Module Identifier HY31320  
Module Title THE MAKING OF WESTERN CHRISTENDOM C 800-C 1200  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Phillipp R Schofield  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Dr Bjorn K U Weiler  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   4 Hours 2 x 2 hours dates to be arranged  
  Lecture   20 Hours  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours   70%  
  Semester Assessment   2 x 2,500 word essays   30%  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be:
a) Familiar with a body of historical knowledge in the field of medieval religious and ecclesiastical history.
b) Familiar with comparative perspectives on the history of the Church, piety and religion across the High Middle Ages.
c) Able to read, analyse and reflect critically on secondary and primary texts
d) Able to gather and sift appropriate items of historical evidence
e) Able to work both independently and collaboratively, and to participate in group discussions (not assessed)

Brief description

This survey module will offer students an overview of the development of the Christian church and the Christian faith in western Europe from the end of the eighth century to the beginning of the thirteenth century. The survey will be taught through lectures and two seminars. Students will be provided with a full bibliography and encouraged to develop particular research interests through essay assignments. It is a primary aim of the module to provide students with a clear sense of the major developments in the growth of Christianity in the west during the early and high middle ages. Furthermore, the module will introduce students to an important canon of historical literature as well as enhancing their awareness of a range of primary material, including saints’ lives, chronicles, charters, and the pronouncements of the church. Finally, the seminars, of which there are two, will explore the developments outlined in the lecture series through closer examination of two important features of medieval Christianity: sainthood and lay piety.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Bernard Hamilton. (1986) Religion in the Medieval West. London
R.W.Southern. (1970) Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages. London
Colin Morris. (1989) The Papal Monarchy. The Western Church from 1050 to 1250. Oxford
R.Bartlett. (1994) The Making of Europe. Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change 950-1350. London
J.H.Mundy. (1973) Europe in the High Middle Ages 1150-1309. London
R.N.Swanson. (1995) Religion and Devotion in Europe c.1215-c.1515. Cambridge
R. Fletcher. (1998) The conversion of Europe. From paganism to Christianity, 371-1386 AD. London
P. Brown. (1987) The Rise of Western Christendom. Oxford
J. Herrin. (1987) The Formation of Christendom. Princeton
R.W. Southern. (1997) Scholastic Humanism and the Unification of Europe. Oxford
W.Ullmann. (1972) A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages. London
W.Ullmann. (1955) The Growth of Papal Government in the Middle Ages. London
A. Vauchez. (1997) Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages. Cambridge