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HIST 4B - MEDIEV ERLY MOD EUR - Fall 2025

Discussion Post 2: Medieval Kingship

This assignment is due 1/2 hour before your section time.

Last week, you got started learning about medieval society doing what is called a "close reading" of one document. This week, you will be building on that analysis using a longer, more complex document, either the Magna Carta or Geoffrey of Beaulieu's "Life and Saintly Comportment of Louis, Former King of the Franks." Both documents tell us important things about medieval kingship, both what was expected or desired of medieval kings and how they could fail in these expectations. For this week, the author and conditions under which these two documents were written are fundamental to understanding them; not taking that authorship and historical context into account could lead to significant misunderstandings. These two documents also provide an excellent opportunity to think about what they DO NOT say. Historical documents have arguments and claims they make explicitly, but what can we learn from their assumptions or things they leave out?

Magna Carta (1215): Magna Carta is a royal charter issued by King John of England and then used as a template for other royal charters issued by his successors. However, although John issued the charter, its provisions were actually drawn up by his barons (important English nobles), who were in rebellion against him. So, the point of view is mostly that of the barons, not the king. Questions to consider: What did the barons hope to achieve with this document? What can we learn about the barons' expectations for their relationship with the king and their claims for what English society should be like? What were the barons NOT concerned about?

Geoffrey of Beaulieu was Louis IX's spiritual confessor (i.e., priest and spiritual guide) and wrote his "Life and Saintly Comportment of Louis, Former King of the Franks" after Louis's death in 1270. His purpose was to contribute evidence to support Louis's canonization (meaning, his official declaration as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church). Questions to consider: How did Geoffrey's clerical position, knowledge of Louis's spiritual life, and purpose in writing influence his depiction of the king? In taking into consideration this ideal portrait of a king, what can we learn about less idealized medieval monarchs or possible critiques of Louis IX?

Steps: (1) Choose either Magna Carta or Geoffrey's "Life of Saint Louis" to focus on; (2) Read the whole text carefully (don't skim!); (3) Prepare to answer the questions posed above for either Magna Carta or Geoffrey of Beaulieu by doing ONE of the following:

1. Talk through your response to the questions by making a short video or voice recording (2-3 minutes; your choice of platform) and then upload it; OR

2. Think through the questions by drawing a mind-map or concept-map of the words, relationships, and claims you see in the text (do this part by hand and then upload a photo of your drawing); OR

3. Do what you did last week: Choose 3-4 quotations that provide evidence responding to the questions and then summarize what each of them tells you and then upload this work.

(4) Final step: Drawing on your chosen preparation piece, write a draft paragraph response to the questions posed for your document. Your paragraph should have a strong topic sentence (i.e., a clearly stated argument at the beginning of your paragraph) and must include 3 short quotations to support your points (include internal citations). Upload this draft paragraph to the discussion post as a reply to your preparation that you already uploaded. This part of the assignment is also due by 1/2 hour before your section meets.

Next Steps (1) In Section: In section, you will share your preparation step with the class, a group, or a partner; after discussion, you will have the opportunity to take notes on how you would revise your draft paragraph. (2)

After section: Revise your paragraph, upload it to the discussion post as a reply to your draft paragraph by Friday, October 10th at 11:59 pm.