may 9th lecture

Benedict reading

5/28/2011 12:49:00 PM

Can see the monte casino monestary for about 20 min. when going by it. It is on a hill and very large. Its apart from the everyday life, but not out of sight. A fortress of prayer. Intent for monks to be distant yet visible. A peasant walking by would have the spiritual connection that the monks up there were praying for them. -the back and forth between peter/Gregory had the purpose of reaffirming benedicts power. Its less formal than a work of philosophy, it was almost like a sermon. Peter and others like him took the bible as the word of God. -pg. 92. That matt 16 text is a big thing the papacy focuses on for their power. -the text is repetitive to make sure to drill the point home. For educational purposes. -the miracles, at least the 1st couple [ a plate breaking and being welded back together] are trivial -but these texts at this time reflect the minds of the people. Rome is not doing well and the people were dirt poor. They were very difficult times -when the monks would go out in the country side from the monestary, they met satan a lot and he took different forms, he tries to trick you. It was very dangerous out there for them. Took also the form of a dragon too [a very common form] and also the fire that only the few people around could see or the vision for only 1 person, or the snake or the little black boy and a crow. Point is, they felt that satan was around and he was the cause of many bad things -benedict was very strict, he did lose his temper he came from a well off family, he was an aristocrat -benedictine rule runs like roman families did, father is the head and the law for the household -monks wore cowels w/ very long sleeves that go over hands b/c if you cant see the hands you lose the individuality and thats the point of the monks -abbott is the name for the head of the monestary hes the model for others -society where when people want order, no police to call. Society that is poor. -pg 92 where talks about how just 1 day someone dies, they were fine the day before -pg 14 tempts benedict w/ lust -if you accept, you will be rewarded. Promise of heaven was very important to the people -what makes for govt is a major question in history *compare and contracts things in society w/ the people weve read about.

-enter the barbarians [specifically the Germanic decent for what were talking about]. Barbarians mean someone not like us probably came from north, didnt know how to run roman ways. But wouldnt want to go back to their countries after seeing the wealth of rome. Many wanted to be seen as tomans, they tried, but most of the time would miss the boat -books of kells-can see heads, cat, they like to it was honoring to God but having fun too. -the Lombard laws-no organization to them -wergald-like money, pay the family -there sense of laws were very different from ours

May 11, 2011

5/28/2011 12:49:00 PM

-The ostrogoths-they were a tribal group meaning that they were sharing culture, and similar dialect. they were a political group that submit loyalty to a particular chief. -people can leave the tribe if they think their lives will be better serving under a different leader, so that would mean that they leave the tribe. -as long as you held loyalty to the ostrogoths, you got to be an ostrogoth. they ended up in italy THE READING -the time was uncertain with many aspects of life. the events were such that they then became commemorated afterwards at a particular times. the set of evenets such that they remained in peoples minds year after year. -clovis is the law. he decides what is right and what is wrong -clovis shows respect to the church even before converted, yet he is a cold blooded man, kills people very easily. he forgets a couple commandments -he was converting people under his rule, people were doing it probably b/c their king was a christian so they thought it was in their best interest. but they didn't read the bible b/c most were illiterate and they probably didn't understand the trinity either -hierarchy -gregory loved clovis b/c he was not a heretic like the other goths and arians . clovis protected orthodox christianity -this text gave us a sense of what kings at this time did. he was at war always, and he killed people for fear that they were going to take over his power, it was a power struggle always with people. he doesn't listen to his wife. we don't really know what else he did, he doesn't open businesses, he doesn't really legislate. he is a king certain share of plunder -and plunder is used instead of tax b/c that is to theft -gave a sense of what it meant to be a converted christian at this time Beowolf talks about the society at this time -so ask questions like what is the gov't like, how were the societies back then. and ask if this work is a christian poem, and then we will have to decide what the word christian means to us. we know what it means to us but we can't assume that it meant the same thing in the past. also ask what the role of women is ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GERMANIC KINGDOMS-slides in the sense that he is a warrior. loyalty for clovis is rewarded to the people by giving them a say gov't is were

-the word frank means something like free man. there were diff groups of franks. can see that in 6th century the franks were found in northern france. at their strongest they conquered a lot! -clovis was an ancestor of meroveus would was said to come from a seahorse. the point is that what gave this family it's prestige -the merovingians were known for their long blonde hair. if you cut it the prestige was gone, maybe said their power too. -he converts to win a battle, he makes the deal to win and then convert. so it really doesn't seem that sincere. -the franks thought of their kingdom as property and when the king died the land was divided between the sons. the sons treated the state like it was private property -eventually the law gets written down but it doesn't look like how we would think. when 2 people went before a judge or something when they got into an argument they had to almost flip a coin to decide who's law to follow. the rules were really just a list -brunhilde, 600 CE. for her to rule was unnatural and therefore had to have an unnatural punishment when she died. these people were not very nice. -mayor of the palace-was someone who brought the king his shoes in the morning, basically a waiter but then grows slowly in power and influence. then becomes more important in the palace than the monarch. for the meravingian monarchs -charles martell took advantage of military changes and some brought in by people from the far east, so used calvary arm. his soldiers wore armor and carried long wooden spears and their saddles had stirrups meaning can ride in control with your feet and have your hands free for fighting -theoderic is similar yet different to clovis and we need to be able to know the differences SUTTON HILL-ANGLIO-slides -the boat that was in these mounds was a ship burial. but when they went to dig it up it was gone. just the outlines of the ship was there. -no one really knows when beowolf was really thought of or when the events of it are suppose to happen. when people sang the poem beowolf and they thought of the ship burial in beowolf, this is what they had in mind [the ship burial we looked at]. reasonable date for beowolf 725 is a

-EXAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS -from year 300-900 how does peoples idea of what makes a hero may change? -how does the idea of gov't change during said years. -something about the position of women -we look at readings and individuals we've talked about to write the answer -final exam question, chinese exam question..you're sitting w/ clovis, benedict,...dinner is over and waiter brings fortune cookies, the advice says blah blah, what would these historical figures have to say about this quote?

lecture 4-beowulf

5/28/2011 12:49:00 PM

it was first sung in front of an audience. They were almost positively NOT Christians. -Written down in a Christian monastery. This one was read to the monks. The person who wrote down what we have saw it as a work in the Christian context [we have to assume] but we need to ask what that Christian context consist of at this time. -Beowulf is describes in the beginning that he is almost super human-with the strength of 30 men in one hand -Grendals family is descendent from Cain meaning they are not worthy of Gods love b/c he was the person who murdered his brother. Pg 29. Did God take out vengeance on Cain? -the culture is becoming Christian but not just yet so taking what they hear and then putting it into context -this poem is a rich source and tells us a good deal on the Christian -one of the values here is the value of war fare. They live for their swords so the blacksmith, Welin smith is important b/c he has a very big job. He wasnt a warrior but he was making the weapons for the people that were fighting the battles. -what can we say about Beowulfs weaponits fancy and has designs on it. -The weapons had names like runting -this is a warrior society and one of the values is that they name their weapons. Its a way to assess the value -Beowulf kills grendal by tearing off his right arm b/c most people are right handed and in a warrior society it would have been good. How do we know that hes deadheres his fighting arm. And then they put it on display in the hall. Hands are of big importance here b/c its a huge way to show how strong you are and you do it with your bare hands pg 58-talks about the right hand man. -the women are always were there to serve. Always have to give presents and make sure everyone is okay. She is of noble class wilthow but she still serves. She wears gold and a necklace given at the end of the story that she always wore. It was high class stuff that they were wearing. They are loyal wives. We dont know the fundamentals of her [dont know her hair color, height weight] only thing we know about her appearance is that she is an adornment to her husband. She plays dress up a lot. -many mentions of the rulers of places given daughters to other rules as peace offerings. They are just pawns in the game of politics. Its like a business deal -thrith and grendals mother are the only women in this that have guts. -in this society women are to be seen but not heard-but both thrith and grendal get what they deserve b/c they got too involved [according to the times]---kind of like the nuns in the benedict story that they werent doing what they were suppose to and they were punished [although monks that acted like the nuns did probs wouldve been punished too]

-govt: a good king at this time, for example 725 would be someone who protects the people in his tribe the kingship is not geographical Hrothgar is giving rewards to his warbands. They fight for him and he gives them treasure. We dont see him building roads etc. he just rewards w/ treasure. We dont know anything about a kings duties b/c they dont say anything. The members of the warband live in the castle Castle made of wood so not much of a castle. Its for eating and drinking -king does something many times in the text and its so often that it becomes a synonym for the name king: he is a giver of rings** rings unite people and they show that you are united with someone. They are visible. So you serve the king and he gives you back food, a place to sleep and a ring. They cant read so you give them. The king is a warrior. Justice 29, 58, 60 is served depending on the feud. -pg 56 where grendals mother is about to take her revenge. The warriors are asleep. Rectified at a moments notice. Talks about this being a good society. Pg 27-not a thing about actual govt ruling it was about him giving a good gift and it says he was a good king. He was generous. He is praised for giving good gifts and for being a warrior -gift in English means present and in german means poison -word for cyning which becomes king in English and cunig in german -family is very important in the society we dont know much about beowulfs wife and has no son which is bad b/c your first line of defense is suppose to be your family. Pg 78. He was loyal and noble. He was how a kinsman should behave. Kin are loyal but there is an implication that thats not what happened. Youre not suppose to kill when youre drunk but that happens [that was unferths biggest crime] but Beowulf doesnt do this. Family is what is suppose to hold society together but it does not. This poem was written at a very crucial part of history. Values they have are all failing so its a logical reason that Christianity comes into the mix Pg 40-fortune favors the man who keeps his nerve Pg 37-fate must decide Pg 89-the master of us all must decide the fate Pg 50-they all want fame b/c there is nothing else

No message of Jesus in this poem. Jesus had 12 disciples and Beowulf has 12 men that help him -this poem is at a moment of transition of the time *exam question possibly: how has the idea of good govt changed throughout history

lecture 5
-pope at end of 6th century wrote benedict -contemporary of pope Gregory wrote clovis

5/28/2011 12:49:00 PM

-christian monk in monastery in England wrote Beowulf. Never satisfactorily dated. -the song of roland is another oral epic. Written down around 1090. Its based on an actual historical event. Basques are who it was about. Poem is about the values in 1090. Dont assume its a piece of history in 778, it is not. Its about the feudal values of the middle ages -conditions of how life was done around 725 in England a saint is not the same thing as a hero in the middle ages. What makes a hero now-a-days is not the same roman rule failed. Then came the franks and the geats land empires are very hard to run. Sea empires are much better. Much less expensive to send navy from 1 place to another than to send troops somewhere. Charlemagne -one reason he was successful was b/c he reigned longer than anyone else. 46 yrs. -taking of oaths;killing of punishment for breaking of an oath; exile or wergeld preferable. -had the important people in his kingdom make an oath to him. If you broke it, he had a reason to kill you. The difference is with clovis there was no reason for killing, they just did. -had money coined so people could pay wergeld. He was not destructive like clovis, char was interested in organization. He wouldnt kill w/o really good reason. -on other hand had many campaigns against the saxons in germany. He did not have to go on many campaigns -he built structures of power and he was able to do this b/c he lived and ruled so long -Einhard was an administrator. He wrote a life of char. The problem was much of what he wrote was word for word from the text the 12 Caesars, he just changed the names. How we saw char in einhards writing was how char wanted to be shown. Wanted to be shown as a ruler. -carolingian minuscule-basic handwriting people were taught -missi dominici? -char built himself a palace at Aachen. Only some still survives. It has roman arches and marble that was taken from rome. Chars thrown in on the 2nd floor. -on dec 25 800 char went to something and the pope crowned him emperor of rome and he said if he wouldve known that was going to happen he wouldnt have gone b/c no roman emperor had been made emperor by the pope. So looks like imperial power comes from the

church, like char is serving the pope. When his son was named co-emperor, char crowned him. -char wanted to bring back a lot of roman tradition and things like architecture. But they werent as good or had the same feel to them like romans.

The Merovingian claim to legitimacy Use of force [had to have the support of your war band Descent from a sea horse Support of bishops and abbots, who sought order at all costs Favored the church b/c churchmen induced former roman subject to obey the new Frankish rulers The LONG blonde hair -the merovingians were in charge of the franks -The state was divided up like toys. They thought of like possessions a new model army: mounted chargers the soldiers received land to support them; this land came to be called a fief; in time, the soldier came to be known as the vassal of his lord. A ceremony of homage united the lord and vassal. The fief was not private property; the vassal held it as long as he served his lord. All this becomes generalized over the course of the ninth and tenth centuries; we call it all feudalism No long distance merchantile activity b/c muslims conquered the Mediterranean. We are now north of the alps in our study -Land was granted by the mayor of the castle -homage you pay to your lord was the hands up that we look at now like prayer -the warrior is considered a nobleman. He may proclaim homage to his lord but both are nobles 751-Pepin deposes the last Merovingian and becomes king of the franks took counsel w/ nobles and vassal, and churchmen asked pope zacharias who should be king; the man holding the title or the man holding the power. [he says the powerful person. This was a basis of the Carolingian power] Papal sanction

Anointing by bonafist [when you anoint the ruler, you are harking back to someone like david, Solomon, saul saying this person is king but in some respects priest]

A new govt No longer a war band of followers; a landed aristocracy, vassals w/ estates and bound by feudal ties to the monarch Would this succeed?

2 attempts fail: the merovingians and the other Germanic kingdoms the carolingians

who picks up the pieces? Towns rely on trade, theres very little trade at this time You really needed 2 things that you could get from your neighbors. Wine and salt

may 23
before that or even after it now.

5/28/2011 12:49:00 PM

-dont make the mistake to think that how Christians were in 700 england is not how it was

-Char had relations w/ the middle east. End of 11 th cen. Is the big conquest for the holy land -decided that women should stay at home. -arrival in the near west of new group of people called the turks. They dont change situation in the holy land but by end of 11 th cen. Turks have settled in turkey which was greek and Armenian Christian. So they lost control of turkey to the turks. Ruler sends messages to western Europe to ask for assistance. 1071 turks crushing defeat to the Byzantines -as the circumstances of agriculture in western Europe improve, out put increases, so people live longer, infant mortality decreases, diet is better, people then dont have to live in the country they move to cities so urban life is better. -having crusade missions-their fathers were in the army but their legacy was passed to oldest son so the others would find their crusade -when we talk about char here, is a conquest against the muslims. We see him killing instead of converting. **ganelon is important b/c of how he is judged and killed [he is quartered] -the vassels/piers are deciding what to do w/ ganelon [benedict doesnt have this convo b/c in roman life he is the head, and clovis doesnt either, he just would have killed him]. The relation of roland and ganelon is step father. Theyre not very good friendsroland offers gamelon to go fight. Before even going knew it was going to turn out bad b/c he drops the glove from his right handPg 150 the barons try to tell char that its not worth it. -roland was chars vassel. To betray roland is to betry char. In the end it was trial by combat. They hack it out until someone dies b/c whoever wins is thought to have God on their side. -vassel-relationship between lord and vassels is an honorable one and is cemented by the vassel coming forward gets on his knees and puts arms around the vassel and he declares homage to the lord. -feudal relationship lord of the manor, underneath him are the surfs who owe him services and pieces of the land. Lord is the only one w/ big social status. Lord is probs a fief that he received from a higher feudal board. That board had a # of vassels and they are all noble and most likely warriors. Gave them fiefs and in return they give the lord aid, council and loyalty.

-muslims arent good at fighting b/c they dont have God on their side. But Ganelon is worse b/c he swaps sides at least the muslims are fighting for what they believe in -pg 82-the archbishop is a very fine knight. Set of values for people encompasses the church as well. Hes a wonderful bishop b/c hes a wonderful fighter -pg 77 -women: the queen was made to convert to Christianity by love [very important]* . in Beowulf there is nothing on the love between man and woman seen as more weak, they are gentler than from of servant attitude in Beowulf the women are a little more in a role to play of talking about other women. Aude has no existence w/o her man. When she finds out that roland is dead she falls over dead too. they talk about france as called sweet france pg 83-the fair sweet land of france islam-skewed version of Christianity. Muhammad is not thought of as god. Muslims: They have statues in the mosque. And this not okay in the islam religion. Feudal life, they have fiefs too. They can only see religion in their own terms. pg 48-9 -the real char has to deal with the godless saxons -debate between oliver and roland. Oliver wants to blow the horn to alert char, but roland doesnt want to b/c hes too prideful, talks about being a good vassel. Roland is brave oliver is smart. This is a turning point: roland loses . poem tells us that the old way is going to pass -the lances have little pendants on them. Does it help your aim? No b/c the thing is flapping in the breeze