HI7146 Regnum and Sacerdotium in Narrative sources & Letters of the 11th Century
Module Coordinator: Professor Ian Robinson
Duration: Michealmas Term
Contact Hours: 2 hours per week
ECTS: 10
Assessment:
1 x 3,500-5,000 essay on an approved topic relating to the module
This module studies the history of ideas – and specifically ideas of royal and ecclesiastical authority and of the relations of Church and State – in the narrative sources and correspondence composed in the territories of the western empire. Seminars concentrate on the analysis of the following texts (studied in English translation): the works of the imperial chaplain Wipo, including his Deeds of Conrad II, written in the 1040s and the probably contemporary Latin poem Ruodlieb; Herman of Reichenau's mid-century chronicle and its late eleventh-century continuators Berthold of Reichenau and Bernold of St Blasien; Adam of Bremen's History of the archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen; Lampert of Hersfeld's Annals; narratives of the Normans in southern Italy, notably William of Apulia and Amatus of Monte Cassino; biographies of Popes Leo IX and Gregory VII; the diplomas of the Salian emperors and letters of Bern of Reichenau, Peter Damian, Gregory VII and Henry IV.
Learning outcomes:
On successful completion of the module students should be able to:
- identify key issues and developments associated with ideas about royal authority in the eleventh century, as revealed by in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources
- place this knowledge in the context of a broader knowledge and understanding of relations between church and state in the High Middle Ages
- formulate research questions for the purposes of essay writing and oral presentations
- assess the various historiographical approaches and methodologies applied the this area of medieval history
- engage critically and in-depth with primary texts and secondary literature
- complete an intensive, self-motivated study of a relevant historical problem, with high quality research organization and presentation