Medieval History

Teacher(s)

Bousmar Eric;

Language

French

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

The student will developp a critical, reflexive and in-depth knowledge of the main evolutions and structural patterns characterizing the Medieval Civilization.

Content

A critical discussion of the very notion of Middle Ages and its implication is offered in the Introduction. The First Part deals with the political, legal and institutionnal history of the Middle Ages, with a focus on power relationships, cultural and political areas and political culture. Byzance and the Arab and Muslim world are studied in relationship with the Western Latin world. The following Parts nonetheless focus on the Western Middle Ages, dealing with socio-economic, religious, intellectual and cultural issues. Throughout the course, a special attention is given to the issues that have a particular relevance for today (such as migration waves, the interaction of civilizations, political and religious conflicts, the birth of the Western civilization and its internal diversity, the shifts of economic growth poles, the christian religion as a dominant ideology, minorities, gender, the rise of a rationnal thinking, the birth of the European early modern political structures, and so on).

Teaching methods

Ex-cathedra lecture. Documents are presented and analysed or discussed during the class.

Evaluation methods

Oral examination (with written preparation) assessing the knowledge of the course.
The student should be able to give an in-depth and detailled analysis of a given situation or fact. He/She should also be able to give a transversal analysis of an evolution accross various historical periods (diachronic approach) and to give a comparative analysis of simultaneous situations or parallel evolutions in different areas (synchronic approach).

Other information

Lecture handout that includes an outline of the course and a thematic bibliography.
Powerpoint presentation including textual and visual documents as well as maps (available on the Moodle platform of the course after each class).
Various other documents available on the Moodle platform of the course.
This course is thaught every odd year; it is taught during the second term of the academic year 2025-2026.

Bibliography

Cf. bibliographie détaillée jointe au syllabus.
A bibliography is included in the lecture handout.

Teaching materials

• Histoire approfondie du Moyen Age. Syllabus-cadre et bibliographie

Faculty or entity

> PHLB