Module HIST3001: Politics and Polemics: Medieval German Kings and Their Chroniclers, c. 1024-1125

Department: History

HIST3001: Politics and Polemics: Medieval German Kings and Their Chroniclers, c. 1024-1125

Prerequisites

• • A pass mark in at least ONE level 2 module in History

Corequisites

• • None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• • None

Aims

• To encourage students to think about what politics was in different historical periods.
• To encourage students to explore what different kinds of sources, especially chronicles, tell us about politics

Content

• The Salian dynasty—Conrad II (1024–1039), Henry III (1039–1056), Henry IV (1056–1105), and Henry V (1105–1125)—ruled over a complex polity for just over a hundred years. Historians traditionally view the Salian century as medieval Germany’s troubled adolescence: the Ottonian period, marked by ‘consensus politics’ and a firm sense of cooperation between church and king, was followed by one of rifts, crises, and arguments: constitutional cracks, which nineteenth-century historians would read as the first signs of the weaknesses that would lead to fragmentation of the Empire in the later middle ages. It was, to quote one of the foremost historians to have written on eleventh-century Germany in English, an era characterised by ‘self-doubt, pangs of conscience and self-criticism’ (Karl Leyser). The ruling class was shaken to its core by civil war, in particular the Saxon rebellion of the 1070s (Leyser again: ‘the first European revolution’) and the conflict between Henry IV (1056–1105) and the papacy (Gerd Tellenbach: ‘a struggle for the right order in the world’). Historians’ views of the Salian dynasty (German kings from 1024 until 1125) are, in large part, a result of the surviving evidence of their activities: most of what we know of eleventh- and early twelfth-century Germany we know from a series of narrative sources. The module will be based on these intriguing sources. They were all written in Latin and by churchmen, but they represent a wide variety of opinions. In fact, it is their opinionated nature which makes them particularly interesting. Here we see how the writing of history becomes a tool of political propaganda—including, in the negative depictions of Henry IV, vicious sexual slander. Students will be encouraged to consider the effectiveness of this propaganda? Did it travel beyond learned clerical circles? How did it relate to political practice—and further: what can we actually tell about political or constitutional history from narrative sources of this kind? How have grand narratives about the rise and decline of medieval Germany influenced the modern understanding of the Salian era? In this module we will explore these questions which are important to historians of any period of history and similar questions, concentrating on the deep reading of primary sources.

Learning Outcomes

• A deeper understanding of the political history of Europe in the central middle ages, including some of the most fundamental, difficult questions: what was the political in the eleventh century? How did a Salian king actually rule? Was there such a thing as a state in the central middle ages?
• An ability to read and interpret a series of primary sources in translation, and to understand the possibilities and limitations that they present to the historian.
• An appreciation of medieval political ritual, and the difficulties of understanding its practical aspects from the textual record.
• An understanding of the modern secondary literature and its context, from the great constitutional historians of the nineteenth century to contemporary historical anthropology.

• 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 the following teaching methods:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• 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.
• Assessment:
• 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 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. In addition, seen Examinations (with pre-released paper) are intended to enable Level 3 students to produce more considered and reflective work;
• 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. enter text as appropriate for the module

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Written assignment of 1000-2000 words submitted in Michaelmas 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