Documentary literacy in the Middle Ages

Pre-requisites: no special requirements

Course objectives: This course is an introduction to documentary literacy as a form of culture in literature. Mastering skills and gaining knowledge about working with applicable resources.

Course description: Mapping out the community of individuals tied to the creation and use of documents. The need for written information and faith in the power of the written word in daily interactions was the precursor for documentary literature becoming part of the holistic culture of literature and writing in the middle ages. Examining the use of written documents in political, legal, business and private relations. The mode of documentary literature will be analyzed by looking at its most frequent users - whether they are rulers, churches, aristocracy, cities, diplomacy, correspondence, private legal documents, evidence or court papers.

Learning Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of the basic processes and phenomena in the culture of writing. An introduction to the methodology of work on documentary and narrative sources. Students will learn how to write and produce papers, historic essays and power point presentations.

Literature/Reading:

• Đ. Bubalo, Srpski nomici, Posebna izdanja Vizantološkog instituta SANU, knj. 29, Beograd 2004.
• Đ.Bubalo, Pisana reč u svakodnevnom životu, u: Privatni život u srpskim zemljama srednjeg veka, priredile S. Marjanović-Dušanić i D. Popović, Clio, Beograd 2004, 471–492
• Đ.Trifunović, Ka počecima srpske pismenosti, Beograd 2001.
• S. Ćirković, Rabotnici, vojnici, duhovnici, Beograd 1997.
• M. Kostrenčić, Fides publica (javna vera) u pravnoj istoriji Srba i Hrvata, Beograd 1930.
• V. Bogićević, Pismenost u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo 1975.
• Đ. Bubalo, Srednjovekovne povelje u arhivu manastira Savine, Istorijski časopis 49 (2002) 93–122
• Đ. Bubalo, Srednjovekovni arhiv manastira Vranjine (prilog rekonstrukciji), Stari srpski arhiv 5 (2006) 243–276
• Đ. Bubalo, Nicolaus notarius Parserini (Prilog poznavanju ustanove nomika u srednjovekovnoj Srbiji), Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta 45 (2008) 231–241.
• Đ.Bubalo, Pisana reč u srpskom srednjem veku. Značaj i upotreba pisanih dokumenata u srednjovekovnom srpskom društvu, Stubovi kulture, Beograd 2009.
• H. Arnold, Sprache und Struktur altserbischer Privilegienurkunden aus dem 12. bis 16. Jahrhundert (München, 2002: Specimina Philologiae Slavicae: Supplementband 71)
• T. Subotin-Golubović, Srednjovekovna srpska epistolografija, in: Pismo: Zbornik radova, Beograd 2001, 9-16
• M. T. Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record, Blackwell 1993