Ateneo - UPO

Criminal justice in late medieval Europe: sources, main research avenues and open debates

In addition to the topics and texts covered in class (available online on DIR), attending students will be tested on their knowledge of L. L. Zanetti Domingues, La giustizia criminale nei comuni italiani. Una storia sociale della violenza e del diritto (secoli XII-XIV), 2026 [Carocci].Non-attending students will be tested on their knowledge of L. Zanetti Domingues, La giustizia criminale nei comuni italiani. Una storia sociale della violenza e del diritto (secoli XII-XIV), 2026 [Carocci] and TWO of the following volumes (chosen by the student):• M. Ascheri, I diritti del Medioevo italiano, 2022 [Carocci]• A. Esposito, F. Franceschi, G. Piccinni (a cura di), Violenza alle donne. Una prospettiva medievale, 2018 [Il Mulino]• D. Lett (a cura di), I registri della giustizia penale nell’Italia dei secoli XII-XV, 2021 [Ecole Française de Rome], available online at: I registri della giustizia penale nell’Italia dei secoli XII-XV - Publications de l’École française de Rome

Basic level: 1. knowledge and understanding: acquisition and understanding of the themes and problems of the history of late medieval criminal justice. Advanced level: 1. ability to apply knowledge and understanding: being able to critically interpret the sources and literature on the subject; 2. expression of judgments: being able to evaluate and argue the problems related to late medieval criminal justice; 3. communication skills: being able to clearly expound the acquired knowledge; 4. study skills: acquiring an autonomous and personally revised knowledge of the study contents.

The course is worth 6 credits, which will be acquired through 30 contact hours, of which 15 of lectures and 15 of seminars, and through individual study.

Basic knowledge of medieval history (especially concerning the 11th-15th centuries) acquired in an undergraduate university course.

The course is a seminar; in addition to lectures, therefore, students will be asked to participate, individually or in groups, in the analysis of primary sources published and translated into Italian, or in debates related to the main historiographical problems addressed during the course. Occasionally the lecturer will ask students to prepare short presentations on specific passages from sources or extracts from articles between lectures. Sources and materials used in lectures will be made available on the DIR platform.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Erasmus/exchange students are invited to contact the lecturer at their earliest convenience, in case they wish to prepare a list of agreed readings in English and/or in French instead of the Italian titles listed above.

The final examination will be an oral exam lasting approximately 20/30 minutes; for attending students, one of the questions will always focus on the analysis of a passage from one of the sources covered in class during the course. The aim is to test the knowledge included in the objectives and the expected learning outcomes by means of an examination that includes questions on the main debates dealt with in the course, in order to verify: 1) the learning of basic notions; 2) the acquisition of a critical capacity in the analysis of problems; 3) the acquisition of a critical capacity in the use of sources; 4) the use of appropriate scientific terminology; 5) the ability to establish links between topics. In particular, the following weight will be given to the verification of the aforementioned achievement of the educational objectives: 1) 40%; 2) 15%; 3) 15%; 4) 10%; 5) 20%. For students attending classes, active participation in the discussions held during interactive teaching sessions – and, in particular, the preparation of clear, effective and critically-minded presentations on the assigned texts – may contribute to an improvement in the final mark.

Demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered in class, combined with good critical thinking skills, expressive fluency and command of specialist terminology, will be awarded marks of ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ (28–30 with honours); a predominantly notionist or poorly developed grasp of the content, combined with linguistic and logical skills that are not always adequate, will be assessed with a mark ranging from ‘satisfactory’ (22–24) to ‘good’ (25–27); a minimum level of knowledge of the course content, combined with gaps in learning or inadequate linguistic and logical skills, will result in a ‘pass’ mark (18–21); a lack of even a minimum level of knowledge of the course content, combined with inadequate linguistic and logical skills and gaps in learning, will result in a mark of ‘fail’ (

During the course, the main ongoing debates in the study of late medieval criminal justice will be analysed, and the principal types of sources available for research in this field will be presented. Some of the key topics to be analysed will include:The ius commune and the ius propriumThe accusatory and inquisitorial systemsNegotiated justice and hegemonic justiceThe system of penalties in late medieval EuropeCriminal justice and gender issues (integration of the gender dimension in the syllabus)Criminal justice and Christian spiritualityThe cultural representation of criminal justice in the Late Middle AgesCivil law and common lawCriminal justice in Italian communesCriminal justice in Late Medieval France

Integration of the gender dimension: this will be achieved primarily through lectures focusing on the themes of gender and sexuality in the study of late medieval criminal justice

Basic level: students are expected to have acquired 'solid knowledge of historical background' (cf. SUA A4.b.2) in the field that the course concerns. Advanced level: students are expected to be able to 'demonstrate a professional approach to the analysis of historiographical texts and sources' (cf. SUA A4.b.2)