HIST 100 EARLY MEDIAEVAL EUROPE Dr Niall Christie Office Hours: Mon, Wed and Fri, 12:00-12:30 pm and 3:00-3:30 pm, or by appointment Copy of outline on the web at:
History: Why do we care? History, n. An account mostly false, of events unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools. Ambrose Bierce ( ), The Devil's Dictionary
To avoid the mistakes of the past To help us understand other cultures To help us understand ourselves Why study history?
Some Mediaeval Achievements Transformation of Roman Empire into precursors of modern nation-states Birth of precursors to modern governmental systems Establishment of Christianity and Islam Major advances in science and technology Major works of literature in Latin and other languages
“Middle Ages”“Dark Ages” medium aevum (1688)“Mediaeval” Not used at time Geographically limited Issue of determining start and end: 476 (end of Roman Empire in west) to 1492 (Columbus)?