Undergraduate Course: The Doomed Kingdom: Power, Law and Religion in Early Medieval Europe (HIST10495)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | As the huge empire created by the ruler Charlemagne fragmented, his heirs embarked on a desperate and ruthless struggle for power. This course looks at how one of the kingdoms that emerged, Lotharingia (855 - 869), was engulfed and eventually destroyed by a divorce scandal, in the process brilliantly illustrating the entangled dynamics of politics and culture in early medieval Europe. |
| Course description |
This course explores the intersection of politics and culture in early medieval Europe through the strange fate of the Carolingian kingdom of Lotharingia. The slow-motion collapse of this kingdom, linked to an extraordinary marriage scandal, is uniquely well-documented, through secret treaties, letters both confidential and public, the minutes of staged show trials, records of tense summit meetings, learned legal advice, and rich and often spiteful contemporary narratives. Drawing on these sources, students will explore key themes in early medieval European history, including the contested meaning of empire, dynastic rulership, the evolution of queenship, the use of the written word, legal pluralism, the impact of the vikings and the changing role of the papacy.
Content note: The study of History inevitably involves the study of difficult topics that we encourage students to approach in a respectful, scholarly, and sensitive manner. Nevertheless, we remain conscious that some students may wish to prepare themselves for the discussion of difficult topics. In particular, the course organiser has outlined that the following topics may be discussed in this course, whether in class or through required or recommended primary and secondary sources: violence, sexual violence, abortion, incest, and intolerance. While this list indicates sensitive topics students are likely to encounter, it is not exhaustive because course organisers cannot entirely predict the directions discussions may take in tutorials or seminars, or through the wider reading that students may conduct for the course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Introduction to Historiography (HIST08044)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A pass or passes in 40 credits of first-level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second-level historical courses, including HIST08044 Introduction to Historiography, or equivalent.
Students should only be enrolled on this course with approval from the History Honours Programme Administrator. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have 3 History courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Enrolments for this course are managed by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department. All enquiries to enrol must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 172,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
0 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
1,500 word critique of an AI-generated essay on late Carolingian history (20%)
Three short source commentaries (1500 words total) (30%)
Exam:
Two-hour written exam, open book (50%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- account in detail for the collapse of the kingdom of Lotharingia, setting its fate in a broad early medieval context
- understand the interpretative limits and potential of a wide range of early medieval sources
- evaluate and take a position on recent historiographical debates in late Carolingian history
- plan and execute written critical analyses of selected aspects of late Carolingian Frankish history, relating to the course themes, in both coursework and examination settings
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Reading List
Stuart Airlie, Making and Unmaking the Carolingians, 751-888 (New York, 2020)
Marios Costambeys, Matthew Innes and Simon MacLean, The Carolingian World (Cambridge, 2011)
David D'Avray, Papacy, Monarchy and Marriage, 860-1600 (Cambridge, 2017)
Karl Heidecker, The Divorce of Lothar II. Christian Marriage and Political Power in the Carolingian World (Ithaca, 2010)
Janet L. Nelson, Charles the Bald (1992)
Janet L. Nelson, The Annals of St-Bertin (Manchester, 1991)
Martha Rampton, Trafficking with Demons: Magic, Ritual and Gender from Late Antiquity to 1000 (New York, 2021)
Laury Sarti, Orbis Romanus. Byzantium and the Legacy of Rome in the Carolingian World (Oxford, 2024)
Rachel Stone, Morality and Masculinity in the Carolingian Empire (Cambridge, 2011)
Rachel Stone and Charles West, The Divorce of King Lothar and Queen Theutberga. Hincmar of Rheims's De divortio (Manchester, 2017)
Charles West, The Fall of a Carolingian Kingdom (Toronto, 2023) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Skills in research development and analysis
Oral communication skills, through seminar participation and presentation delivery
Written communication skills
Group working, to prepare and develop presentations and through seminar activities |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Charles West
Tel:
Email: cwest3@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lauren Smith
Tel:
Email: Lauren.N.Smith@ed.ac.uk |
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