Course Schedule

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Required Texts/Materials:

  • Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Vol.1 Medieval, 3rd ed. (Broadview, 2014)
  • Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances (Penguin, 1991)
  • The Sagas of Icelanders (Penguin, 2000)
  • Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron (Norton, 2016)
  • Handouts and internet sites
  • Laptop (bring to each class as we will write on a regular basis)

Weekly Quizzes due by Friday at midnight in designated weeks (10 total)
How to Find Readings:
  • Readings with page numbers (or Roman numerals) are in your textbook. Page numbers are from the 3rd edition.
  • Readings marked as PDF are located on Blackboard under “Course Documents.”
  • Readings with a hyperlink can be found online by clicking on the title.
  • Readings without page numbers, PDF, or a hyperlink can be found in the relevant Required Texts (listed above).

Day
 In-Class
 Assignments Due
Sept 11
 General Introduction: Expectations for course/look at schedule; Wiki intro/sign-up
Activity: Interview

13
 Continued Introduction: Beginning of Semester Prep
Assignment Discussion: Medievalist for a Semester (especially Checkpoint #1) and Weekly Quizzes
 Wiki: Sign up for and join wiki prior to class (see Instruction Guide)
Bring a charged laptop or other internet-connected device (preferably larger than a phone)
Read: “Introduction to the Medieval Period,” XXXIII-LXXI
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #1 – TEDEd Lesson
Unit 1: Unexpected Heroes
18
 Discussion: What Is a Hero?
 Read:
  • Judith, 117-126
  • “The Chester Noah’s Flood,” 741-752
Watch: Prezi on Anglo-Saxon Literature
20
 Assignment Discussion: Checkpoint #2 and Medieval Cultural Heritage Project
 Read:
  • Heliand (PDF)
  • "Battle of Maldon,"127-132
  • Transforming Perceptions of Cultural Heritage through Image, "About the Project"
Due by midnight: Medievalist for a Semester Checkpoint #1
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #2 – TEDEd Lesson
25
 Assignment Discussion: Endeavors (and Medieval Cultural Heritage Project)
Endeavors (Special topic – Editions and Translations)
Special Guest: Renée Fratantonio, FSU Librarian
 Read:
  • Text you have selected for Medievalist for a Semester
  • Beowulf, 65-95 (optional)
  • J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Monsters and the Critics” (PDF - under "Articles")
  • Multiple editions of first 800 lines of Beowulf (THREE PDF's under "Readings": Klaeber, Liuzza, Heaney, Sullivan/Murphy, Tolkien)
  • "Royal Hall from Beowulf found?"
Watch: Prezi on Beowulf
Due by end of class: Endeavors (and Medieval Cultural Heritage Project)
Unit 2: Holier Than Thou...or Even a Hand Grenade
27
 Discussion: Writing a Religious Figure and Hagiography
 Read:
  • Saint Mary of Egypt, (PDF)
  • "The Life of Saint Margaret," (PDF)
  • Ruth Mazo Karras, "Holy Harlots: Prostitute Saints in Medieval Legend" (PDF)
  • Contexts, Religious and Spiritual Life, 659-93
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #3 – Five-Minute Medievalist
Oct 2
Read:
Watch: YouTube video of previous class performances
4
ReRead:
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #4 – TEDEd Lesson
9
 No Classes: Columbus Day

11
 No Classes: Dr. T at Conference
 Due by Sunday (10/15), midnight: Medievalist for a Semester Checkpoint #2
Unit 3: Alterity
16
 Medieval Cultural Heritage Project
 Read:

18
 Discussion: What Is Alterity?
Assignment Discussion: Checkpoint #3
 Read:
Watch:
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #5 – Visual Representation
23
 Endeavors (and Medieval Cultural Heritage Project; Special topic – Disability Studies)
 Read:
Due by end of class: Endeavors (and Medieval Cultural Heritage Project)
Unit 4: Expansion – Iceland? That’s the Green One, Right?
25
 Discussion: Icelandic History and Literature
Special Guest: Dr. John Sexton, Bridgewater State University
 Read: Egils Saga (approx. half)
Listen: Saga Thing Podcast – Episodes 1A and 1C
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #6 – Five-Minute Medievalist
30
Read:
  • Egils Saga (finish)
  • Jesse L. Byock, “Social Memory and the Sagas: The Case of Egils saga” (PDF)
Nov 1
 In-Class: Meet in Library Instruction Lab - Citation Mining Trail with Renée Fratantonio
 Read:
  • Pernille Hermann, "Concepts of Memory and Approaches to the Past in Medieval Icelandic Literature" (PDF) [This is the priority reading]
  • Erik the Red’s Saga
Listen and Read (optional): Saga Thing Podcast – Episodes 4 and 4 Supplement
Bonus opportunity: "The Westford Knight" (replace a Weekly Quiz with a visit to the Westford Knight and writing a Five-Minute Medievalist about it)
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #7 – Visual Representation
6
 Endeavors (Special topic – Cartography)
 Read:
  • History of Cartography, Chapter 17 (PDF)
  • History of Cartography, Chapter 21 (PDF)
  • History of Cartography, Images (PDF)
Watch: Hereford World Map
Due by end of class: Endeavors
Due by midnight: Medievalist for a Semester Checkpoint #3
Unit 5: Martial and Domestic Violence
8
 Medieval Cultural Heritage Project (what is not completed in class must be completed outside of class by 11/29)
Special Guests: Suzi Fonda, Director of Education and Public Programs, Concord Museum; Asher Jackson, FSU Librarian
 Read:
Bring to class:
  • A rough draft/outline of your exhibition note for the Cultural Heritage Project
13
 Assignment Discussion: Checkpoint #4 and Journal Article/Cover Letter
Discussion: French to English Romances
 Read:* Contexts, Love and Marriage, 384-409
  • Field, “Romance in England, 1066-1400” (PDF)
  • Salisbury, Donavin, and Price, “Introduction,” Domestic Violence in Medieval Texts (PDF)
  • Berman, “Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Quarrel Over Medieval Women’s Power” (PDF)
  • Watch: Prezi on Anglo-Norman Literature
15
Read:
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #8 – TEDEd Lesson
20
 Endeavors (Special topic – Problems in the Academy)
Special Guest: Renée Fratantonio, FSU Librarian
 Read:
Due by end of class: Endeavors
22
 No Classes: Thanksgiving Recess

27
 Special Guest: Kai Fay, Harvard University Librarian

29
Read:
Due by Friday, midnight: Medieval Cultural Heritage Project
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #9 – Visual Representation
Unit 6: History...or Is It?
Dec 4
 Discussion: What is History?
 Read:
  • Gildas, 1-8
  • Pseudo-Nennius (PDF)
  • Bede, 16-30
  • Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 146-154
Watch: Prezi on Medieval Histories
Due by midnight: Medievalist for a Semester Checkpoint #4
6
Read:
  • Geoffrey of Monmouth, 164-186
  • Jane Zatta, “Translating the Historia” (PDF)
Due by Friday, midnight: Weekly Quiz #10 – Five-Minute Medievalist
Unit 7: The Once and Future King...Well, We’re Waiting...
11
Read:
  • Thomas Malory, 774-829
  • Malory, “The Giant of St. Michael’s Mount” (PDF)
Bring draft of Journal Article to class in hard copy
13
 Medieval Cultural Heritage Project

15
Due by midnight: Medievalist for a Semester Journal Article/Cover Letter