Reding Medieval English Documents

Reading Medieval English Documents back

»ANG2QZ-1« Monday, 10-12, American Seminar | Novák György

The course will take important documents from the medieval history of England and study them in some detail. The documents to be studied will highlight memorable incidents or eras. They will be mostly narrative documents but pictorial monuments will also be included. The documents will be studied in modern English translations, of course, but we shall have a look, where possible, at the Latin or Anglo-Saxon originals as well. The documents, which include some of the most important sources of medieval English history, will be made available either on discs, or printed for xeroxing, or on the Internet. Evaluation policy: class activity 50%, end-term test 50%. Course will close with a final test written on the last week (May 3). Fourth-year students: an aditional short end-term paper of 15.000 characters. We'll meet on (Feb 1), Feb 8, Feb 15, Feb 22, Mar 1, Mar 8, (Mar 15), Mar 22, Mar 29, (Apr 5), Apr 12, Apr 19, Apr 26, May 3.

Short texts offered for individual discussion (2 for each participants):

On Heribannum, 805 (FV)| Aethelwulf, King of Wessex: Grant of a Tenth of a Public Land, 854 (MA)| Edgar: Grant of Exemption from Taxation to Glastonbury, 965 (ON)| Knut: Granting of Fiefs, 1028 (VZM)| Knut: On Heriots and Reliefs, c.1016-1035 (JÁ)| Henry I: The Murder Fine (PJ)| Gregory VII on Lay Investitures, 1080 (MK)| Peter of Blois' letter to Q. Eleanor, 1173 (BM)| Inquest of Sheriffs, 1170 (LR)| Statuta Armorum, c. 1260 (KJ)| Summonses to the Parliament of 1295 (UÁ)| Statuta de Forstallariis, c. 1300 (KI)| Judicium Pillorie (SzA)

Schedule

(1) Feb 8 — Introduction (direct & other; narrative & other; written & other; contemporary & other; &c.)

(2) Feb 15 — Nennius: Historia Brittonum | Annales Cambriae | Bede: Historia Ecclesiastica

Ego Nennius Sancti Elbodugi discipulus aliqua excerpta scribere curavi, quae hebitudo gentis Britanniae deiecerat, quia nullam peritiam habuerunt neque ullam commemorationem in libris posuerunt doctores illius insulae Britanniae. Ego autem coacervavi omne quod inveni tam de annalibus Romanorum quam de cronicis sanctorum patrum, et de scriptis Scottorum Saxonumque et ex traditione veterum nostrorum. Quod multi doctores atque librarii scribere temptaverunt, nescio quo pacto difficilius reliquerunt, an propter mortalitates frequentissimas vel clades creberrimas bellorum. Rogo, ut omnis lector, qui legerit hunc librum, det veniam mihi, qui ausus sum post tantos haec tanta scribere quasi garrula avis vel quasi quidam invalidus arbiter. Cedo illi, qui plus novertit in ista peritia satis quam ego. (Praefatio to Historia Brittonum)

Nennius 9-43.; or in Historical Text Archive (in Latin); EHD1 236-238. | Nennius 45-49; or here (in Latin) | EHD1 587-686.

(3) Feb 22 — Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Complete: EHD1 135-235; EHD2 107-203. | Selections here | Rimaszombati

(4) Mar 1 — The Bayeux Tapestry

EHD2 232-278. | Jójárt-Varga | William of Malmesbury: The Battle of Hastings

(5) Mar 8 — The Doomesday Book

EHD2 851-893. | Selections here | See also the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under 1085, EHD2 161.

(6) Mar 22 — Saint Anselm | writs

Eadmer: Historia Novorum in Anglia (selections) EHD2 697-722. (1^st edn. 650-673.) | Correspondence between Henry I and Anselm EHD2 722-724. (1^st edn.673-675.) | Epistola Anselmi ad Urbanum papam | Poole, pp. 167-196. | EHD2 429-433, 486. | Also here

(7) Apr 12 — Edward I's statutes

Statuta de Mercatoribus, 1283 & 1285 | Statute of Quia Emptores, 1290 | Statute of Mortmain, 1279 | Commentary

Magna Carta — here | EHD3 316-324. | Henry I: Charter of Liberties, 1100 | Fees for the Use of the Great Seal, 1199 | Royal Licences to Export and Import, 1205-1206 | Prisage on Wine, 1205 | Concession of England to the Pope, 1213 | Confirmatio Cartarum, November 5, 1297

(8) Apr 19 — on the Black Death

23 The plague in Ireland [John Clynn, OFM], Horrox 82-84. | 41 The sin of the times ['De pestilentiae'], Horrox 126-127. | 73 Mandate of Pope Clement VI on Jews [1348], Horrox 221-222. | 84 Burial problems in Worcester [Letter of Wolstan de Bransford, Bishop of Worcester to Dean of Worcester, 18 April 1349], Horrox 268. | Michael Platiensis (1357) | 103 An early enclosure [Royal writ, 22 November 1357], Horrox 299. | 112 The Statute of Labourers, 1351, Horrox 312-316.

(9) Apr 26 — The Paston Letters

Margaret Paston to John Paston [1449?] (Transcribed by John F. Tinkler) | May 25, 1449

(10) May 3 — Final test (see below)

Literature

Hayden White: "The Historical Text as Literary Artifact" In: Tropics of Discourse (Johns Hopkins UP, 1978), pp. 51-80. In Hungarian: "A történelmi szöveg mint irodalmi műalkotás." Ford. Novák György. In: Kiss Attila Attila, Kovács Sándor S.K., Odorics Ferenc (eds.): Testes könyv I (Szeged: ICTUS és JATE Irodalomelméleti Csoport, 1996), pp. 333-354.; "A történelmi szöveg mint irodalmi alkotás." Ford. Heil Tamás. In: A történelem terhe (Budapest: Osiris, 1997), pp. 68-102.
Hayden White: "The Question of Narrativity in Historical Representation." In: The Content of the Form (John Hopkins UP, 1987), pp. 1-25. In Hungarian: "A narrativitás értéke a valóság megjelenítésében." Ford. Braun Róbert. In: A történelem terhe (Budapest: Osiris, 1997), pp. 103-142.
Poole, Austin Lane, ed.: From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1086-1215. The Oxford History of England. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1954.

Documents

Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. Edited and translated by John Morris. London and Chichester: Phillimore, 1980.
Rosemary Horrox (ed. and translator): The Black Death. Manchester and New York: Manchester UP, 1994.
EHD1 — English Historical Documents c. 500-1042. Edited by Dorothy Whitelock. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1955.
EHD2 — English Historical Documents 1042-1189. Edited by David C. Douglas and George W. Greenaway. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1953.
EHD3 — English Historical Documents 1189-1327. Edited by Harry Rothwell. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1975.
Jójárt Júlia, Varga Vanda Éva (eds): A Bayeux-i faliszőnyeg. JATE Történész Diákkör: Szeged, 1998.
Rimaszombati Károly (ed): Vikingek az Angolszász Krónikában. JATE Történész Diákkör: Szeged, 1997.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook

Labyrinth Library Middle English Bookcase
John F. Tinkler

»ANG2QZ-1« Monday, 10-12, American Seminar

Names

Aszmann Krisztina

Benák Mónika

Falucskay Violetta

Juhász Ágnes *

Kákonyi Julianna *

Kenéz Imola

Kuthy Ákos

Lantos Renáta *

Michnay Andrea

Mpiima Krisztina *

Oláh Nóra

Pálmai Judit *

Szajlai Alexa

Urbán Ábel

Varga Zoltán M.

End-term Test
ANG2QZ-1 Medieval English Documents
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Write on a separate sheet. | Don't use your name - use a codeword.
Always give the number of the question. | Write legibly, please.
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(0-40=1; 41-50=2; 51-70=3; 71-85=4; 86-100=5)
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What is 'mortmain'? (1)
Who was 'Master Goldwin'? (1)
What is a 'breve'? (1)
What is 'Acton Burnell'? (1)
What is 'manumission'? (1)
What was 'heribannum'? (1)
Who was Paulinus? (1)
How many percent is sixpence to the pound? (1)
When and how is the Bayeux Tapestry first mentioned? (3)
What is the genre of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle? (3)
What three purposes did the Domesday Book serve? (3)
What does the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle say of Cynewulf? (3)
What portents signalled in Northumbria the coming of the Norsemen according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle? (3)
Give as many details as you can on the first appearance of the Vikings in England. (3)
What was the attitude of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the king having the Domesday survey made? (3)
Why and when did Anselm write to Pope Urban II? (3)
What was the cause of the difference of opinion between Anselm and Henry I in 1105-1106? (3)
Henry II calls the Bishop of Worcester his 'kinsman'. What was the precise propinquity between them? (3)
Who was Eleanor of Aquitaine? Why and when was she chastised in the letter we read? (3)
What was the financial arrangement for Margaret after the death of Henry the Young King? (3)
What were the consequences of the Plague according to Michael Platiensis' account? (3)
Who was John Clynn? Details? (4)
List the sins that the Black Death was supposed to be a punishment for. (4)
What were the sheriffs in the 11-13th centuries? (5)
Why did Henry II quarrel with the Bishop of Worcester? (5)
What is the burden of Edward I's Statute of Quia Emptores? (5)
How does Pope Clement VI argue for the Jews in Sicut Judeis? (5)
What could be the relationship between John Paston and Sir John Fastolf on the basis of the 1449 letter? Elaborate. (5)
How do you interpret the following entry in the Annales Cambriae: "454 an. Brigida sancta nascitur"? (5)
What is 'emplotment'? Elaborate, please. (5)
Comment as copiously on the following text as you can (10):

William the king greets all his liegemen well. And I make known to you that I have granted Regenbald, my priest, all his land as fully and as completely with sake and soke as he had it under Edward, my kinsman. And I will not permit that any man should deprive him of it on the penalty of losing my friendship.

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