This assignment is designed to introduce you to the process of researching a defined topic related to medieval Europe using online and in print primary source collections, the International Medieval Bibliography database, Interlibrary Loan, and the university library catalogue. It will also teach you how to write a proposal for a university-level research paper.

Structure

Topics

In order to ensure there are enough resources for all students, I have developed a number of very broad topics, with some more specific suggestions in brackets (Note: these are suggestions and you can choose another topic within the broader category if you would like). If you would like to do a topic not listed below, that is possible but you need to discuss it with me first. Remember YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR A TOPIC WITH ME (see above for appointment schedule).

  • The Crusades (Military action, Crusading theory, the Crusader states, military orders–Templars or Hospitallers)     
  • Climate and the Environment (Famine in the 14th century, impact of climate on development of disease, growth in use of marginal lands)                     
  • Military Expansion of Spain (Specific battles–Las Navas de Tolosa, role of military orders, crusading theory, role of specific kings,       
  • Courtly Love (literary works, courtly love culture, troubadours/trobairitz) 
  • Queenship/Women’s rule          
  • Prostitution 
  • Same-sex relationships (lesbianism, homosexuality)
  • Transgender lives (in literature, court cases)
  • Scholasticism/Universities             
  • Marriage and the family (religious and secular laws on marriage, marital relationships, marriage customs, motherhood or fatherhood, childhood)
  • Heresy (Heretical Groups, the Inquisition)                                            
  • Minorities (Muslims, Jews)
  • The Papacy (Actions of specific popes, the papacy as an institution)                               
  • Christian Spirituality (mysticism, Catholic doctrine and belief)
  • Urban Society (Guilds, Municipal government, Urban Economy, Banking/Commerce, poverty, charitable activity)         
  • Vikings (Invasions, Viking society, Viking women, Viking warfare and weapons)
  • The Black Death                        
  • Medicine (diseases–leprosy, medical theory, anatomy, disability, medical training)
  • Warfare (Military techniques or weaponry, specific battles, masculinity and warfare, role of women)
  • Religious Orders (monasticism or mendicants)
  • Kingship (Rule of specific kings, theories of kingship, conflict between kings and popes)                             
  • Trade and Commerce (artisans, urban guilds, trade networks)
  • Scholasticism (Specific authors such as Thomas Aquinas, Universities, Impact of Classical authors such as Aristotle or Muslim commentators such as Avicenna)
  • Law (Criminal law–specific crimes or court cases, canon law–religious law and its jurisdiction, civil law–influence of Roman law, property law cases, common law and its development in England)
  • Byzantium (Relations with Western Europe, Specific emperors/empresses and their actions, role in converting parts of Eastern Europe to Orthodox Christianity, Use of Icons, Warfare with Turks)
  • The Islamic World (Expansion and Invasion of Spain, Al-Andalus–Muslim Spain, Arabic poetry and culture, Conflict with Western Europe in the Mediterranean)
  • Women’s lives (ideology of womanhood, female writers, women’s work, women and religion, motherhood, widowhood)