HY 101-001: Western Civilization to 1648
paper # 1 assignment
Background: As we will discuss in class, the Germanic invasions and the dissolution of the Roman Empire in the west brought together two worlds that were dramatically different from one another. One had been part of
the Roman Empire, had experienced Roman forms of social and political organization, had shared in the currents of Mediterranean civilization and Latinate culture, and had a Christian majority by the time the Empire
in the west dissolved. The other was a world of warrior chieftains and Germanic pagan religion and culture and had never partaken fully in the traditions of civilization that we have followed in this course from their origins in the ancient Near East through their spread throughout the Greek and eventually Roman worlds. The underlying story of European history for the next several centuries following the receding of Roman power in
the west was how these two very different worlds were to come together and meld with one another to form a new, unified civilization – the civilization of Western Europe that we will spend the remainder of the semester studying. By the time this process – the ‘creation of Europe’ – was complete, it would make sense to think of core Roman areas such as Italy as being part of the same civilizational world as the homelands of the Germanic ‘barbarians’ whom Tacitus had described in his Germania.
The texts you are reading for this paper, The Rule of St. Benedict and Beowulf, can be read as representative of how far apart the two halves that would form Europe were from one another at the beginning of the process:
Benedict’s is a world of Christian piety, contemplation, and prayer near the heart of the former Roman Empire; Beowulf’s a world of beer-chugging and dragon-slaying on the distant Germanic fringe. The value systems of
the two worlds would appear completely foreign from or even diametrically opposed to one another. However, if you dig beneath the surface of these texts to examine their underlying architecture, you will find that each deals with a remarkably similar set of issues. Comparing and contrasting The Rule of St. Benedict and Beowulf in light of these similar issues will be the focus of the paper assignment.
Assignment: In a paper of 3-4 pages, respond to one of the following questions based in a careful, comparative analysis of The Rule of St. Benedict and Beowulf. Note that it will be essential to read the entirety of each text carefully in order to produce strong answers to these questions.
- Benedict and Beowulf each provide images of an ideal leader and an ideal follower. For Benedict, they are the good abbot and the proper monk respectively; in Beowulf, the good warrior-king and the loyal
member of his warrior band. Compare and contrast the descriptions of ideal leaders and ideal followers in these texts. What qualities should a good leader and a good follower possess? What should the chief
concerns of leaders be? Of followers? How should leaders and followers relate to one another? Do the texts provide examples of bad leaders and bad followers [NOTE: for Benedict I am referring here to bad monks living within a monastic setting, NOT the other kinds of monks listed in Chapter 1 – do not use those other kinds monks listed in Chapter 1 (anchorites; sarabaites; gyrovagues) discussed there as your
model for bad monks!]? What makes them bad? What do the similarities and differences between the images of leaders and followers presented in these texts tell us about the value systems of the societies depicted in the texts? - At their deepest level, both The Rule of St. Benedict and Beowulf deal with the essential question of how one can go about using one’s short time on earth to achieve a form of eternity in the face of a dangerous,
threatening, unpredictable world. What is the form of eternity – that thing that lives on after one dies – that is to be sought after in each of these texts? How can it be gained? How can it be lost? What is the relationship between seeking eternity and functioning within the world in the here-and-now? What do the similarities and differences between the images of eternity presented in these texts tell us about the value systems of the societies they describe? In answering this question, remember the characters in Beowulf were not Christians, and the form of eternity they were pursuing was not the same form of ‘life after death’ pursued by Christians!
*** Be sure to support all of your claims with specific, properly cited evidence taken from the primary source texts. The more precise you can be in connecting the points you make with specific passages from the text(s),
the better your paper (and thus your grade) will be.
Please use the specific versions of each text listed on our course syllabus (these are the same versions that were ordered for class via the University Supply Store.) If you must use an alternate version (which we discourage
whenever possible), be certain it is a full-text rather than abridged version. You will then have to provide a full bibliographic reference to the version you used on your paper.
*** Remember that this is not a research paper, but rather an exercise in primary source analysis. Because of this, the use of any sources (primary or secondary) other than the two texts themselves will not be allowed. This includes websites (DON’T EVEN LOOK AT THEM!) Consulting sources other than our course readings for this paper (including even looking at websites!) will result in the paper earning a 0. I don’t want to hear about somebody else’s opinions about these texts, I don’t want you relying upon the editors’ introductions or prefaces to make your points, and I don’t want you to simply reformulate what we have discussed in class. I want to see your analysis of these primary source texts based upon your careful reading of the texts.
***** Note on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism: In order to avoid any instances of unintentional plagiarism and to discourage any willful academic dishonesty, I am requiring all students to read a detailed discussion of plagiarism [including all 11 links] put together by Georgetown University (on-line at http://honorcouncil.georgetown.edu/whatisplagiarism) and to read/review the University of Alabama’s Honor
Code and information on academic misconduct at (on-line at https://provost.ua.edu/academic-misconduct
disciplinary-policy/) By submitting your paper you are confirming that you have read and understood all of this information, and that your paper complies with the standards of academic honesty described therein. If you have any questions about any issues related to academic honesty and plagiarism, please speak with me before the papers are due. Your GTAs and I are here to help.
Format: Papers should be double-spaced, in 12-point font, with standard 1-inch margins and pages numbered.
There’s no need for a title page or formal bibliography (and if they are included they will not count towards the page limit!) Either footnotes or parenthetical references are fine for your citations.
***Papers are due by the time lecture begins at 8:00am on Wednesday 10 March 2021 . Extensions will not be granted. Submit your papers via the main course Blackboard site (HY101-001) before lecture begins on
the 10th. Papers that have not been submitted by 8:00am on the 10 th will be counted as late. Late papers will be graded down one full letter grade for the first day late and 1/3 letter grade for each subsequent day late.
Days here refer to regular calendar days, not class days. For example, an A quality paper due on Wednesday would receive a B if it is handed in after 8:00am on Wednesday, a B- if handed in on Thursday, a C+ if handed
in on Friday, etc.
Finally, I would like to stress that your GTAs and I are here to help with your papers. Let us know how we may do so
Good Luck!