FPFVA046 Everyday Life in Rural Areas in Middle Ages and Early Modern Era

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2021
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Hana Komárková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Hana Komárková, Ph.D.
Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Timetable of Seminar Groups
FPFVA046/A: Tue 8:05–8:50 PraPed, H. Komárková
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA(N)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This seminar will generally focus on the problems of everyday life in pre-modern society with emphasis on the rural settlement. The aim is to introduce the approaches of contemporary historiography (concept of agricultural history, rural history, environmental history, landscape history, Landesgeschichte, Wirtschafts- and Sozialgeschichte, Siedlungsgeschichte, etc.) and related literature. Attention will be paid to the various types of historical sources and the possibilities of their interpretation. On the comparison between rural and urban environments, individual phenomena of pre-modern history will be presented. Students will be introduced to the essential works of contemporary historians concerned with rural phenomenon.
Learning outcomes
Students will acquire basic orientation in this field of research and will gain some essential interpretation skills.
Syllabus
  • 1. Essential approaches and theoretical basis
  • 2. The sources – written and iconographical
  • 3. The ideal of the peasant and the countryman
  • 4. The peasants and inhabitants of the countryside within the frames of laugh culture
  • 5. The institutional sources of a personal character – work of Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie and Pavel Himl
  • 6. The passing of time – day, year, life
  • 7. The war, famine, pestilence – an exceptional situation, illness and treatment, hygiene
  • 8. The religion and politics – countryside as a mean of ideology and space for ideology
  • 9. The country in Czech historiography and literature – selected works
  • 10. The educational excursion – Museum of Holasovice
  • 11. The countryside as a specific social space, rural-related phenomena (leisure time, hunting)
  • 12. Women in rural areas
  • 13. The final colloquium – work with sources
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Bellamy, Liz – Snell, K. D. M. – Williamson, Tom, Rural history: The Prospect Before Us, Rural History (1990) 1, 1, pp. 1 – 4.
  • Classen, Albrecht (ed.), Rural Space in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age, The Spatial Turn in Premodern Studies, Berlin – Boston 2012.
  • Dyer, Christopher, The Past, the Present and the Future in Medieval Rural History, Rural History (1990) 1, 1, pp. 37–49.
  • Goetz, Hans-Werner, Zur Mentalität bäuerlicher Schichten im frühen Mittelalter, In: Vorstellungsgeschichte: Gesammelte Schriften zu Wahrnehmungen, Deutungen und Vorstellungen im Mittelalter, eds. Goetz, Hans-Werner, Aurast, Anna, Elling, Simon, Freudenbe
  • King, Sharon B., Village People: The Presence of the Rural in Late Medieval French Comedies, in: Rural Space in the Early Middle Ages and Early Modern Age: The Spatial Turn in Premodern Studies, (ed.) Classen, Albrecht (Fundamentals of Medieval and Early
  • Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel, The French peasantry 1450-1660, Aldershot 1987.
  • Le Goff, Jacques, Time, Work and Culture in the Middle Ages, Chicago – London 1980.
  • Rosenthal, Joel T. (ed.), Understanding medieval primary sources: using historical sources to discover medieval Europe, London – New York 2012.
  • Taylor, Claire: The year 1000 and those who labored, in: The Year 1000: Religious and Social Response to the Turning of the Millennium, ed. Frassetto, Michael, New York 2002, pp. 187-236.
  • Yates, Margaret, Change and continuities in rural society from the later middle ages to the sixteenth century: the contribution of west Berkshire, Economic History Review, LII, 4 (1999), pp. 617–637.
Teaching methods
Work with historical sources and secondary literature, reading, class discussion
Assessment methods
Participation in 75% of lessons at least, seminar paper/essay submission, presentation of the topic of paper/essay in class, active participation in classes
Language of instruction
English
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2022, Summer 2023, Summer 2024, Summer 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/summer2021/FPFVA046