Medieval Portuguese History (9th-13th Century)

Objectives

- Understand the process which led to the affirmation of Portugal as an independent Kingdom, and to analyse such process in a critical form.
- Grasp the social and economic organization of “Portugal” from the 9th to the 13th centuries and their consequences in the ways in which power structured itself.
- Recognize how the cultural and religious reforms influenced political and social events.
- Acquire a view over the period between the 9th and the 12th century taking into account the geographical, social, economic and cultural specificities of the territory and the structural articulation which it promoted.
-Familiarize the students with Portuguese medieval primary sources Skills:
• master the studied contents and subjects;
•analyze, interpret and synthesize data, themes and issues concerning the period
•recognize historical facts and processes as elements of wider issues, and to integrate them in broader contexts and perspectives
•critically comment on direct sources

General characterization

Code

01100905

Credits

6.0

Responsible teacher

Maria João Violante Branco

Hours

Weekly - 4

Total - 168

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

N/A

Bibliography

História de Portugal (dir. José Mattoso) vol. I – Antes de Portugal, (coord. José Mattoso), Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, 1992
Nova História de Portugal, (dir. Joel Serrão e A. H. Oliveira Marques), v. II - Portugal, das Invasões Germânicas à “Reconquista”, (coord. A. H. Oliveira Marques), vol. III- Portugal em Definição de Fronteiras (coord. de Maria Helena Coelho e Armando Luís Carvalho Homem) Lisboa, Presença, 1993, 1996
História de España Alfaguarra, (dir. Miguel Artola), vol. 2 - La época Medieval, por José Angel GARCÍA DE CORTAZAR, Madrid, Alianza, 1988 (reedição actualizada)
MATTOSO, José, Identificação de um País, ensaio sobre as origens de Portugal 1096-1325, 5ª ed., 2 vols., Lisboa, 1995.
PICARD, Christophe, Le Portugal Musulman (VIII- XIII siécles) . L’Occident d’al- Andalus sous la domination islamique, Paris, Maisonneuve & Larouse, 2000.

Teaching method

Theoretical lectures and practical classes, in which the combination of lectures and debate on primary sources and recent articles may develop in the students not only the necessary basic knowledge, but also a specific competence in debating and updating their perspectives on the construction of the History of Portugal and its sources

Evaluation method

Continuous assessment - Abstract of a 20 pp. article on a relevant question(25%), Oral presentation (with power point) on a specific question, based on source materials(25%), written test with consultation(50%)

Subject matter

PART I – Roman, Germanic and Islamic traditions in the peninsular 9th century
1. Roman tradition: legacies and innovations
4. Germanic tradition: Sueves e Visigoths
5. Islam in the land which would become Portugal
PART II/1 – The formation of Portugal during the “Reconquest”
1. “Reconquest” and the Ocupation of the Territory: before Portugal
2. “Reconquest” and the ocupation of the territory: after Portugal – political evolution and theoretical consolidation of the King’s Kingdom
PART II/2 – The formation of Portugal in the “Reconquest”
2. Political Structures
3. Powers and Economies
4. Culture and Religion

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: