please be sure to check the conference before doing your readings as I do anticipate some modifications. I will also be posting messages from time to time.
E-reserves
All primary source texts, with
the exception of those found in Peters or Head, can be found as e-reserves.
Please bring printed copies of the source readings to class.
Readings
(Please check History 279 Course Conference for changes to reading assignments)
I. Religious Life and Heresy in the Early Church
2/3 Apostles and Martyrs
Cook and Herzman, chapters 1 and 3 (recommended: chapter 2)
New Testament (e-reserve)
The Martyrdom of Perpetua (e-reserve)
2/7 Conversion and the Christianization of the Roman Empire
Cook and Herzman, chapter 4
Augustine, Confessions (e-reserve)
Constantine's conversion and Helena's discovery of the Holy Cross in Rufinus of
Aquileia, Church History, in Head, 83-86
2/10 Monks and Bishops
Cook and Herzman, chapters 3 (review) and 6
The Life of St. Anthony, 1-4 (in Head) and chapters 72-80 (e-reserve)
Read one of the following:
The Life of St. Anthony, chapters 1-15 and 83-94 in Head, 7-15, 24-29
The Life of St. Porphyry in Head, 53-75
2/14 Heresy and Orthodoxy
Cook and Herzman, 51-55, 58-59 (review); 111-28 (1st ed. pages: 67-71, 75-78, 141-65)
Peters, 13-26
Tertullian, Theodoret, The Creed of Nicaea, Compelle Intrare from the
Theodosian Code, and St. Isidore of Seville in Peters, 29-31, 38-50
2/17 Religious Life and Ecclesiastical Organization in the Frankish World
Cook and Herzman, 90-111 (1st ed. pages: 115-41)
Lynch, chapter 4
Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, II: 13-17, 21-31; V: 43; VI: 6; VII: 44
(e-reserve)
Life of St. Radegund (e-reserve)
II. Popular Belief and Religious Practices
2/24 Political Order and the Supernatural
Lynch, chapters 5 and 7
Cook and Herzman, chapter 7 (recommended)
Letaldus of Micy, The Journey of the Body of St. Junianus, in Head, 284-85
Read one of the following (Knapp reserve):
T. Head and R. Landes, The Peace of God: Social Violence and Religious
Response in France around the Year 1000, Introduction, 1-18
Frederic Cheyette, "Giving Each His Due," in Lester Little and Barbara
Rosenwein, Debating the Middle Ages, 170-79
2/28 Patron Saints
Gurevich, 1-12 and 31-38 or 39-58
Ward, chapter 1
Miracles of St. Foy: chapters 1.1 and 1.3, chapters 1.5, 1.6, 1.10, and 1.11,
chapters 1.13-1.20, or chapters 1.26, 1.27, 1.31, and 1.34 (Knapp reserve)
3/3 Pilgrimages and Shrines
Egeria of Spain, Pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Knapp reserve)
Film: The Shrine
Primary Source Paper Due
3/7 Confession and Penitence
Lynch, chapter 18
Gurevich, 24-31
Frankish Penitentials in Medieval Handbooks of Penance (e-reserve)
3/10 Heaven, Hell, and the Apocalypse
Lynch, chapter 17
Gurevich, 104-11 and 111-23 or 123-30
St. Peter's Apocalypse, Furseus' Vision, and St. Patrick's Purgatory (e-reserve)
Book Report: Jacques Le Goff, The Birth of Purgatory
3/14 Miracles, Magic, and Maledictions
Gurevich, 78-94
Ward, chapter 2
Ralph Glaber in Head, 285-87
Augustine, City of God on miracles (e-reserve)
Begin Einhard, The History of the Translation of the Blessed Martyrs of Christ in
Head, 199-225
Book Report: Lester Little, Benedictine Maledictions: Liturgical Cursing in
Romanesque France
3/17 Relics and Translations
Ward, 33-56, 67-68, 76-82
Einhard, The History of the Translation of the Blessed Martyrs of Christ in
Head, 199-225
Book Report: Patrick Geary, Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages
3/28 Female Spirituality and Marian Worship
Ward, chapter 8
Hrotsvit in Head, 237-54
Tales of the Virgin, chapters 1, 3, 5-7, 9 in Head, 627-53 or
St. Mary of Oignies in Head, 709-27
Book Report: Caroline Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance
of Food to Medieval Women
3/31 No Class
4/4 Demonology and Witchcraft
Jeffrey Burton Russell, Witchcraft in the Middle Ages, chapter 4 (Knapp reserve)
Cook and Herzman, 213 (on Gerbert) (1st ed. pages: 262-63)
Walter Map (e-reserve): ch. 2.11-2.16 and 4.7, ch. 4.6, or ch. 4.8-4.11
III. Reform and Rebellion in the High Middle Ages
4/7 Papal Reform: The Papacy of Gregory VII
Cook and Herzman, chapter 8 or Lynch chapter 9
Documents on the Investiture Controversy (Various Documents on Gregory VII)
(e-reserve)
Book Report: Robert Bartlett, Trial by Water and Fire: The Medieval Judicial Ordeal
4/11 Monastic Reform and Mysticism: Bernard of Clairvaux and Hildegard of
Bingen
Lynch, chapter 13
William of St. Thierry's Life of St. Bernard or Life of St. Hildegard of Bingen
(e-reserve)
St. Bernard, "On Loving God" (e-reserve)
4/14 Heresies of the Eleventh Century
Moore, Origins of European Dissent, 1-30
Peters, 57-65
Heretics of Orléans, Peters, 66-71
Heretics at Arras (e-reserve: Wakefield)
Begin Thomas of Monmouth, Life and Passion of St. William of Norwich in Head,
515-36
4/19 The First Crusade and Anti-Jewish Pogroms
Lynch, chapter 10
Cook and Herzman, 188-93 (review) (1st ed. pages: 232-37)
Fulcher of Charters and Ibn al-Athir (e-reserve: Readings in Medieval History)
Thomas of Monmouth, Life and Passion of St. William of Norwich in Head, 515-36
4/21 Theological Debate: Bernard of Clairvaux and Peter Abelard
Cook and Herzman, 212-28 (1st ed. pages: 262-82)
Peter Abelard, St. Bernard, and Everinus of Steinfeld in Peters, 80-101
4/21 Religious Dissent in the Twelfth Century: Henry of Le Mans and Arnold of
Brescia
Moore, Origins of European Dissent, 46-61; 81-101 or 115-36
William the Monk and Otto of
Freising in Peters, 75-80
4/25 The Vita Apostolica: Peter Waldo and St. Francis
Lynch, chapter 12 and pp. 216-22
Moore, Origins of European Dissent, 226-40 (recommended)
Cook and Herzman, chapter 10
An Account of Peter Waldo's conversion (e-reserve)
Etienne de Bourbon, Walter Map, and Valdès's Profession of Faith in Peters, 139-49
4/28 Dualistic Beliefs: the Bogomils and the Cathars
Moore, Origins of European Dissent, 168-85; 197-226
Lynch, 222-26
The Cathar Council at Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, Pierre des Vaux de Cernay: The
Historia Albigensis, Ranier Sacconi, and the Heretics of Lombardy in Peters,
103-7, 121-37
5/2 The Inquisition
Edward Peters, Inquisition, 40-74
Lynch, 226-28
Pope Lucius III (Ad Abolendum), Canons from the Fourth Lateran Council, Caesarius of
Heisterbach, The Council of Toulouse, Pope Gregory IX (Ille humani generis), The
Council of Tarragona, and A Manual for Inquisitors at Carcasonne in Peters, 170-78,
189-206
5/9 Persecution and Intolerance
R. I. Moore, Formation of a Persecuting Society