Learning Outcomes
Students are expected to
• possess specialized knowledge on the formation, evolution and the special features of the Kingdom of Sicily
• possess specialized knowledge on the construction of identities and alterities, as well as on the relevant analytical tools
• possess specialized knowledge on the political culture of the Kingdom of Sicily
• be able to analyse and assess comparatively the political culture in different medieval kingdoms
• be able to correlate violent and persecuting attitudes with the cultural framework of an era
• be able to answer specialized questions within the specific topic, which involve both criticical thinking and empirical knowledge
Course Content (Syllabus)
The course examines the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (12th-13th c.). It studies the Norman conquests in Southern Italy and Sicily, the conquerors’ relations with the conquered people, Italo-Greeks, Muslims and Lombards, as well as the organization of the Kingdom (administration, justice, and finance). Special attention will be given to the convivencia of the ethno-cultural groups and the ongoing latinization of the Kingdom through cultural assimilation and persecutions. Emphasis is also stressed on the political imagery of the Norman kings as it is expressed in political discourses, ceremonies and art. Students will familiarize themselves with analytical tools of social and new cultural history, as well as with the study of medieval literature (historical works, encomia, specula principis, Vitae, secular poetry).
Syllabus
Week #1 Introduction. Social and new cultural history: research tools. Research subjects concerning the Kingdom of Sicily. Brief history of Italy (5th-9th c.).
Week #2 Southern Italy in 10th and at the beginning of the 11th c. Byzantine provinces, Lombard principalities and Muslim Sicily: brief social and cultural history.
Week #3 The coming of the Normans examined in the cultural framework of the 10th and 11th c. The formation of the duchy of Apulia and the county of Sicily.
Week #4 Latin, Greek-speaking and Muslim communities during the Norman conquests: construction of identities and alterities.
Week #5 Social and ethno-cultural communities in Norman Southern Italy
Week #6 & 7 The shaping of the multi-cultural Kingdom of Sicily (12th c.): terror & territorium. Justice, administration, finance
Week #8 The imagery of the royal power
Week #9 The Kingdom of Sicily in the political constellation of the 12th c.
Week #10 Towards the formation of a Latin Kingdom (12th-13th c.): Latinization of the Greek-speaking communities and persecution of the Muslims.
Week #11 & 12 The era of Frederick II (1198-1250): The re-organization of the Kingdom and the new imagery of power.
Week #13 General overview of the subject
Keywords
Kingdom of Sicily, Roger II, Frederick II, political culture, identities ans alterities, Islam
Additional bibliography for study
• Houben, H. Roger II of Sicily. A ruler between East and West. Μετάφρ. G. Loud & D. Milburn. Cambridge, 2002.
• Kreutz B.M. Before the Normans. Southern Italy in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries. Philadelphia,1991.
• Loud G.A. The Age of Robert Guiscard. Southern Italy and the Norman Conquest. Essex, 2000.
• Loud G.A. & Metcalfe A. (επιμ.), The society of Norman Italy. Leiden, 2002.
• Λουγγής, Τ.Κ. Η Βυζαντινή Κυριαρχία στην Ιταλία από το θάνατο του Μ. Θεοδόσιου ως την άλωση του Μπάρι 395-1071. Αθήνα, 1989.
• Metcalfe A. Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily. Arabic speakers and the end of Islam. London, 2003.
• Musca G. (επιμ.). Condizione umana e ruoli sociali nel Mezzogiorno normanno-svevo. Atti delle none giornate normanno-sveve. Bari, 17-20 ottobre 1989. Bari, 1991.
• Nef A. Conquérir et gouverner la Sicile Islamique aux XIe et XIIe siècles. Rome, 2011.
• Peters-Custot A. Les Grecs de l’Italie méridionale post-byzantine. Une acculturation en douceur. Rome, 2009.
• Stürner W., Friedrich II. Teil 1-2. Darmstadt, 2003.
• Takayama H. The administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Leiden,1993.
• Tronzo W. The Cultures of his Kingdom. Roger II and the Capella Palatina in Palermo. Princeton, 1997.