AEM_03g Medieval archaeology in Europe

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Petr Hrubý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jana Mazáčková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Rudolf Procházka, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Petr Hrubý, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 10:00–11:40 M21, except Wed 15. 11.
Prerequisites
Passive knowledge of English and German language
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Goals: to increase the level of knowledge acquired in the compulsory course during the first cycle, which is complemented and extended to the European context, with an emphasis put on archaeological-historical issues of medieval Europe and on familiarity with academic literature.
Learning outcomes
The outcome of the course is an extended knowledge of archaeology and general facts concerning the High and Late Middle Ages in Europe.

After completion of the course, student should be able to:
- have good orientation in general facts and theoretical problems of archaeological study of the High and Late Middle Ages in Europe
- set the topics, problems and phenomena of Czech medieval archaeology into wider European context.
Syllabus
  • syllabus of lectures:
  • 1. Major features of development in the 11th – 15th century medieval Europe.
  • 2. Development of high and late medieval archaeology in Europe.
  • 3. Colonisation, European upland settlement, formation of high medieval landscape in the 11th to 13th centuries.
  • - long process of colonisation, re-colonisation, its repetition
  • - examples of successful and unsuccessful colonisation mentioned in written sources (e.g. Adam of Bremen, Helmold of Bosau)
  • - cultural landscape in the Lower Elbe region, which in the 13th century exceeds a fragmentary understanding: the oldest core of Elbe River levees
  • - examples of landscape exhaustion and the abandonment of settlements in the Lower Elbe region still in the Middle Ages: Lüneburg Heath
  • - examples of archaeological and topographical study of the living and deserted medieval structures: Hercynian/Variscan Uplands (Germany).
  • - examples of exploitation and transformation of forest and landscape in the foothills of the Ore Mountains settlement in Wettin, Meissen
  • 4. rural settlement
  • - methods of research into deserted villages and rural settlement in Europe
  • - processes of abandonment of rural settlements
  • - archaeological excavations of rural settlements
  • 5. Technology and technical innovations of the western part of medieval Europe
  • - heritage of Europe to the Middle Ages: cultural - civilizational and technological gap between the regions and areas of former Roman provinces and the barbarian territory
  • - innovation in construction and a short excursion to architectural styles
  • - innovations in mechanics
  • - innovation in the exploitation of raw materials
  • - innovations in metallurgy and iron founding, archaeological evidence
  • - glass and glass production: imports and domestic production
  • 6. The genesis of so-called communal cities in Europe
  • 7. Archaeological evidence of European medieval towns
  • 8. Urban centres of production and distribution of precious metals in the 11th to 13th centuries in West Europe, Holy Roman Empire and the surrounding lands.
  • - British Isles: Wales a SW England, centres: Durham, Carlisle etc.
  • - French regions: closely related to the Holy Roman Empire
  • - Alpenraum (Trento)
  • - Schwarzwald, Harz, Erzgebirge
  • - Silesia and Lesser Poland
  • 9. Selected topics on trade and craft industries in Europe in the 11th and at the turn of 13th and 14th centuries
  • - inland trade routes, river trade routes and sea trade routes
  • - emporium/emporia of the North Sea and the Baltic coast, mixed as maritime centres
  • - river shipping in NW Europe and the origins of Hanseatic League
  • - trade and financial centres of Italy: Venice, Florence regions
  • - continental transit trade centres in Holy Roman Empire - archaeological evidence (Nuremberg, Passau, Erfurt)
  • - exceptional role of iconography for study of medieval crafts and production
  • - examples of archaeologically best explored sectors of medieval craft production (excluding ceramics)
  • 10. European castles and fortresses
  • - architecture and main elements in different parts of Europe
  • - local building production: Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Central Europe, Byzantium
  • 11. Castles of the Levant, Arabic castles and fortresses, military impact
  • - influence of the Arab world on military architecture
  • - warfare
  • - Crusades and the origin and rise of their states in the Levant, Baltic area
  • – Christianisation of pagan states in High and Late Middle Ages
  • 12. Church structure and burials
  • - church structure: West and East
  • - monasteries and ecclesiastical orders – cohesion in Europe
  • - architecture
  • - burials: European standards and differences (for example: deviant burials, burials of executed, royal burials, mass graves)
Literature
    required literature
  • Deichmann, F. W., Einführung in die christliche Archäologie, Darmstadt 1983.
  • Clarke, Helen, The Archaeology of Medieval England, London 1984.
  • Boüard, M. de, Manuel d archéologie médiévale. De la fouille á ľ histoire, Paris 1975.
  • Fehring, Günther, P., Einführung in die Archäologie des Mittelalters, Darmstadt 1987.
  • LE GOFF, Jacques and Jean-Claude SCHMITT. Encyklopedie středověku. Edited by Franco Alessio, Translated by Lada Bosáková. Vyd. 3. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2014, 935 s. ISBN 9788074291302. info
    recommended literature
  • Holl, Imre, Mittelalterarchäologie in Ungarn, Acta Arch ASH 22, 1970, 365-411.
  • HARRIS, E. C., Principles of archaeological stratigraphy, London 1979.
  • FELGENHAUER-SCHMIEDT, Sabine, 1993: Die Sachkultur des Mittelalters im Lichte der archäologischen Funde. Europäische Hochschulschriften. Reihe XXXVIII. Archäologie. Frankfurt am Main.
  • LE GOFF, Jacques. Kultura středověké Evropy. Vyd. 2., Ve Vyšehradu 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2005, 702 s. ISBN 8070218088. info
  • MORANT, Henry de and Gérald GASSIOT-TALABOT. Dějiny užitého umění : od nejstarších dob po současnost. Vyd. 1. Praha: Odeon, 1983, 573 s. URL info
Teaching methods
- lectures
- moderated discussion
Assessment methods
Requirements for the examination:
- Basic orientation in individual spheres of research within the branch
- Knowledge of specialised literature, periodicals and outcomes of the work of significant researchers within the scope of the lecture and the recommended literature
- Adequate participation in the seminar work
- Presentation of the elaborated papers
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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