Course: Christianity in the Medieval West

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Course title Christianity in the Medieval West
Course code KFR/BCHMW
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 5
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Novotný František, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
1. Christianitas? Christian, pre-Christian, and extra-Christian traditions in the medieval West. 2. Seminar I: The Béowulf. epic. 3. Time, space, miracles and "enchanted world". 4. Seminar II: Caesarius of Heisterbach, Dialogus Miraculorum. 5. Symbolism and estetics of the Christian cult. 6. Seminar III: Material culture and artifacts of the sacred space. 7. Popular Piety and unofficial ritual life. 8. Seminar IV: Burchard of Worms, Corrector sive medicus. 9. Different Christianities: Medieval Heterodoxy and alternative Christian mythologies. 10. Seminar V: The Cathar apocryphon Interrogatio Iohannis. 11. Death and afterlife; Heaven - Hell - Purgatory. 12. Seminar VI: Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy. 13. Evaluation; discussion about the essay topics.

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified, Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming)
  • Contact teaching - 26 hours per semester
  • Home preparation for classes - 60 hours per semester
  • Writing a seminar paper - 65 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The course provides an introduction into selected chapters from the western medieval Christianity. Lectures are supplemented by seminars about selected textual and visual sources.

Prerequisites
unspecified
KFR/BKRE2 and KFR/BKRE1

Assessment methods and criteria
Home assignment evaluation, Student performance assessment

Active participation in seminars; an essay on a selected topic (9000-18000 characters); participation in the final colloquium.
Recommended literature
  • Barber, M. The Cathars: Dualist Heretics in Languedoc in the High Middle Ages. London. 2013.
  • Bartlett, R. The Natural and the Supernatural in the Middle Ages. Cambridge. 2008.
  • Behringer, C., Merlin, P. et al. Cathedrals: Hundred Jewels of Medieval Europe. Munich. 1998.
  • Fletcher, R. The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. Berkeley. 1999.
  • Geary, P.J. Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception. Cambridge. 1990.
  • Gurevich, J.A. Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception. Cambridge. 1990.
  • Lambert, M. Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation. Oxford. 2003.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester