Medieval Civilization: The Hero in History
Spring 2010
Rather than structured as a general survey, this course is designed first, to illustrate various aspects of the social history of the period by a study of the meaning and importance of the hero and the heroic in the Middle Ages, and second, to consider in this regard the significance of the medieval legacy to the modern world.
Topics for discussion will include the "great-man theory," the making (and unmaking) of the hero in fact and fiction, heroic myth and inspiration, the function of the hero in the building of the institutional church and the nation-state, and the survival of the medieval ideal.
Examples will be drawn from the historical texts which form the basis for the lives of such persons, real or imaginary, as King Arthur, Robin Hood, William Tell, Thomas Becket, Saint Francis, Henry V, and Jeanne d'Arc.
There will be required occasional oral reports, a term paper on an approved topic related to the work of the course, and a final examination.
Topics for discussion will include the "great-man theory," the making (and unmaking) of the hero in fact and fiction, heroic myth and inspiration, the function of the hero in the building of the institutional church and the nation-state, and the survival of the medieval ideal.
Examples will be drawn from the historical texts which form the basis for the lives of such persons, real or imaginary, as King Arthur, Robin Hood, William Tell, Thomas Becket, Saint Francis, Henry V, and Jeanne d'Arc.
There will be required occasional oral reports, a term paper on an approved topic related to the work of the course, and a final examination.
