Time and Location

Thursday 11:45-2:45

Turlington Hall 2341

Description

Feudalism is a French invention, in that it was both invented by French scholars of the sixteenth century and applied first to social and political developments associated with medieval France. There is, however, so much variation and so many exceptions from the “rule,” that some researchers are now recommending that we abandon feudal terminology altogether. But the phenomenon described by “feudalism” did exist in medieval society, as people claimed their respective positions in society on basis of committing themselves to someone’s service. Whether or not this is what we mean by feudalism is a different issue. In this course, we will deal with both words–ancient words, but also new ones–used to make sense of what we know about the medieval past, and texts–medieval texts, modern texts–that may illuminate the nature of the social and political issues at stake. From medieval traditions to vassalage, from commendatio to the knighthood and courtly love, nothing, I hope, will escape the focus of this course. Its main goal is to provide a solid introduction to medieval social history, but also to open up discussions about some of the most debated problems in contemporary historiography.