History 32000-001 (10981) The World of Charlemagne 2015, fall semester INSTRUCTOR John Contreni Office: BRNG 2216J Hours: T and Th 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.; and by appt. Phone: 765-418-1866 E-mail: Assiduous and frequent questioning is indeed the first key to wisdom. --Peter Abelard (1121) The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. --Leslie Poles Hartley (1953) The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected. --Robert Frost (1874-1963) When people lived in times of long ago, they never thought they lived long ago. They thought they lived Now. --Constance Brittain Bouchard (2015) NOTE: In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond the instructor’s control. Here are ways to get information about changes in this course. Blackboard Learn course Web site Instructor’s email (listed above) Instructor’s phone (listed above) TIP. Make good use of the office hours. Feel free to consult with the instructor or the teaching assistant during your progress through the course. The time to seek help is when you begin to experience a problem, not at the end of the semester. GOALS In his own day Charles, king and later emperor of the Franks, was called "the Great". He was also known to his contemporaries as Europae Pater, "the Father of Europe". Today, the city of Aachen in Germany awards a "Charlemagne Prize" to the person who best advances the cause of European unity. A conference room in the buildings of the European Union in Strasbourg, France, is called "The Charlemagne Room". Who was this man whose long shadow stretches even to the beginning
2. Thomas F.X. Noble, ed. and trans. Charlemagne and Louis the Pious: The Lives by Einhard, Notker, Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE (follow order of chapters as listed below) WEEK 1: 24 AUGUST Reading and Discussion assignment: Charlemagne, pp. 1-4, “Introduction” and ch. 1, “The Frankish Tradition” Lectures: I INTRODUCTION WEEK 2: 31 AUGUST Reading and Discussion assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 2, “The War Against the Lombards” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, “Introduction” (pp. 1-6) Lectures I INTRODUCTION II. FROM LONG-HAIRED KINGS TO EMPERORS WEEK 3 7 SEPTEMBER Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 3, “Wars Against the Pagans” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, “Introduction” + Einhard, prologue-c. 16 (pp. 7-37) Lectures: II. FROM LONG-HAIRED KINGS TO EMPERORS WEEK 4 14 SEPTEMBER Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 4, “The Rebirth of Empire” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Einhard, c. 16-33 (pp. 37-50)
Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 9: “Government of the Empire: The Justice System” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Ermoldus, Bks 2-3 (pp. 142-170) Lectures: IV. FASHIONING A EUROPEAN CULTURAL LIFE WEEK 10 26 OCTOBER Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 10: “An Intellectual Project” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Ermoldus, Bk 4 (pp. 170-186) Lectures: IV. FASHIONING A EUROPEAN CULTURAL LIFE WEEK 11 2 November Exam II on Weeks 6-10: Tuesday, 3 November Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 11, “The Frankish Military Machine” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, “Introduction” and Thegan, prologue- c. 41 (pp. Lectures: V. FAMILY FEUDS AND NEW INVASIONS WEEK 12 9 NOVEMBER Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 12, “A New Economy” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Thegan, c. 41-58 (pp. 210-218) Lectures: V. FAMILY FEUDS AND NEW INVASIONS WEEK 13 16 NOVEMBER Reading and Discussion Assignment: Charlemagne, ch. 13, “Patronage and Servitude” Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, “Introduction” and Astronomer, prologue – c. 20 (pp. 218-246) Lectures: