21L.014
Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Studies
See description under subject 21H.007[J] .
Fall 2012 · Empire: Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Studies
Topics
- Course Introduction
- Introduction
- Hard Power—From Octavian to Augustus
- Soft Power—Persuasion and the Principate
- Reading the Res Gestae
- Running the Empire
- Empire and the Gods
- Virgil’s Imperial Epic
- Imperial Destiny: Aeneas and Dido
- Reading Virgil
- The City of Rome and the Forum of Augustus
- Assessing Augustus: Suetonius and Tacitus
- Ruthless Tyrant or Benevolent Monarch?
- Overview: The Reigns of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious
- Revising Papers, Topics for Paper 2
- Narrating Carolingian Triumphs: The Annales Regni Francorum
- Assessing Charlemagne: Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne
- Chronicle vs. Biography
- Assessing Louis the Pious, I: Thegan’s Deeds of Emperor Louis
- Assessing Louis the Pious, II: The Astronomer’s Life of Emperor Louis
- Can We Uncover the Real Louis the Pious?
- Imperial Epics: Karolus Magnus et Leo Papa and Ermold the Black
- Apocryphal Stories: Notker’s Deeds of Charlemagne
- Poetry and Anecdote as Historical Evidence
- Carolingian Images of Power
- Origins: Legendary Antecedents for English Empire
- “Early” vs. “High” Middle Ages; the Idea of Arthur
- Beginning the War: The Order of the Garter and the Battle of Crécy
- Continuing the War: English Success, French Resurgence
- Froissart, War, and Chivalry
- Manuscript Images: Close-Reading of the Page
- Ricardian Poetry, Edwardian Themes: Arthur’s Court Reappears
- Chivalry and Empire in a Post-Edwardian World
- Discussion of SGGK
- Combat, Tournament, and the End of a Reign
- The War Continues: Henry V, Agincourt, and Joan of Arc
- Work on SGGK Papers; Final Discussions
- Conclusion: Empire in the Ancient and Medieval World
Readings
- [AWH] = Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Augustan Rome . Bristol Classical Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781853991387.
- [JF] = Froissart, Jean. Chronicles . Translated by Geoffrey Brereton. Corrected reprint edition. Penguin Classics, 1978. ISBN: 9780140442007.
- [SA] = Armitage, Simon. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . Translated by Simon Armitage. Faber and Faber, 2007. ISBN: 9780571223275.
- [Virgil] = Virgil. The Aeneid . Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2010. ISBN: 9780143106296.
- Bowman, Alan, et al., eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. X: The Augustan Empire, 43 BC—AD 69 . 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780521264303.
- Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary . 3rd ed. Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780199545568.
- SES #: 4 · TOPICS: Running the Empire · READINGS: Levick. “Techniques of Management and the Feel-Good Factor.” In Augustus: Image and Substance . Pearson, 2010, pp. 115–63. ISBN: 9780582894211.
- Gransden, K.W. and S.J. Harrison. “Reading the Aeneid ” in Virgil: The Aeneid . Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 34–46. ISBN: 9780521539807.
- SES #: 6 · TOPICS: Virgil’s Imperial Epic · READINGS: [Virgil] Book 8.
- Ovid. Ovid, Heroides 7: Dido’s Letter to Aeneas . CANE Press, 2004. ISBN: 9781934971086.
- SES #: 8 · TOPICS: The City of Rome and the Forum of Augustus · READINGS: [AWH] pp. 43–62.
- Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars . Translated by Catherine Edwards. Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780199537563.
- Tacitus. Annals . Penguin Classics, 2013, pp. 1.1–15. ISBN: 9780140455649.
- Jong, Mayke de de. The Penitential State. Authority and Atonement in the Age of Louis the Pious, 814–840 . Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 59–67. ISBN: 9780521881524.
- Jong, Mayke de de. The Penitential State. Authority and Atonement in the Age of Louis the Pious, 814–840 . Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 67–72. ISBN: 9780521881524.
- Jong, Mayke de de. The Penitential State. Authority and Atonement in the Age of Louis the Pious, 814–840 . Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 72–79. ISBN: 9780521881524.
- Jong, Mayke de de. The Penitential State. Authority and Atonement in the Age of Louis the Pious, 814–840 . Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 79–89. ISBN: 9780521881524.
- Papa, Karolus Magnus et Leo. Poetry of the Carolingian Renaissance . Translated by Peter Godman. University of Oklahoma Press, 1985, pp. 22–4, and 197–207. ISBN: 9780806119397.
- Jong, Mayke de de. The Penitential State. Authority and Atonement in the Age of Louis the Pious, 814–840 . Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 89–95. ISBN: 9780521881524.
- SES #: 16 · TOPICS: Apocryphal Stories: Notker’s Deeds of Charlemagne · READINGS: [TFXN] “Notker, Deeds of Emperor Charles the Great.” pp. 51–118.
- SES #: 18 · TOPICS: Origins: Legendary Antecedents for English Empire · READINGS: Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain . Penguin Books, 1977, pp. 51–74 and 212–65. ISBN: 9780140441703.
- SES #: 19 · TOPICS: Beginning the War: The Order of the Garter and the Battle of Crécy · READINGS: [JF] pp. 37–45, 55–110.
- SES #: 20 · TOPICS: Continuing the War: English Success, French Resurgence · READINGS: [JF] pp. 111–92.
- SES #: 22 · TOPICS: Ricardian Poetry, Edwardian Themes: Arthur’s Court Reappears · READINGS: [SA] pp. 1–3.
- Ingledew. “SGGK and the Edwardian Era.” In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Order of the Garter . University of Notre Dame Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780268031763.
- SES #: 24 · TOPICS: Combat, Tournament, and the End of a Reign · READINGS: [JF] pp. 309–15, 373–85, 402–8, and 421–71.
Prerequisites & course information
Same subject as 21H.007[J] Prereq: None U (Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2012
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.