OVERVIEW

For those students taking 9 credits, the course is divided into two modules (a total of 60 hours). The first module will provide a broad overview of the main types of medieval documents, how these were conceived, their aims, the different themes and problems that historians of different disciplines have followed and tackled over time. In addition, the lessons will illustrate how to build a thematic bibliography and how to access online resources. The second module will deepen the topics dealt with in the first module, with classroom exercises on sources and bibliographies and discussions of different ways of managing data.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course "Medieval history: sources and methodology" aims at providing knowledge of the main types of medieval documents, their uses and the problems in tackling such documentation; the ability to navigate through bibliographic resources, and to manage the data collected from documents.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

In furnishing basic knowledge of the sources and methodology for medieval history, the course aims to provide an understanding of the evolution of medieval sources, with particular reference to the documents produced between the 12th-15th centuries in the Italian context. At the end of the course the students will be able to recognize the main types of documents, and understand how these were interpreted and used over time; the students will acquire the ability to exploit the potential of the different types of documents that will be progressively discussed, and gain awareness of the problems in dealing with medieval sources. At the end of the course, students will also be able to construct autonomously a thematic bibliography and elaborate simple databases so as to facilitate the analysis of different types of documents.   

PREREQUISITES

No specific prerequisites are required.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures, also with the use of slides; part of the material will be provided during the lecture, a part will be available in various formats on Aulaweb.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Overview of medieval sources, approaches to, and problems in, the study of sources, historiographical and practical updates on the sources.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Main text:

P. Cammarosano, Italia medievale. Struttura e geografia delle fonti scritte, Roma, 1991.

Selective bibliography:

Le scritture del comune. Amministrazione e memoria nelle città dei secoli XII e XIII, a cura di G. Albini, Torino 1998

Civiltà Comunale: Libro, Scrittura, Documento. Atti del Convegno, Genova, 8-11 novembre 1988 in Atti della Società Ligure di Storia Patria, 29/2 (1989), saggi di G. Tabacco, G.G. Fissore, A. Rovere, G. Ortalli, U. Tucci, G. Cherubini, disponibile in open access:

https://www.storiapatriagenova.it/BD_vs_contenitore.aspx?Id_Scheda_Bibliografica_Padre=1033&Id_Progetto=0

S. Macchiavello, A. Rovere, The Written Sources, in A Companion to Medieval Genoa, a cura di C. Beneš, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 25-48.

C. Violante, Atti privati e storia medioevale: problemi di metodo, Roma 1982 (Fonti e studi del corpus membranarum Italicarum. Prima serie, studi e ricerche).

More information on the requirements for the exam will be given during the first lecture; this information, as well as a more extensive bibliography, will also be available on Aulaweb. Non-attending students are invited to contact the lecturer in order to agree on the exam programme.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DENISE BEZZINA (President)

PAOLA GUGLIELMOTTI

MARIA ELENA CORTESE (Substitute)

SANDRA MACCHIAVELLO (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

21 February 2022

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam aims at verifying the students’ ability to appreciate and explain the richness and specificity of medieval documents, their uses and interpretations as well as their awareness of the problems in dealing with them; participation in classroom exercises will be taken into account.

Exam schedule