Modern humanities

UMBERTO LONGO
UMBERTO LONGO

The course aims to provide knowledge and understanding of the methodological, critical and applicable aspects of the Discipline; it proposes geographical areas and sectorial perspectives in which related projects are activated; it shows the variability of fields of interest; it enables the student to master the specific topics in order to use them and apply them in other fields of study while using the correct specific language. With the acquired knowledge the student will be able to develop autonomous ability of connections with other disciplines in the various historical epochs and cultural contexts.

Thorough knowledge of sources and bibliography on the course topic

general knowledge of medieval history

Desert and city. Spirituality and the Middle Ages.
What is spirituality? It is often associated with the Middle Ages, considered a religious and “spiritual” era.
What forms did the relationship between space, the sacred, and society take in the Middle Ages?
The links between spirituality, nature, and the Middle Ages in the development of the idea of the Middle Ages.

The course aims to investigate what is meant by spirituality in the Middle Ages and to offer a reflection on the crucial relationship between the conception of space, settlement, the tension towards the sacred, religious choices, and social dynamics in the Middle Ages. Starting from the beginnings of Christianization until the High Middle Ages.
The relationship between the idea of the Middle Ages itself, the rediscovery of nature, and the need for spirituality between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries will also be considered.

Il tema della foresta e della caccia nell’agiografia monastica di riforma del secolo XI, in Sacra silva. Bosco e religione tra tarda antichità e medioevo, a cura di Francesco Carta, Raimondo Michetti, Carla Noce, Roma Viella (Sacro/Santo nuova serie, 34), pp. 357-368 isbn 9791254695739

Given the seminar nature, attendance is strongly recommended.

Given the seminar nature, attendance is strongly recommended.

The course is seminar in nature and aims to provide understanding of the topics covered through direct knowledge of the sources. An oral test is scheduled.
Also planned are: Lectures by visiting professors, seminars, online distribution of teaching materials.

What is meant by spirituality in the Middle Ages?

• Introduction
  • Books: U. Longo, Religione e territorio. Lo spazio e il sacro tra rappresentazioni e pratiche sociali, in Il Paesaggio agrario italiano Medievale. Storia e didattica, Summer School Emilio Sereni, II Edizione 24–29 agosto 2010 a cura di Gabriella Bonini, Antonio Brusa, Rina Cervi, Emanuela Garimberti, Reggio Emilia 2011, pp. 47-64


• Early Middle Ages, barbarian culture, ethnogenesis 
  • Books: M. Montanari, Un medioevo aperto


• The chronicle of past years. Origins and the Middle Ages
  • Books: Nestore l'Annalista, Cronaca degli anni passati (XI-XII secolo), Milano 2005


• space and sacred
  • Books: U. Longo, Religione e territorio


• The cult of the saints
  • Books: P. Brown, The cult of the saints


• The cult of the saints
  • Books: P. Brown, The cult of the saints


• Il culto dei santi
  • Books: P. Brown, The cult of the saints


• the martyrs
  • Books: S. Boesch Gajano, La santità, Bari 1999


• a new theology: martyrs and relics
  • Books: S. Boesch Gajano, La santità, Bari 1999


• relics
  • Books: L. Canetti, Frammenti di eternità, Roma


• reliquie e società
  • Books: S. Boesch Gajano, La santità, Bari 1999


• the body and religion
  • Books: U. Longo,  L’abito e il corpo dei religiosi nelle fonti agiografiche. Il mantello come simbolo di identità, in Przegląd Historyczny, 100 (3/2009), pp. 475-494


• the body as an instrument of holiness
  • Books: U. Longo,  L’abito e il corpo dei religiosi nelle fonti agiografiche. Il mantello come simbolo di identità, in Przegląd Historyczny, 100 (3/2009), pp. 475-494


• the body and ascetics
  • Books: U. Longo,  L’abito e il corpo dei religiosi nelle fonti agiografiche. Il mantello come simbolo di identità, in Przegląd Historyczny, 100 (3/2009), pp. 475-494


• the monk's body
  • Books: U. Longo,  L’abito e il corpo dei religiosi nelle fonti agiografiche. Il mantello come simbolo di identità, in Przegląd Historyczny, 100 (3/2009), pp. 475-494


• spatialization of Christianity
  • Books: U. Longo, Religione e territorio


• the diocese
  • Books: U. Longo, Religione e territorio


• monasticism and space
  • Books: G.M. Cantarella, I monaci e lo spazio


• monastic construction in the area
  • Books: U. Longo, La dimensione spaziale della santità come fattore di istituzionalizzazione, in Spazio e mobilità nella “Societas Christiana” (secoli X-XIII).


• the north's space
  • Books: F. D’Angelo, Dal Nord con furore. I vichinghi sulle scene, «Bianco e nero», 600 (2021),


• the Middle Ages and the idea of the North
  • Books: F. D’Angelo, Dal Nord con furore. I vichinghi sulle scene, «Bianco e nero», 600 (2021)


• the phenomenon of pilgrimage
  • Books: U. Longo, Introduzione: il pellegrinaggio medievale, in Pilgrims and crusaders between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, (11th-13th centuries).


• the evolution of pilgrimage between the early and late Middle Ages
  • Books: A. Vauchez,  Introduction, in Lieux sacrés, lieux de culte, sanctuaires. Approches terminologiques, méthodologiques, historiques et monographiques, sous la direction d’A. Vauchez, Rome, 2000


• the culture of pilgrimage
  • Books: U. Longo, Introduzione: il pellegrinaggio medievale, in Pilgrims and crusaders between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, (11th-13th centuries).


• agiografia e spazio
  • Books: U. Longo, La dimensione spaziale della santità come fattore di istituzionalizzazione, in Spazio e mobilità nella “Societas Christiana” (secoli X-XIII).


• the lives of the saints and the spatial dimension. examples
  • Books: U. Longo, La dimensione spaziale della santità come fattore di istituzionalizzazione, in Spazio e mobilità nella “Societas Christiana” (secoli X-XIII).


• the sources for spirituality
  • Books: A. Vauchez, I laici nel medioevo


• the spirituality of lay people in the Middle Ages
  • Books: A. Vauchez, I laici nel medioevo


• the lay saints of the 11th-13th centuries
  • Books: A. Vauchez, I laici nel medioevo


• the idea of the Middle Ages, the rediscovery of nature, and the need for spirituality between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries
  • Books: U. Longo, Tra un manifesto e lo specchio. Piccola storia del medievalismo tra diaframmi, maniere e pretesti, in Bullettino dell’Istituto storico italiano per il Medioevo, 122 (2020)


• spiritual Middle Ages
  • Books: U. Longo, Tra un manifesto e lo specchio. Piccola storia del medievalismo tra diaframmi, maniere e pretesti, in Bullettino dell’Istituto storico italiano per il Medioevo, 122 (2020)


• course conclusions
  • Books: U. Longo, Tra un manifesto e lo specchio. Piccola storia del medievalismo tra diaframmi, maniere e pretesti, in Bullettino dell’Istituto storico italiano per il Medioevo, 122 (2020)