HIST 847 Latin Sources of Late Medieval History
This course trains students to read, understand, and edit Latin-language documentary sources relating to government, administration, economy, and law in the later middle ages (roughly 1250-1550). The focus throughout will be mastering the comprehension of records in manuscript form, using digitized images. The seminar will train students in the palaeography and diplomatics of records, as well as the substantive language, vocabulary, and historical context of each record class, and ancillary skills such as how to date records and identify placenames. Each student will prepare as a final project a substantial text based upon a manuscript source, edited to professional standards and with critical apparatus, from a document of his/her choosing. The primary focus in the course will be on sources from England, but if any student has a strong interest in records from another country the instructor should be able to accommodate that as a final project, with sufficient advance notice. Prerequisite: study of Latin, at a minimum up to concurrent registration in LAT 561 (Medieval Latin) or the equivalent.