The course, through an integrated approach of historical archeology, will address the theme of the formation of rural landscapes in the European Middle Ages, between the 5th and 13th c., contextualizing the settlement history of Western Europe in the context of the development of medieval civilizations in the wide geographical and cultural area including the Barbaricum in the north and the eastern Mediterranean in the east.
Option 1: Lectures' notes + 7 texts: 2 volumes + 5 essays (two texts from section 1, three texts from section 2, two texts from section 3) + Lab activities (min. 50 hours) or Archaeological fieldwork (min. 2 weeks)
Option 2: Lectures' notes + 10 texts: 3 volumes + 7 essays (all texts from section 1, three texts from section 2, four texts from section 3)
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1. VOLUMES
1/1 G. P. BROGIOLO, A. CHAVARRÍA, 2005, Aristocrazia e campagne nell'Occidente da Costantino a Carlo Magno, Firenze, Insegna del Giglio.
1/2 L. LECIEJEWICZ, 2004, La nuova forma del mondo. La nascita della civiltà europea medievale, Bologna, Il Mulino;
1/3 M. ROSSABI, 2012, The Mongols: a Very Short Introduction, Oxford (Uk)
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2. CHAPTERS OF VOLUMES
2/1 G. MARTINEZ-GROS, 2014, Brève Histoire des empires, Paris, Le Seuil, Introduzione e Conclusioni
2/2 G. BANDMANN, 2005 (1953), Early medieval architecture as bearer of meaning, New York (Usa), Columbia, introduzione + cap. 1.
2/3 M. NUCCIOTTI, 2006, L’Amiata nel Medioevo (secoli VIII – XIV). Modi, tempi e luoghi della formazione di un paesaggio storico, in Z. CIUFFOLETTI (ed.), Il Parco minerario dell’Amiata. Il territorio e la sua storia, Arcidosso (Gr), pp. 161 – 198
2/4 G. VANNINI, C. MOLDUCCI, 2009, I castelli dei Guidi fra Romagna e Toscana: i casi di Modigliana e Romena. Un progetto di archeologia territoriale, in F.Canaccini (a c.), La lunga storia di una stirpe comitale. I conti Guidi tra Romagna e Toscana, Firenze, pp. 177-210
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3. ARTICLES
3/1 I. ARCE, 2010, Qasr Hallabat, Qasr Bashir and Deir El Khaf. Building techniques, architectural typology and change of use of three quadriburgia from the Limes Arabicus. Interpretation and significance, in AA.VV. Arqueología de la construcción: II, Los procesos constructivos en el mundo romano : Italia y provincias orientales, ISBN 978-84-00-09279-5, pp. 455-481 ;
3/2 O. S. LABIANCA, 2007, Great and Little Traditions: A Framework for Studying Cultural Interaction through the Ages in Jordan. Berrien Springs, Andrews University Institute of Archaeology, pp. 275-189.
3/3 M. NUCCIOTTI, 2010, Paesaggi dell’Impero nella Toscana del X secolo.Il palatium di Arcidosso: senso storico di un tipo edilizio europeo, “Archeologia Medievale”, XXXVII, 2010, pp.513-528.
3/4 M. NUCCIOTTI, E. PRUNO, 2016, Great and Little Traditions in medieval Petra and Shawbak: contextualizing local building industry and pottery production in 12th-13th centuries, “Archeologia Medievale”, XLIII, 2016, pp. 309-320
3/5 M. VALENTI, 2016, Fortified Settlements of the 8th to 10th Centuries. Italy and the Case of Tuscany, in Christie N., Herold A. (eds.), Fortified Settlements in Early Medieval Europe. Defended Communities of the VIII-X centuries, Oxbow Book, pp. 289-301
Learning Objectives
Knowledge and understanding: Ability to orientate in the formation of medieval Euro-Mediterranean landscapes on the basis of the most recent archaeological-historical syntheses on the theme;
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: Ability to identify the material and cultural elements that have presided over the formation of the medieval habitat in macro and micro territorial contexts of Western Europe;
Making judgments: Being able to critically analyze research practices used in territorial archeology studies for the Middle Ages carried out so-far;
Communication skills: Knowledge and use of appropriate scientific and technical terminology;
Learning skills: Knowing how to build an autonomous research path, based on the available scientific bibliography, in the field of the archaeological study of the territory aimed at historical interpretation.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the methodologies of Medieval Archeology with particular reference to Light Archeology;
Knowledge of the principles of archaeological stratigraphy and basic knowledge of historical building archeology applications;
Knowledge (at least passive) of the English language.
Teaching Methods
Frontal lessons
Study visits
Educational seminars
Laboratory activities (optional)
For Erasmus students who do not speak Italian, a program of seminars in English will be made available to students, including also activities of didactic laboratory and attendance of the didactic seminars of the course. Details will be agreed upon between the teacher and Erasmus students.
Further information
A monographic seminar will be dedicated to the formation of medieval landscapes along the Silk Road in Armenia, on the basis of recent research conducted by the Chair of Medieval Archeology of Florence University in the area in cooperation with the Yerevan State University, Dept. of Cultural Studies.
Type of Assessment
For Attending Students, learning checks are provided during the course with the purpose of self-assessment of the progress of knowledge transfer. The final oral exam, based on the exam bibliography and the contents of the educational seminars, will be structured in 3 or 4 questions respectively dedicated to the verification of the knowledge of the main historical-archaeological synthesis on a continental scale (questions 1 and 2) and to the illustration of specific case studies (questions 3 and 4), presented during the lessons.
For Erasmus and Erasmus + students the exam will consist of a written essay, in English, the details of which will be agreed with the teacher (length between 20,000 and 30,000 characters, composed according to IMRaD structure).
Course program
The program will be subdivided into the following Sections or cycles of lessons with a monographic character (*):
S1 (1.3.2018): Introduction to the course and to the study of the archaeological history of medieval landscapes;
S2 (6-13.3.2018): Formation of social structures and rural landscapes in western Europe between the 5th and 11th centuries;
S3 (14-20.3.2018): Geopolitics and medieval rural landscapes between Barbaricum and Byzantium in the V-XI centuries;
S4 (21st-28th March 2010): Didactic seminar "Medieval Armenia and the formation of the Silk Road landscapes between Europe and Asia" - in collaboration with prof. Hamlet Petrosyan (Yerevan State University - Erasmus mobility program ");
S5 (10-19.4.2018): The “Lands of the Defeated” and the rural landscape formation in Tuscany between the 9th and 14th centuries.
In each Section will be presented a synthesis of reference studies for the Section topic (including methodological aspects), accompanied by case studies exemplifying the main historical-archaeological issues addressed.
(*) the start and end dates of the sections may vary