070138 PS MA-Proseminar (2016S)

This seminar concerns debates, discussions and controversies in the early Middle Ages. We will study the rules of debate at church synods and political assemblies and investigate the prevailing methods of discussion. Were participants allowed to offend or insult one other, or were they expected to remain polite and respectful, even in the heat of a debate? Did disputants mainly argue on the basis of (biblical) authority, or was there room for logical, rational argumentation?
It is often during clashes and conflicts that the unspoken rules and norms of a society become visible. In this seminar we will study different aspects of the medieval culture of disputation: the social proceedings, the educational aspects and the norms of discourse (the methods of discussion, the best dialectical strategies to win a debate). However, we will not only focus on methods of discussion, but will also investigate the role of stories that circulated in the early Middle Ages about epic confrontations between Christians and Platonic philosophers, or between Christians and heretics. Did these stories provide tips and tricks for early medieval disputants, or rather a model of behaviour?
The aim of this seminar is to let students get acquainted with source analysis, (medieval) argumentation strategies and their social role in shaping the discourse of a society, and with the political and religious world of the Early Middle Ages. During classes, students practice their critical and analytical skills reading and interpreting medieval sources and specialist literature.