HS223 Knight/Shining Armor: Middle Ages

This course examines selected themes in European history from the early Middle Ages (600s) through the crisis of late medieval society (1400s). During this period Europe underwent a series of profound social, cultural, economic, and political changes as it made the transition from late Antiquity to the early Renaissance. To better understand this transition, the course will focus on several major topics, including Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire, England and the emergence of the medieval state, the Crusades, the Hundred Years’ War, and the Black Death. While charting larger historical developments, we will also examine everyday life in Western history and the central roles of religion and war.