Admission requirements
None required
Description
The lecture class aims to give a panoramic survey of holy wars, understood as wars conducted for God, in Western and Central Europe during the Middle Ages. It begins with the so-called Donatist conflict, which one historian called “the first war of religion”, Charlemagne´s conquests, the classic crusades against Islam, war against “heretics” (thus all the way to the Hussite crusades of the fifteenth century), with a terminal glance beyond 1500 to the French Wars of Religion. It will address comparable configurations in Islam, Byzantium, and Japan, to elucidate how far holy war and crusades are idiosyncracies of Western and Central Europe. Questions of motivations, material interests, and commemoration will also be foregrounded.
Course objectives
General learning objectives
The student can:
- organise and use relatively large amounts of information
- reflect critically on knowledge and understanding as presented in academic literature
Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation
- The student has knowledge of the specialisation Medieval History, more specifically of the medieval origins of European history; in particular of ethnicity, state formation, international trade and shipping, and contacts with the non-European world.
Learning objectives, pertaining to this specific lecture course
The student:
- will have knowledge of the causes, experience, and commemoration of war for God;
- will get knowledge of the relevant social, political, economic, and religious contexts;
- will get insights about war for gods or alongside gods in comparative perspective.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
lecture
independent study
Assessment method
Exams
Assessment
The course will be assessed through two examinations, the second in two separate parts, covering all course objectives. Exams can be written in Dutch or English if legibly penned:
Midterm examination: Short written examination in class with identification of terms
Final examination 1: Short written examination in class with identification questions
Final examination 2: Take-home essay (one week to write)
Weighing
Midterm examination: 30 %
Final examination 1: 30 %
Final examination 2: Take-home essay: 40%
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
Resit
The resit exam for Midterm and Fianl examination 1 will take place in one single resit,. The essay will be rewritten or written after that (also one week to write).
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Christopher Tyerman, The World of the Crusades (New Haven: 2019)
Other readings will be available electronically
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website.
Registration Studeren à la carte en Contractonderwijs
Registration Studeren à la carte.
Registration Contractonderwijs.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga
Remarks
none