Postgraduate Course: Merchants, Pirates and Crusaders in the late medieval Mediterranean (PGHC11405)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | At the turn of the fourteenth century the Mediterranean was on the brink of a series of major religious and political transformations which would shape the region for centuries to come. In the central Mediterranean the major powers of Western Europe were embroiled in the War of the Sicilian Vespers, in the East the last Crusader States had fallen to the Mamluks of Egypt, and in Greece and the Aegean the Byzantine Empire was on the verge of being consumed by the Turks of Anatolia, amongst whom were the Ottomans.
Yet in this period of extreme instability, a number of remarkable merchants, pirates and crusaders were able to carve out their own domains in the Mediterranean, motivated by profit and adventure, but also by religious zeal and a desire to defend Christian lands. Some of these individuals gained fame and fortune for their maritime daring, as well as papal favour for their role in fighting the enemies of the faith. However, others were attacked for their ruthless policies and even had crusades proclaimed against them for allying with Muslims and enslaving their fellow Christians. This course will focus on a number of these individuals, including Roger of Lauria, the Italian admiral who was the commander of the fleet of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers, the Genoese adventurer Benedetto Zaccaria, who established a crusader dynasty on the island of Chios, the mercenary Catalan Company, who ruled Athens as a pirate-duchy from 1311-1388, the military Order of the Knights Hospitaller, who governed Rhodes until 1522, and the French mercenary Philippe de Mézières, who was a royal advisor to the king of Cyprus, a prolific writer and traveller, and also an avid crusader. The course will utilize a range of translated sources, including documents from the archives of Genoa, Venice and Malta, merchant handbooks, crusade treatises and travel narratives. |
| Course description |
The course will be seminar-based, here is a list of topics covered in the seminars:
1. Introduction: Latin Merchants and the Crusades
2. The Mediterranean on the Eve of the Fourteenth Century
3. Shipping, the Sea and Naval Warfare
4. The Slave Trade and Trade with Muslims
5. Admiral Roger of Lauria and the Sicilian Vespers (1282-1302)
6. Roger de Flor, the Catalan Company and the Conquest of Athens (1302-1311)
7. Grand Master Fulk de Villaret and the Hospitaller Conquest of Rhodes (1306-1327)
8. Benedetto Zaccaria and the Genoese Rulership of Chios (1274-1314)
9. Martino Zaccaria and the Naval Leagues against the Turks (1314-1345)
10. Philippe de Mézières, Cyprus and the Crusade against Alexandria (1327-1405)
11. Expansion and Exploration beyond the Mediterranean
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1 x 4000 word essay |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course it is intended that students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the relevant areas of late medieval Mediterranean history
2. Execute defined research and produce structured and analytical essays on aspects of the course
3. Critically analyse the sources relevant to the course and be familiar with their strengths and limitations
4. Make formal presentations in relation to course topic
5. Work effectively with classmates and take part in detailed discussions and debates
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Reading List
Primary sources:
Documents on the Later Crusades: 1274-1580, ed. & trans. N. Housley (1996). D172 Doc.
Medieval Italy: Texts in Translation, ed. K.L. Jansen (2009). DG501 Med.
Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents, trans. R. Lopez & I.W. Raymond (1967). HF395 Med.
Marino Sanudo Torsello, The Book of the Secrets of the Faithful of the Cross, trans. P. Lock (2011).
Marino Sanudo Torsello, Letters, in Sherman Roddy, ¿The Correspondence of Marino Sanudo Torsello¿ (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Michigan, 1971). I have PDF.
Philippe de Mézières, The Life of Saint Peter Thomas, trans. J. Smet (1954). BX4700.P466 Mez.
Pierre Dubois, The Recovery of the Holy Land, trans. W.I. Brandt (1956).
Ramon Muntaner, The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner, trans. L. Goodenough, 2 vols (1920-1). 6th Floor Reference.
Ramon Muntaner, The Catalan Expedition to the East: from the Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner, trans. R.D. Hughes (Barcelona: Barcino, 2006).
William of Adam, How to Defeat the Saracens, trans. G. Constable (2012).
Secondary Reading:
Abulafia, D., The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean (Oxford, 2011). Ebook.
Blumenfeld-Kosinski, R. & Petkov K. (eds), Philippe de Mézières and His Age: Piety and Politics in the Fourteenth Century (2012).
Carr, M., & Chrissis, N. (eds), Contact and Conflict in Frankish Greece and the Aegean, 1204-1453 (2014). DF611 Con & E-Resource.
Epstein, S.A., Genoa and the Genoese, 958-1528 (Chapel Hill, 1996). DG637 Eps.
Epstein, S.A., Purity Lost: Transgressing Boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1000-1400 (Baltimore, 2007). DS63.18 Eps.
Fleet, K., European and Islamic Trade in the Early Ottoman State: The Merchants of Genoa and Turkey (1999). HF3868.Z7 Fle.
Harris, J. Holmes, C., & Russell, E. (eds), Byzantines, Latins, and Turks in the Eastern Mediterranean World after 1150 (2011). DE94 Byz.
Lane, F.C., Venice: A Maritime Republic (London, 1973). DG676 Lan.
Leopold, Anthony, How to Recover the Holy Land: The Crusade Proposals of the Late Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Centuries (2000).
Pryor, J., Commerce, Shipping, and Naval Warfare in the Medieval Mediterranean (1987). Contains reprints of some of his articles. Serj. Coll. .9(262) Pry.
Pryor, J., Geography, Technology and War: Studies in the Maritime History of the Mediterranean, 649-1571 (1988).
Setton, K.M., The Catalan Domination of Athens (1948). DF624 Set.
Setton, K.M., The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571, vol. 1 (1976). 26213(4017-022) Set.
Stantchev, S.K., Spiritual rationality: Papal Embargo as Cultural Practice (2014).
Zachariadou, E.A., Trade and Crusade: Venetian Crete and the Emirates of Menteshe and Aydin: 1300-1415 (1983). DF901.C83 Zac. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Merchants Pirates Crusaders |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Michael Carr
Tel:
Email: Mike.Carr@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lindsay Scott
Tel: (0131 6)50 9948
Email: Lindsay.Scott@ed.ac.uk |
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