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An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century

Module description

The tenth century was a crucial period of transition in European history. Out of the wreckage of the Carolingian empire emerged new identities and political constellations. The great Counterreformation cardinal (and historian) Cesare Baronio famously dubbed this an ‘iron age’ and it has often been seen as a period of turmoil, characterised by political fragmentation, intellectual stagnation and Viking and Magyar raids. In this module, we seek to test how far such clichés hold. Focusing on France, Germany and northern Italy, we examine evidence for vitality and dynamism alongside uncertainty and decline. What emerges is a strong sense of these as foundational years in the history of western Europe.

Module aims - intentions of the module

You will need effective communication and analytical skills, oral and written, to complete many of your modules and in a job after you graduate. This module aims to help you develop your skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material, and in reporting on your work. It provides you with an opportunity to explore an area of history in more depth, and helps you to develop the depth of understanding you will require to study more specialised areas of history. It will also give you an opportunity to work in a team on group tasks.

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 developments in the history of continental western Europe in the tenth century
• 2. Summarise and evaluate different historiographic perspectives relating to the history continental western Europe in the tenth century.
• 3. Critically evaluate the key cultural, political, economic, and social trends relating to the history of continental Europe in the tenth century.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 4. Analyse the key developments in a complex historical environment
• 5. To handle profoundly different approaches to history in a deeply contested area
• 6. To understand and deploy complex historical terminology in a comprehensible manner

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
• 8. Present complex arguments orally.
• 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• 10. Through essay development process, reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis

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 dynastic crisis of 888 and the eclipse of the Carolingians
• Encountering the Other: relations with the Greek and Islamic World
• Kingship and political culture
• Law and dispute settlement
• Monastic reform
• Lay aristocratic culture
• Queens and abbesses
• Sin and sinners
• Apocalypticism and the year 1000
• The ‘Feudal Transformation’

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

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

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

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.

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

• H. Fichtenau, Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders , trans. P. Geary (Chicago, IL, 1991)
• S. Greer, Commemorating Power in Early Medieval Saxony: Writing and Rewriting the Past at Gandersheim and Quedlinburg (Oxford, 2021)
• S. Hamilton, Church and People in the Medieval West, 900–1200 (London, 2013)
• G. Koziol, The Politics of Memory and Identity in Carolingian Royal Diplomas: The West Frankish Kingdom (840–987) (Turnhout, 2012)
• K.J. Leyser, Rule and Conflict in an Early Medieval Society: Ottonian Saxony (London, 1979)
• S. MacLean, Ottonian Queenship (Oxford, 2017)
• T. Reuter (ed.) The New Cambridge Medieval History , III: 900-1025 , (Cambridge, 1999)
• T. Reuter, Medieval Polities and Modern Mentalities (Cambridge, 2006)
• L. Roach, Forging Memory at the End of the First Millennium (Princeton, NJ, 2021)
• C. Wickham, Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900–1150 (Oxford, 2014)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• Internet Medieval Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook2.html
• ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11330

Key words search

History, medieval, European, Vikings, France, Germany, Italy