Prof. Lisa Wolverton Spring 2014
325 McKenzie Hall
Office Hours: Wed 10-11:30 am
This course focuses on politics and society in tenth-century Germany. This is the “Ottonian” age, so named after the dynasty of rulers who governed as kings of Germany and Roman Emperors (two Henrys and three Ottos). We will explore a variety of questions ranging from how this new dynasty emerged from the embers of the previous, Carolingian, dynasty; what was the basis of their power and whether it might properly be called a “state”; how religious institutions and ideology supported their rule; what role elite women played; and the nature of Ottonian hegemony over northern Italy and western Slavic peoples.
Course Objectives:
To practice reading attentively and critically, whether of primary sources from the Middle Ages or the work of modern scholars.
To analyze primary sources texts and write logical, compelling essays that interpret them.
To gain an understanding of the tenth-century policial, social, economic and religious order in Germany.
Undergraduate Course Requirements:
The readings in this course are not substantial, but they are challenging. All are either primary sources or scholarly books and articles. It is the chief requirement of this course that you do all the assigned readings before class and come prepared to discuss them in class. Students will sometimes be asked to lead discussion, to summarize an article, to bring notes on specific questions, or to write a short analytical response (in class or before class). These small assignments will be crucial to evaluating student participation. Moreover, active participation constitutes a significant portion of your final grade. I will not take attendance, but since you cannot participate if you are not present, regular attendance in class is expected.
Writing assignments encourage students to engage closely with primary source readings. Papers should answer the assigned question on the basis of the materials assigned. (No outside research is expected.)
The grade break-down is as follows:
Class Preparation & Participation 35%
Midterm paper 30%
Final paper 35%
Graduate Course Requirements:
Graduate students will be expected to do additional readings, to meet separately to discuss them, and to write a substantive research paper (in lieu of all undergraduate writing assignments). Accordingly, the grade distribution is: 35% participation, 65% research paper. More detailed arrangements will be decided amongst the graduate students and instructor at the first class meeting. Reading knowledge of German is expected for graduate students.
Readings:
Most of the readings for this course have been posted to Blackboard. Articles marked with an * are available as PDF files through the UO library. You MUST print these out and bring them to class for our discussions. Two books are available for purchase at the UO Bookstore (and on reserve at Knight Library):
Gerd Althoff, Otto III, trans. Phyllis Jestice (2003)
Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg, trans. David Warner (2001)
A Note on Terminology:
Because the articles we’re reading in this class were originally intended for scholars and specialists, they sometimes contain terminology in Latin or German unfamiliar to educated non-specialists (like you!). For German words, I encourage you to use the following translation website: http://www.dict.cc/ A variety of Latin dictionaries are also available on-line; these are unfortunately less useful for technical terms and medieval (rather than classical) usages. Feel free to email me if a term is seriously impeding your comprehension of the reading; I’ll post my answers to the whole class, because chances are you’re not the only one confused. Do remember to use the web for any English words new to you.
Mar 31 Introduction to the Course, its Geography, and Issues in Ottonian History
Regino
of Prüm, Chronicon, trans. Stuart Airlie,
pp. 182-228 (esp. pp. 198-228).
Adalbert of Magdeburg, Continuation of Regino
Timothy Reuter, “Plunder and Tribute in the Carolingian Empire”, pp. 231-50 OR “The End of Carolingian Military Expansion,” pp. 251-67, in Medieval Polities and Modern Mentalities, ed. Janet L. Nelson (2006).
Liudprand of Cremona, “Concerning King Otto,” in The Complete Words of Liudprand of Cremona, trans. Paolo Squatriti, pp. 219-37.
Thietmar,
Bk II (pp. 89-125)
Liudprand of Cremona, Retribution, pp. 132-8, 141-50.
Karl Leyser, “The Women of the Saxon Aristocracy,” in Rule and Conflict in an Early Medieval Society (1979), pp. 49-73.
Philippe Buc, “Italian Hussies and German Matrons: Liudprand of Cremond on Dynastic Legitimacy,” Frühmittelalterliche Studien xxix (1995): 207-25; OR *Conrad Leyser, “Episcopal Office in the Italy of Liudprand of Cremona, c.890-c.970,” English Historical Review (2010) CXXV (515): 795-817.
“Henry I to Fulda,” in Boyd Hill, Jr., Medieval Monarchy in Action: The German Empire from Henry I to Henry IV (1972), pp. 111-13.
John W. Bernhardt, Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c.936-1075 (1993), pp. 136-69, 290-309.
“Otto I to Rather of Verona,” in Hill, pp. 156-8.
*James Forse, “Bruno of Cologne and the Networking of the Episcopate in Tenth-Century Germany,” German History 9 (1991): 263-79.
May 5 Otto II (973-83)
MIDTERM
PAPER DUE
May 7 Otto III (983-1002)
Thietmar,
Bk IV (149-204)
May 12 Otto III (cont.)
May 14 Adalbert of Prague, Missionary Christianity, and the Slavs
John Canaparius, “Life of Saint Adalbert, Bishop of Prague and Martyr,” trans. Cristian Gaspar, in Saints of the Christianization Age of Central Europe (Tenth-Eleventh Centuries), ed. by Gábor Klaniczay (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2013), pp. 96-181 (odd only).
May 19 Otto III (cont.)
Althoff,
Ch. 3-5 (pp. 72-131)
May 21 Renovatio imperii and Political Ideology
Matthew Gabriele, “Otto III, Charlemagne, and Pentecost A.D. 1000: A Reconsideration Using Diplomatic Evidence,” in The Year 1000: Religious and Social Response to the Turning of the First Millenium, ed. Michael Frassetto (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), pp. 111-32.
Henry Mayr-Harting, Ottonian Book Illumination, pp. 156-78 OR 179-201.
May 26 Memorial Day—no class
May 28 Henry II (1002-24)
Thietmar, Book V (pp. 205-234)
June 2 Henry II (cont.)
Thietmar, Book VI (pp. 235-305)
June 4 Ottonian Society
Thietmar, Book VII (pp. 306-360)
Monday, June 6, 10:15 am Final Paper due