The Medieval World in Film: Syllabus

Syllabus: (History 4950/5950) The Medieval World in Film

Fall 2001

A&S 2-75 Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:30-10:45

Office Hours: My office hours for fall 2001 are Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00. The history department offices are currently located in the Smith house on Greene Street next to the dorms. My office phone number is 445-7381; I have an answering machine so you may leave a message. If you cannot see me during my office hours, please either arrange a time to meet or call or email me.

Required Textbooks:

Norman Cantor’s Invention of the Middle Ages

Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain

Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur

Betty Radice, trans., The Letters of Abelard and Heloise

Umberto Ecco, The Name of the Rose

The Key to the Name of the Rose

The Showings of Julian of Norwich

Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias

The Poem of the Cid

Die Nibelungen

Library Readings: In addition to our required texts, there will also be several assigned readings on reserve at the library.

Course Web Site: I have developed a web site for this course. The URL to access the files referred to in this syllabus is: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/medieval/film/film.shtml

Class Cancellation Policy: In the event that classes will be cancelled, someone from the departmental office will personally appear to inform the class. No other method of cancellation of classes is official.

Fire Safety: For your safety, please learn where the nearest exits to your classroom(s) are in the Arts and Sciences building. In the event of a fire, proceed calmly out the nearest exit. Do not use the elevators. Your instructor will take roll once outside to account for all students.

Disability Statement: Students who need special accommodations for a disability should see the instructor as soon as possible after the start of classes. Disabilities requiring special modifications should be documented through Craig Smith’s office and the paperwork should then be presented to the instructor.

Course Overview: This course will explore various themes of medieval culture through primary source texts and their historiographical interpretations in secondary sources and modern film realizations. Our current notions of the Middle Ages have been largely created through the work of such modern scholars as Charles Homer Haskins and Sir Richard Southern, but especially through the many film adaptations of classic medieval texts. We shall try to understand the medieval world first through the primary source texts available, and then study the various interpretations of medieval culture within the context in which they were produced. The medieval world speaks to us in many different ways, whether it is the religious element as emphasized by the monk scholar Dom David Knowles and films such as Brother Sun, Sister Moon, or the noble cult of the Arthurian knight as seen in Excalibur. This course will explore such themes as the medieval cult of death, knighthood, and the fundamental issue of the relationship between faith and reason. This course will also take a global perspective on the various themes, and we shall explore Japanese and Russian views of knighthood, Muslim views of faith and reason, and many cultural commentaries on course topics. And finally, a blatant advertisement. If you want to learn about Ivanhoe or the cult of death in film, take my course in summer I on the Crusades!

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students should:

1. Be able to discuss the evolution of scholarly research and knowledge of the Middle Ages.

2. Be able to explain the major historiographical schools on the Middle Ages.

3. Be able to discuss the ways in which different cultural ideals and epochs have molded the modern conception of the Middle Ages.

4. Be able to discuss the ways in which the Middle Ages have been portrayed in film and to analyze the ways in which these film interpretations compare and contrast to those in secondary texts and in primary source documents.

5. Be able to analyze the relationship between faith and reason in the Middle Ages.

6. Be able to analyze the ideal of the medieval martyr.

7. Be able to discuss the role of storytelling in medieval society.

8. Be able to discuss the ways in which playwrights and film directors used medieval monarchs to comment on issues germane to their own times.

9. Be able to discuss the role of the visionary and religious mystic in medieval society and the ways in which film has commented on those roles for modern society.

Course Requirements: The major requirement of the course for graduate students will be to write an historiographical research paper on a particular theme relevant to the Middle Ages. The research paper should explore the historiography of the selected theme, and clearly convey the various strands of interpretation from the medieval period through the modern period. The paper should also chronicle the film adaptations on the particular topic and relate them to the historiographical schools. The paper should be between 15-20 pages in length, double-spaced and typewritten in 12-point font. The paper will be worth 20 percent of your final grade.

Graduate students will also write two book reviews on the topic selected for the major paper. Each review should be approximately 5-8 pages in length, double-spaced and typed in 12-point font. Students should consult with the instructor about the appropriateness of the books for this course, and should critique the book based on its historical accuracy and how it compares to other interpretations of the topic. Each review will be worth 10 percent of your grade.

There will be two midterms and a final in this course, each worth 20 percent of your grade. These exams will be in the form of in-depth film critiques of the material studied in class. The critiques should explore the portrayal of the topic within the context of the assigned historical sources. In effect, these exams will be take-home essay exams.

Attendance policy: There is an attendance policy in this class. Students will miss more than two classes prior to the midpoint of the course, October 11, 2001, will be dropped by the instructor with a grade of “F.” Students who miss more than five classes during the course of the semester will be given a failing grade. Arrivals more than five minutes past the start of class count as an absence; early departures will also count as an absence.

Late Arrivals/early Departures: late arrivals and early departures disrupt the class significantly. Please do not arrive late, and especially do not ask whether you can leave early once the class has started.

Course Outline

August 21: Course introduction: The Idea of the Middle Ages

Film excerpt from Henry IV

Unit I: Faith and Reason in the Middle Ages

August 23: Luis Buñeul: a modern commentary on the faith of the desert hermits

films: Simon of the Desert; excerpts from Nazarin

readings: excerpts from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers to be distributed; Cantor, chapter 1.

August 28 The Institutionalized Church, paganism, and popular culture/religion

film excerpts: Constantine and the Cross, Sorceress, Warlord

Readings: the Nicene Creed and other Church documents (to be distributed)

Cantor, Chapters 8

August 30: Medieval Solitaries

film: Anchoress

readings: The Showings of Julian of Norwich

September 4/6: Dreamers and Visionaries

film: The Navigator

readings: Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias

September 11/13 Scholasticism: The Case of Peter Abelard

film: Stealing Heaven

readings: The Letters of Abelard and Heloise; Cantor, chapter 9.

September 18/20: Sherlock Holmes in the Middle Ages

film: The Name of the Rose

readings: Umberto Ecco, The Name of the Rose; The Key to the Name of the Rose

September 25/27: Faith and Reason in the Islamic World

films: The Message; Destiny

readings: excerpts from the Qur’an, Averröes, and Avicenna on reserve

October 2/4: Reactions to Rationalism: Francis of Assisi

films: Brother Sun, Sister Moon; Francesco

readings: The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

on reserve: Bonaventure, Life of Saint Francis of Assisi

*midterm exam I: Due on October 9

excerpts from Bede’s Ecclessiastical History on reserve; Cantor, chapters 4 and 7.

readings: Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (Bks. 1,2,3,and 5, as well as the last bk, the death of Arthur, 21); Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King on reserve

films: Eric Rohner’s Perceval; Wagner’s Parzifal; Monty Python’s Holy Grail

readings: Chretien de Troyes, Perceval on reserve; Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (Bks. 13, 14, 17)

film: Robin Hood (Douglas Fairbanks); Robin Hood Prince of Thieves; Robin Hood (Errol Flynn); Robin Hood (Patrick Bergan); Robin and Marian (would you believe Sean Connery?); oh, and Men in Tights

readings: various early Ballads of Robin Hood and later legends (links on Dr. Vess’s internet site).

Reading: Tale of the Life and Courage of the Pious and Great Prince Alexander on reserve

November 27: Shakespearean and other commentaries on medieval English monarchs

films: Olivier’s Richard III; Ian Richards’ Richard III; Guimba the Tyrant (African epic); Branagh’s and Olivier’s Henry V; Macbeth; Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and Ran; Edward II

readings: explore the link to the Richard III society on Dr. Vess’s world civ virtual library page for this topic; Cantor, chapters 2,4, and 7

Films: Becket; Joan the Maid; Joan the Battles; Joan the Saint; several other versions of the Joan of Arc Story

readings: Regine Pernoud’s Joan of Arc; excerpts from Dom David Knowles, Becket on reserve.

Course Outline

Final Exam: Tuesday, December 11, 8:00-10:45