Module HIST3783: THE CRUSADES

Department: HISTORY

HIST3783: THE CRUSADES

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• <text required>

Content

• The course can be seen to fall into two sections, the first on the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, the principalities of Edessa and Antioch and the County of Tripoli, their establishment and fate in the twelfth century. The second part concerns both the attempts to re-secure these territories in the Eastern Mediterranean and the prosecution of crusade elsewhere, on the borders of Castile, Aragon and Portugal, the German and Baltic frontiers and within Christendom as directed against enemies of the church (heretics and political enemies of the papacy).
• The crusades are one of the most enduring images of the Western Middle Ages. From the Council of Clermont in 1095 when Urban II called the nobility present to follow the Cross, to the close of the Middle Ages and well beyond - the attack of the Spanish Armada against England was technically a crusade - crusaders and crusading were a permanent fixture on the European scene. To study the Crusades is to appreciate the riches and complexities, glories and failures, heroes and villains, self-perceptions and identities of medieval society.
• This course will study the crusades in detail and in breadth. The origins of the idea of crusading will be explored and the competing historiographical points of view examined. Following that the First Crusade will be looked at in considerable detail. The complications of the evidence at our disposal and the ways in which these can be approached, alleviated and interpreted form a major point of investigation. After that the establishment, development and collapse of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem will be explored: key questions here involve military and social organisation - fighting monks, castles and royal dynasties, the settlement of the kingdom - towns, commercial life and rural settlement, the church in the East, relationships with other societies, cultures and polities - Muslims, Jews, Armenians, Greeks and other Westerners. The second and third crusades form part of this aspect of the course. In addition to the Western perspective, the response of Islam will also be considered, the evolution of Jihad, the rise of the Zengi and Nur-ad Din, and then the rise of the Ayyubid dynasty under Saladin.
• From this point attention is shifted to other theatres of crusade. The Spanish and Portuguese re-conquests figure, as do the crusades in the North, the Danish and German dominated expeditions against the pagan Wends, Livonians, Lithuanians and the orthodox Russians. Questions of the transferability of the ideology of crusade are crucial here, as well as the very different nature of conquest and domination in these regions. The ultimately less successful expeditions in the Eastern Mediterranean will be covered including the Fourth Crusade which ended up capturing not Jerusalem but Constantinople, and the Fifth which fought and died in north Egypt. Finally the crusading activity of Louis IX and its aftermath will be considered, involving the Mamluk dynasty and the more terrifying prospect of the Mongols. A last topic will explore the use of crusade within Christendom in the form of crusades against heretics.
• The Crusades offers the opportunity to address key historiographical issues such as the problems of defining crusade, the motivations for crusading and the role of the papacy. The merits of treating crusade in a narrow Jerusalem-centred manner or in a broad all-encompassing manner will also be considered. The question of crusade as a colonial venture will also be broached. It is possible to do all of this and more, because of the wide variety of sources available. This is one of the best served areas of medieval history, and yet one in which it is still possible to find new approaches and consider the abundant evidence in new light. Many of the issues discussed, for example the interaction between cultures and societies, have resonance far beyond the medieval period. Within that period however these questions offer an exciting and fascinating insight into the medieval world.

Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of the complexities of identifying and interpreting crusades, both in terms of contemporary sources and modern historiography. The chronological focus to cover the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries ;
• A knowledge of the ideological issues in the emergence of crusade in the eleventh century and their evolution in the course of the period. This will be complimented by understanding of the ideological responses engendered by crusade, in particular the Islamic response in the Near East and the notion of Jihad;
• An appreciation of the relationships and discontinuities between ideology and practice in crusading activity;
• A knowledge of a broad range of the dominant cultures of the period: the Latin West, Muslim Spain, Fatimid and Ayyubid Egypt, the Levant, Byzantium, Slavs, Scandinavian kingdoms, Mongols and Mamluks;
• An appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of the material used for the crusades: documentary (in various forms), archaeological and artistic.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of:
• seminars - to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals;
• tutorials - either individually or in groups to discuss topics arising from prepared work, allowing students the opportunity to reflect upon their personal learning with the tutor.
• Assessment:
• Unseen Examinations - test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative essays - remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources;
• Assessment of Primary Source Handling - students are assessed on their understanding of original primary sources, usually in print, their character varying according to the nature of the subject, and the students' ability to bring that knowledge to bear on 'cutting edge' research-based monographs and articles. Students are given the opportunity to discuss and articulate an understanding of changing interpretations and approaches to historical problems, drawing evidence from a body of primary source materials. Students are required to demonstrate skills associated with the evaluation of a variety of primary source materials, using documentary analysis for a critical assessment of existing historical interpretations.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative essay of not more than 2500 words (not including footnotes and bibliography), submitted in Term 1. This will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Coursework essays are formative as well as summative. They are to be submitted in two copies, of which one will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Preparation to participate in seminars and tutorials. At least one oral presentation in each term, and at least two practice gobbets in each term.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University