History | Colloquium-Medieval European History
H610 | 6620 | Elliott

Topic:  Medieval Heresy

In order for a person to be regarded a heretic, s/he must be
obdurate and unyielding in their censured views. In other words,
heretics are individuals of conscience who believed they constituted
the true church. But heresy is not simply a religious affair.
Religious protest often takes the form of social protest in the
Middle Ages. Hence secular rulers were almost always united in their
resistance to heretics. Through an examination of both primary and
secondary sources, this course will place heresy within its social
and economic context with a view to comprehending who the heretics
were, what they believed, the real or imagined threat that they
presented to society, and the orthodox response. Subjects such as
the way heresy corresponds with reform, gender, and literacy will be
highlighted.  Short papers, an abstract, and a research paper.
Active participation is required.