Reformation and Rupture, the Sinner and the Saved: An Introduction to Germany in the Early Modern Period

Module title	Reformation and Rupture, the Sinner and the Saved: An Introduction to Germany in the Early Modern Period
Module code	MLG2002
Academic year	2019/0
Credits	15
Module staff	Sara Smart (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Module description

Events of the 16^thand 17^thcenturies had a profound influence on the course of German history and German national identity. In the first part of this module we explore these events, focusing specifically on the Lutheran reformation and the Thirty Years’ War. In the second part, I introduce you to two texts from this period, one on the contemporary witchcraze, the other a short novel set against the chaos of the war. We examine these works for what they reveal about the culture of the age, its attitudes towards gender and emotion, and its perception of virtue and vice.

Module aims - intentions of the module

To develop your understanding of the context and causes of the Lutheran reformation and its impact on the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation;

To explain the political and religious tensions within the Empire that brought about the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618 and to assess the changing factors that fuelled three decades of conflict;

To provide you with an understanding of the early modern witchcraze and the prosecution of witches, principally through analysis of Friedrich von Spee’s Cautio Criminalis (1631), a condemnation of the witch trials and the interrogation of those accused of witchcraft;

To examine the impact of the war on German society through discussion of The Life of Courage: The Notorious Thief, Whore and Vagabond (1670), a short comic novel by the canonical author Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen;

To introduce you to concepts of gender and identity prevalent in the early modern period;

To illuminate the profound polarity of the period evident in the preoccupation with the transience of the material world and the immutability of the divine.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the key religious and political events that shaped the Empire in the early modern period, and show awareness of the impact of these events on the society and culture of the time
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the character of the early modern period derived from a study of history and primary material, i.e. its ethical values, profound faith and fear of the devil, its perceptions of gender and sexual morality

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Demonstrate skills of textual analysis appropriate to the level; i.e. with guidance from the module tutor, show an ability to engage closely with early modern texts and draw conclusions about the period from this analysis
4. Demonstrate an ability to engage with and evaluate secondary critical and historical opinion

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. Using course material provided, research, prepare and produce a class presentation and an essay in timed conditions
6. Construct and present a coherent and cogent argument

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

The structure of the Empire and the context of the Lutheran reformation;
The movement for reform, Luther, his protest and theology;
discussion of Luther’s Open Letter on Translatin g as an encapsulation of the central tenets of his reformation;
The religious wars in the Empire leading to the Religious Peace of Augsburg (1555);
The Second Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648);
The Empire, the witchcraze, and Spee’s Cautio Criminalis;
Grimmelshausen’s The Life of Courage , the impact of war on German society;
Cautio Criminalis and Courage as reflection of the tensions and values of the early modern period.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
16	134	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching	15	90 minute classes, involving lectures and seminars
Scheduled learning and teaching	1	Tutorial
Guided independent study	134	Private study and seminar participation

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Examination preparation writing task	500 words	All1-6	Written and/or oral feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
0	100	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Seen examination	100	2 hours	1-6	Written feedback
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Seen examination	Seen examination	1-6	Referral/Deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Primary sources:

The module is open both to students of German and to students with no knowledge of German. Depending on your knowledge of the language, you will read the primary texts in either German or English.

Martin Luther, ‘Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen’, in An den christlichen Adel deutscher Nation, Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen, Sendbrief vom Dolmetsche n (Stuttgart: Reclam, 1996), Universal-Bibliothek Nr. 1578
For English version, see electronic resources below.

Friedrich von Spee, Cautio Criminalis oder Rechtliches Bedenken gegen die Hexenproz esse (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2000)
Friedrich von Spee, Cautio Criminalis: or a Book on Witchtrials, trans. by Marcus Hellyer (Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press, 2003)

Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen, Lebensbeschreibung der Erzbetrügerin und Landstörzerin Courasche (Stuttgart: Reclam, 2001), Reclams UB 7998, ISBN 3-15-007998-5;
Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen, The Life of Courage: The Notorious Thief, Whore and Vagabond, trans. by Mike Mitchell, Dedalus European Classics (Sawtry: Dedalus, 2015).

Indicative secondary sources:

Euan Cameron, The German Reformation (Oxford: OUP, 2012)
Geoffrey Parker (ed.), The Thirty Years’ War (London & New York: Routledge, 1997)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=7179
Martin Luther, An Open Letter on Translation , trans. by Gary Mann, Project Gutenberg-TM Etext, Itran11.txt

Key words search

Luther, the reformation, the thirty years war, the witchcraze in the empire, friedrich von spee, Cautio Criminalis, Grimmelhausen's Courage

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	For students of German MLG1001 ‘German Language’ or MLG1052 ‘German Language for Beginners’. For students outside German, a core or equivalent Level 1 Module.
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	5
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	01/01/2017
Last revision date	06/02/2019