| Unit name | Eat, Sleep, Pray, Repeat - Religious Lifestyles in the Middle Ages (Level C Special Topic) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST10040 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Pohl |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
HIST13003 Special Topic Project |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
In theory, society in the Middle Ages is usually divided into three distinct groups or categories: those who pray, those who fight, and those who work. This threefold division can be encountered not only in the works of modern historians, but already amongst medieval writers such as Bishop Adalbero of Laon and Bishop Gerard of Cambrai. In practice, however, the boundaries between these three groups were often blurred, with lay people taking an active part in religious life, and men and women of the Church engaging actively, and routinely, with the wider secular world, sometimes in decidedly profane or non-religious ways, including economic and financial activities, politics, legal disputes fought out in law courts and even armed combat or warfare. After all, Christianity provided the single most all-embracing framework for all walks of life in the medieval West. In this unit, our aim is to take a closer look at the various important activities undertaken by medieval men and women of the Church. In doing so, we will encounter powerful individuals such as celebrated saints, bishops, abbots and abbesses, whilst also investigating the more humble lives of simple monks, nuns and other members of medieval religious communities. Together we will explore a rich and fascinating panorama of medieval religious lifestyles that transcends social boundaries and generates a detailed understanding of the many ways in which religion has shaped society both in the Middle Ages and today.
By the end of this unit students will be able to demonstrate:
(1) an in-depth understanding and detailed knowledge of religious life in the Middle Ages;
(2) the ability to integrate both primary and secondary source material into a wider historical analysis and argument;
(3) awareness of how to approach a long-term historical analysis from a modern perspective;
(4) the ability confidently and competently to select relevant evidence in order to illustrate historical arguments;
(5) the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically, and form and express an individual point of view.
One 2-hr seminar per week.
One 2-hr exam. (100%) [ILOs 1-5]
J. Barrow, The Clergy in the Medieval World: Secular Clerics, their Families and Careers in North-Western Europe, c.800-c.1200 (Cambridge, 2014).
C. N. L. Brooke, Churches and Churchmen in Medieval Europe (London, 1999).
B. Hamilton, Religion in the Medieval West (London, 1986).
C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (London, 2015).
G. Melville, The World of Medieval Monasticism: Its History and Forms of Life (Collegeville, MN, 2016).
G. Clark, The Benedictines in the Middle Ages (Woodbridge, 2011).
