RLMgB231 Orthodoxy and Heresy in Medieval Western Christianity

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025

The course is not taught in Spring 2025

Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Matouš Vencálek
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
! RLB231 Medieval Orthodoxy and Heresy
Basic orientation in the western Christianity in the 11th-15th century.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course focuses on some problems in the study of non-conformist religious movements and currents in medieval Western Christianity. It describes heresy as a product of polemical discourse striving to define legitimate Christianity through “thinking the Other”. Individual lectures focus on particular case studies of medieval orthodoxy-heresy relationship and draw some theoretical conclusions. The course covers mainly early sources on heresy in the 11th century, links between heresy and reform, the conversion of Valdès and the beginnings of Waldensianism, the unclear Catharism of Armanno of Ferrara, the beliefs of the followers of Guglielma of Milan, and the case of Bernard Délicieux who fought against the inquisition. Each lecture begins with a short introduction in the history and current state of research and continues with a more detailed analysis.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
  • describe the most important groups of religious dissent in the 11th-14th c. Western Europe;
  • express the relationship between the discussions about heresy and the overall development of Western Christendom in 11th-14th century;
  • analyze inquisitional and polemical sources and evaluate their claims;
  • critically evaluate different concepts and models used in the study of “medieval heresy” including the categories of orthodoxy and heresy;
  • illustrate some general theoretical problems (genealogies, formation of concepts...) using examples from the field of medieval Christian dissenting movements.
    • Syllabus
    • Introduction.
    • Starting points and theoretical orientation of the course.
    • Orthodoxy and heresy in medieval Christianity.
    • Reform and heresy, 1000-1120.
    • “When Valdès was not heretic” – Valdès’ activity in Lyon and its historiography I.
    • “When Valdès was not heretic” – Valdès’ activity in Lyon and its historiography II.
    • “Catharism” and the process of Armanno named Pungilupo.
    • Heresy of the Free Spirit.
    • Guglielma of Milan and her followers.
    • Gherardo Segarelli, Dolcino and the radical advocates of poverty, 1260-1320.
    • “Hammer of the Inquisitors”: Bernard Délicieux and his struggle against the Inquisition.
    • The role of women in medieval dissenting movements.
    • Final revision.
    Literature
      recommended literature
    • LAMBERT, Malcolm. Středověká hereze. Translated by Tomáš Vítek. Vyd. 1. Praha: Argo, 2000, 598 s. ISBN 8072032917. info
    • Heresies of the high middle ages. Edited by Walter L. Wakefield - Austin P. Evans. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991, xiv, 865. ISBN 0231096321. info
    • Inventer l'hérésie? : discours polémiques et pouvoirs avant l'Inquisition. Edited by Monique Zerner. Nice: Centre d'Études Médiévales, 1998, 283 s. ISBN 2910897486. info
    • Texts and the repression of Medieval heresy. Edited by Caterina Bruschi - Peter Biller. 1st pub. Woodbridge, Suffolk: York Medieval Press, 2003, xvii, 256. ISBN 1903153107. info
    • Ordonner et exclure : Cluny et la société chrétienne face à l'hérésie, au judaïsme et à l'islam, 1000- 1150. Edited by Dominique Iogna-Prat. 2. éd. Paris: GF-Flammarion, 2000, 508 s. ISBN 2700722876. info
    • MOORE, R. I. The formation of a persecuting society : power and deviance in Western Europe, 950-1250. 1st pub. in pbk. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1990, viii, 168. ISBN 0631171452. info
    Teaching methods
    Lectures, discussions, home reading, essay.
    Assessment methods
    Oral presentation on a topic approved by the teacher, based on relevant literature, presented in the exam period, and participation in the discussion about the presentation: 100 %.
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    The course is taught once in two years.
    The course is taught: every week.
    Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
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