COURSE DESCRIPTION

The centuries between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance in Italy have often been called a ‘Dark Age’, a phrase coined by the Tuscan poet Petrarch in the 1300s. The cultural monuments from this period, however, are testament to a different story: the brilliant mosaics of Ravenna and Norman Palermo, the marbled medieval churches of Rome, the intriguing tombs of the Lombards, or the cityscapes of hill towns such as Siena each spring to mind.

This course takes you into the world of medieval Italy, from the fall of Rome to the eve of the Renaissance. The story that unfolds lecture by lecture reveals the richness of the Middle Ages in Italy. It’s a story of new peoples settling on the peninsula and the cultural interaction between them, of the rise and fall of duchies, kingdoms and empires, and ultimately the foundation of the modern Western world in trade, banking and self-governing states.

COURSE CONTENT

Lecture 1: The fall of Rome

Lecture 2: The Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy and the Byzantines

Lecture 3: New peoples: The Lombards

Lecture 4: Southern Italy: Saracens, Greeks, Lombards and Latins

Lecture 5: Amalfi and the rise of Venice

Lecture 6: The maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa

Lecture 7: A new order: Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire

Lecture 8: The Normans and the Two Sicilies

Lecture 9: Matilda of Canossa and the rise of the Popes

Lecture 10: The Italian communes

Lecture 11: A new economy: Trade, banking and textiles in late medieval Italy

Lecture 12: Florence on the eve of the Renaissance

LECTURER

Dr Nick Gordon is a cultural historian and holds a PhD in history from the University of Sydney. His research into medieval and Renaissance Europe has won numerous academic awards and scholarships, including the University Medal in history from the University of Sydney, and has been published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals. Nick has over 15 years’ experience as a lecturer to university and public audiences.

COURSE STRUCTURE

12 x 1 hour recorded lectures.

COURSE DATES

This course can be taken at any time as it is pre-recorded.

REQUIREMENTS

This course does not require any assumed knowledge, only an interest in Italy and the Middle Ages. The lectures are available for streaming, which requires a computer or device with an internet connection.

BOOKING

Once you have booked, you will receive a link to a course page. Within 48 hours you will receive a password to access all of the lectures.