ITINERARIES OF MEDIEVAL WRITTEN RECORDS

Starting from the study of cases relevant to the Italian and European context, the course introduces students to the study of medieval written records of different types and on different supports, favouring the development of skills in the field of their documentation and interpretation. This approach ensures that educational objectives related to critical examination of written sources in the context of any type of reconstructive investigation are achieved.
The course is part of the common curriculum of the Master's degrees in Archival and Library Science, History from the Middle Ages to Present and History of Art and Conservation of Artistic Heritage.

1. Knowledge and understanding
- Knowledge of the main types of medieval written records;
- Knowledge of palaeographic and epigraphic terminology;
- Learning the methods of analysis and analytical description of written evidences;
- Learning the methods of analysis of extemporaneous inscriptions.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
- Ability to place written records in their relevant historical and cultural context;
- Ability to derive socio-cultural information from textual, material and palaeographic analysis of written records;
- Ability to process data for the reconstruction of spatial and monumental contexts;

3. Judgment
- Ability to formulate and argue hypotheses for the historical and chronological contextualisation of written records.

4. Communication skills.
- Know how to develop strategies and techniques for interpreting and communicating research results, including to the general public.

A good knowledge of medieval history and basic knowledge of Latin language is preferable.

The course aims to study the main types of written records of the Italian and European Middle Ages, never losing sight of the context in which they were not only used but also produced. The aim is to provide the tools to situate these testimonies in a wider socio-cultural panorama and to grasp their graphic, material and documentary dimension.
The leitmotif of the entire course will be "places of writing":

- Chancelleries, Notaries, Archives | Writing to certify: production, characteristics, writings and uses of public and private documentary evidence.
- Scriptoria, schools and libraries | In and from the codex: the manuscript book, material aspects and writings. The 'reception' of the codex in non-library spaces (mise en page, writing and colour in epigraphy, sculpture and painting). [Focus on the activity of the copyist and the places/practices of teaching (exercitationes scribendi on various supports).
- Churches, sanctuaries and monasteries | Sacred writing: liturgical, didactic or dedicatory inscriptions on walls, furniture, capitals, floors. Writings on altars.
- Cemeteries | On, around and inside the tomb: strategies of signalling, 'exploitation' and valorisation of burials through engraved, graffiti or painted inscriptions. [Focus on funerary inscriptions, fixed or mobile, located inside tombs].
- Mobile sites | The 'itinerant' records: texts written on everyday objects and on different types of mobile artefacts within civil and religious contexts.

1) The materials discussed in class are provided by the professor during the course and made available on the Moodle platform. These materials are an integral part of the program.
2) A. PETRUCCI, Medioevo da leggere. Guida allo studio delle testimonianze scritte del Medioevo italiano, Torino, Einaudi, 1992.
3) Focus on the activity of the copyist and the places/practices of teaching: M.L. AGATI, Il libro manoscritto da Oriente a Occidente. Per una codicologia comparata, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2009, pp.175-200; 241-271; F. DE RUBEIS, D. FERRAIUOLO, Frammenti di uno 'scriptorium': San Vincenzo al Volturno, in Frammenti di un discorso storico. Per una grammatica dell'al di là del frammento, a cura di C. Tristano, Spoleto, CISAM, 2019, pp. 179-203.
4) Focus on inscriptions located inside tombs: C. TREFFORT, Mémoires carolingiennes: l'épitaphe entre célébration mémorielle, genre littéraire et manifeste politique (milieu du VIIIe - début XIe siècle), Rennes, PUR, 2007, pp. 23-42.

Oral examination aimed at assessing the student’s understanding of the topics covered during the course and explained in the reference texts. Candidates are expected to demonstrate their competence in recognizing the main types of medieval written records and in critically interpreting textual and material data.
The exam will consist of four questions: two related to Armando Petrucci’s book and two concerning the other reference texts.
* Active participation in lectures and class discussions will be a positive element of assessment in the examination.

oral

The evaluation criteria are as follows:
- A grade of sufficient (18–22/30) is awarded when the student demonstrates a limited knowledge of the course content, a limited ability to independently collect and/or interpret data, and adequate communication skills;
- A grade of good (22–26/30) is awarded when the student demonstrates a fair knowledge of the course content, a fair ability to independently collect and/or interpret data, and fair communication skills, with particular attention to palaeographic and epigraphic terminology;
- A grade of very good (27–30/30) is awarded when the student demonstrates a solid knowledge of the course content, a clear ability to independently collect and/or interpret data and formulate sound judgments, as well as very good communication skills, especially in the use of palaeographic and epigraphic language;
- A grade of excellent (30/30 with honours) is awarded when the student demonstrates an excellent command of the course content and the ability to formulate and articulate well-founded hypotheses of historical, chronological, or palaeographic contextualisation, starting from a case study proposed by the professor.

The course provides constant interaction between professor and students, based on confrontation and discussion. In addition to the lectures, which will be given with the help of PPT projections and graphic/photographic material, there will be activities for reading and interpreting written records and graphic contexts.
* Part of the course will be devoted to the discussion of a case of the students' choice from the Italian context.

Texts for exam preparation are available from the BAUM library or other libraries in Venice. De Rubeis-Ferraiuolo's article can be found on the web.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development