This course is designed as a topical introduction to the formative period of Western medieval history, roughly from the fourth through the tenth centuries. It will emphasize the amalgam of Roman, Germanic, and Christian political and intellectual traditions into a new civilization. We begin in the Roman Empire just prior to the so-called crisis of the third century and end when the last vestiges of another (somewhat less expansive) empire – that of Charles the Great – have transformed into the more recognizable territories and cultural landscapes of western Europe. Along the way, we will pass through a number of regions and societies and will examine them through a group investigation and discussion of their texts – or of contemporary texts written about them – that have survived to our day. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis and discussion of primary sources from a wide variety of genres by a diverse number of authors, including works by Tacitus, Augustine, Perpetua, Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Benedict of Nursia, and Einhard, among others.
