[EUP] The period from the rise of the Holy Roman Empire to the discovery of the New World has been rightly described as the "making of Europe." This course explores aspects of medieval institutions, society and culture from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia and beyond, looking at royal and aristocratic authority, the power of the papacy, and the emergence of urban classes. Attention will be drawn to agrarian and commercial revolutions, to technological advances and revivals of intellectual activity, letters and the arts, but also to warfare and religious conflict. We will discover how people lived, how they viewed themselves, and how their perceptions of the world changed. Two class meetings per week.
Limited to 30 students. Fall semester. Professor Shawcross.