HST3089/3090: Muslims, Mongols and the West, 1095-1350
40 credits (semesters 1 and 2)
Module Leader:
| Pre-requisites |
A pass in at least two history modules at level two.
| Module Summary |
This module explores how western European attitudes to the wider world before the great age of colonial expansion were forged in response to two major events. The first, the establishment of the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem introduced western Christians to the complex, dangerous and unfamiliar world of Muslim, Jewish and eastern Christian communities. The second, the sudden, savage conquests of the Mongol hordes along the frontiers of Christendom and deep into the Middle East, shocked Christians and Muslims out of a preoccupation with their conflicts in the Holy Land, and broadened their awareness of both the possibilities and the threats presented by a wider world. Before long, the Mongols had established a vast empire in which, as a Venetian merchant put it, 'the roads are safe by day and night', and were presenting themselves to Christians as potential allies against Muslims. The opening up of much of Asia to Christian diplomacy, trade, exploration and missionary work transformed European perceptions and played a crucial role in forming the imagination and ambition of the West. Although the Mongol Empire collapsed in the mid-fourteenth century, this formative period of contact between East and West was profoundly to shape the modern world.
The primary sources for this module are rich and varied. In the first semester, we will begin by considering existing western assumptions about the east, deriving from the fascinating and often bizarre heritage of ancient travel writing; the garbled memories of the conquests of Alexander the Great, and the assertions of pseudo-scientific works. Then we will examine the experiences of Christians in the Holy Land through the accounts left by crusaders, pilgrims, merchants, Muslim observers and many others. In the second semester, we trace the continuing expansion of European horizons from the first, horrified reports of Mongol atrocities and the journeys of early papal envoys to the Mongol court to the extraordinary travels of men such as Marco Polo and the eventual establishment of a Franciscan mission in Beijing that began the western discovery of China.
| Teaching |
Teaching will be through twice-weekly seminars over two semesters.
| Assessment |
The word limit for essays includes footnotes, but excludes the bibliography.
| Selected Reading |
- Dawson, C. (trans.), Mission to Asia (1955)
- Jackson, P., Mongols and the West, 1221-1410 (2005)
- Jotischky, A., Crusading and the crusader states (2004)
- Kedar, B. Z., Crusade and mission: European approaches toward the Muslims (1984)
- Larner, J., Marco Polo and the discovery of the world (1999)
- MacEvitt, C., The Crusades and the Christian World of the East: Rough Tolerance (2008)
- Morgan, D. O., The Mongols (second edition, 2007)
- Morris, C., The sepulchre of Christ and the medieval west: from the beginning to 1600 (2005)
- Peters, E. (ed.), The First Crusade. The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials (2nd ed., 1997)
- Phillips, J. R. S., The Medieval Expansion of Europe (1998)
- Southern, R. W., Western views of Islam in the Middle Ages (1962)
| Intended Learning Outcomes |
By the end of the module, a candidate will be able to demonstrate:
- The ability to read, understand and analyse medieval sources, including visual sources and original texts in translation.
- The ability to situate an understanding of the primary sources within a wider understanding of European relations with the wider world, especially during the crusades and following the establishment of the Mongol empire.
- An understanding of the ways in which ideas have been transmitted and developed through time and in changing religious, cultural and intellectual contexts.
- The ability to present material in seminars in an articulate and thoughtful manner, and participate effectively in discussion.
- The ability to write informed and coherent essays and commentaries on documents, under pressure of time.