This module introduces students to the Mediterranean world in the Age of the Crusades (c.1100-c.1500) and to the diverse Muslim, Christian and Jewish societies...

Divided Societies: The Mediterranean World in the Age of the Crusades (HIST0802)

This module introduces students to the Mediterranean world in the Age of the Crusades (c.1100-c.1500) and to the diverse Muslim, Christian and Jewish societies that populated this region. No prior knowledge is required and students who are new to this period and region have always enjoyed this module as an introduction to medieval European and Islamic history in a crucially formative period.

The Age of the Crusades is commonly associated with the fierce clashes between Christian and Islamic states in the wake of the crusades, but in this module we also explore how Mediterranean societies were themselves divided into multiple social, political and religious communities whose relationships stretched from co-existence to conflict.

In Term 1 we travel across the Mediterranean world. We encounter different societies from Jerusalem and Cairo across the Sahara desert to the Atlas Mountains, and from Andalusia across the Italian peninsula to Istanbul. A wealth of surviving evidence – from chronicles and literature to material sources and buildings – will allow us to look inside these divided and potentially fractious societies.

In Term 2 we look thematically across these various societies and examine the roots of their divisions. We study their ways of governing themselves and disagreeing with each other, their complex social structures and their multiple religious and legal systems. We look for similarities as well as differences and ask whether there was a Mediterranean civilisation beyond the clash of Islam and Christendom that the Age of the Crusades is so well-known for. 

This module is for half-year affiliate students only. Please see the 30-credit full-year version, HIST0079, for the full module description.

Please be aware...