Your responses must be in the form of essays (an argument, an introduction & conclusion, body paragraphs). The length of each essay should be around 750 words. You must make specific reference to course content, but formal citations are not necessary. Similarly, additional research in preparation for the exam is neither expected nor desired the exam is based only on course content: assigned texts, discussion readings, and lectures. Each essay response must make use of at least two (2) primary sources and the exam as a whole should make use of at least six (6) different primary sources.
The questions are broad, engaging with prominent course themes, developments, or issues that
unfolded across multiple weeks. The questions are open-ended and are meant to encourage synthetic thought: they ask you to bring together ideas and evidence from different lectures, chapters, etc
TOPICS:
1) Middle Ages often defined as an
age of faith. That does not mean that everyone behaved piously all the time, but that religion permeated nearly all aspects of life. With reference to beliefs, practices, and institutions, explain why religion is so important to understanding medieval life.
2) Many of the political and cultural developments of the Middle Ages took place within the context of a sibling rivalry between Latin, Greek, and Islamic worlds. With reference to all three worlds, discuss the consequences of conflict and exchange between them and how the Middle Ages were shaped by this dynamic.
3) The Middle Ages are often thought of as superstitious, violent, and dirty. But we know that this to be a caricature and a misunderstanding. Counter the idea of the medieval period as some sort of dark age by exploring some of the great achievements and/or quotidian practices that show the Middle Ages to be an important and dynamic era.