Class 1 (1/25)
Introduction
Lecture 1: the Roman world; the late Roman Empire I (download lecture slides)
No reading
Class 2 (2/1)
Lecture 2: the late Roman Empire II: fifth and sixth-century trajectories (download lecture slides)
Reading 1: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, books 1-4; Rosenwein, ch. 1
[Rosenwein = Barbara Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, Vol. I: From c. 300 to c. 1150, 2nd ed.]
Class 3 (2/8)
Lecture 3: Western successor kingdoms: Frankia, Spain, Italy (download lecture slides)
Discussion 1: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks (discussion questions)
Reading 2: Rosenwein, ch. 2; Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, books 5-10 (finish and bring book to class)
Class 4 (2/15)
Quiz 1 (late antiquity; Frankia, Italy, Spain to 750: Lectures 1-3, Readings 1-2)
Video 2:
“Islam, Empire of Faith” episode 1
Lecture 4: East Rome and Persia to the rise of Islam (download lecture slides)
Reading 3: Ibn Ishaq, Biography of Muhammad (Sirat Rasul Allah) (online text, 32 pp.)
[Note: You must print online readings and bring them to class for easy reference during discussions; please factor in printing costs in your budget for course books]
Class 5 (2/22)
Lecture 5.1: Ummayad Caliphate; 5.2: Formation of Byzantium: Muslim invasions, Byzantine resistance; Iconoclasm (download lecture slides)
NOTE: Lecture 4 and Lecture 5 PDFs are now up-to-date
Reading 4: Life of Theodore of Sykeon (online text, 68 pp.); John of Damascus, Apologia (online text, 50 pp.: focus on Part III)
Class 6 (3/1)
Quiz 2 (early Islam, Umayyad Caliphate, Byzantium to ca. 800: Lectures 4-5.2, Video 2, Readings 3-4)
Video 3: "In search of ancient Ireland" [V]
Lecture 6: Ireland before the Vikings
(download lecture slides)
Reading 5: Life of Columbanus by Jonas (online text, 26 pp.); Life of Cuthbert by Bede (online text, 38 pp.)
Class 7 (3/8)
Lecture 7: Anglo-Saxon England (download lecture slides); video 4: "The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial" (25 min) [v]
Discussion 2: Beowulf (discussion questions)
Reading 6: Beowulf (bring to class for discussion) [D]
Class 8 (3/15)
Paper 1 due (in class, 7:05 pm; see Assignments page for instructions)
Lecture 8: Charlemagne's empire (download lecture slides; ignore "Lecture 10" in opening slide)
Reading 7: Rosenwein, ch. 3; Einhard, Life of Charlemagne
Class 9 (3/22)
Lecture 9: the Carolingian world (download lecture slides; ignore "Lecture 11" in opening slide)
Discussion 3: biography vs. hagiography (Lives of Charlemagne and Muhammad) (discussion questions)
Reading 8: Notker, Life of Charlemagne; review Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, Ibn Ishaq, Life of Muhammad
[Monday Mar 28 – Friday Apr 2: Spring Break]
Class 10 (4/5)
Quiz 3 (England, Ireland, Carolingians: Lectures 6-9, Video 3 &4, Readings 5-8)
Lecture 10: the Viking Age: the West (download lecture slides)
Video 5: "The Vikings" episode 1[V]
Reading 9: Rosenwein chapter 4
Class 11 (4/12)
Lecture 11: the Viking Age: the East (download lecture slides; excerpts from "The Vikings: Episode I" [v}
Discussion 4: individual and society in the early medieval world (discussion questions) [D]
Reading 10: Swedish runestone inscriptions (TBA: 2 extra credit points towards the final grade for the student who provides the best quality link to a site with runestone inscriptions in translation and, if possible, photographs); Risala, Ibn Fadlan (download pdf, 6 pp.); review Lives of Columbanus and Theodore of Sykeon
Class 12 (4/19)
Lecture 12.1: the Slavic world (download lecture slides)
Lecture 12.2: Kievan Rus (download lecture slides); excerpts from "The Vikings: Episode III" [V]
Reading 11: Russian Primary Chronicle (online text, 10 pp.)
Class 13 (4/26)
Quiz 4 (Vikings, Slavs, Rus: Lectures 10-12.2, Videos 4-5, Readings 9-11)
Lecture 13: the Abbasids (download lecture slides); video: "Islamic Spain" (37 min)
Reading 12: Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor (online text, 43 pp.) [from Burton's trans. of the Arabian Nights, bk. 6]
Class 14 (5/3)
Lecture 14: Byzantine resurgence & the Macedonian Renaissance (download lecture slides)
Discussion 5: travel, trade, and the early medieval state (discussion questions)
Reading 13: Book of the Eparch, excerpts on silk and groceries (download pdf, 5pp.); Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Treatise on Military Expeditions (download pdf, 29 pp; from Haldon, ed. & tr., Constantine Porphyrogenitus: Three Treatises on Imperial Military Expeditions [Vienna, 1990]); Liutprand of Cremona, Report of his Mission to Constantinople (online text, 24 pp.)
Class 15 (5/10)
Quiz 5 (Abbasids, Byzantium to 1000, 10th century: Lectures 13-15, Readings 12-14)
Lecture 15: the tenth century (download lecture slides)
No readings
Paper 2 due:Tuesday May 17th by 4 pm in my office (SCI 267B). [Note that late papers may not be picked up for several days.]