The learning objective is to make the students able to study and understand a single historical item, through the analysis of the primary sources, that is, the documents produced by the Roman Inquisition during the early modern period.

More specifically the aim of the course is

- how to understand and interpret the judicial procedure of the inquisitorial trials of the early modern period;

- how to gather information from the historical records, in particular: 1) the history of Italian religious dissent in the sixteenth century; 2) popular culture as witnessed in inquisitorial trials against witchcraft and "superstitions" from sixteenth to eighteenth century

- how to wite a historical narrative starting from the primary sources.

These knowledges are necessary both for those who will become teachers in secondary schools, and for those who will continue historical studies (PhD or other)

The main topics are:

1. General introduction: definitions and sources

2. The foundations of inquisitorial law and inquisitorial procedure

3. The medieval inquisition and the modern inquisitions: Spain, Portugal, Italian States

4. The birth of the Roman Inquisition

5. The first period of activity of the Roman Inquisition: the struggle against religious dissent

6. The first period of activity of the Roman Inquisition: the reckoning with the catholic dissent

7. The second period of activity of the Roman Inquisition: changing targets and procedures

8. The second period of activity of the Roman Inquisition: witchcraft and "superstitions"

9. The decline and fall of the Roman Inquisition in the eighteenth century

At the end of the course, the students must be able:

- to know the history of the Roman Inquisition and its meaning in the early modern general history

- to read an inquisition trial and to understand its characteristics and the information that it gives about historical phenomena

- to know the judicial procedures and to distinguish the single phases of an inquisition trial;

- to gather critical information from the documentary sources

- to be able to discuss about the Roman Inquisition, separating commonplaces from the historical knowledge

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises) and specific communications from the lecturer can be found, together with other supporting activities, inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Lessons given in classroom

Attendance

The attendance is mandatory for those students who want to give the exam as attending students (see below).

The other students must refer to the "additional information for non-attending students".

The attending students should have a good knowledge of early modern European history, and a basic knowledge of Latin; the knowledge of the basic grammar is sufficient.

Course books

Andrea Del Col, L'Inquisizione in Italia dal XII al XXI secolo, Milano, Mondadori, 2006 and following reprints) (the students will read the second part of the book, and chapters I to V of the third part, that is, in the 2006 edition, pages 221 to 784.

Dennj Solera, La società dell'Inquisizione. Uomini, tribunali e pratiche del Sant'Uffizio romano, Roma, Carocci, 2021.

The professor will supply other texts (articles or published sources) on Moodle.

Textbooks for the students who choose to give the exam in English:

John Tedeschi, The Prosecution of Heresy. Collected Studies on the Inquisition in Early Modern Italy, Binghamton, Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, 1991;

Thomas F. Mayer, The Roman Inquisition. A Papal Bureaucracy and Its Laws in the Age of Galileo, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.

Assessment

Oral exam.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual reading and study

Course books

The course books for non-attending students are different, depending on the different cases:

1) If the students have not yet attended a general history course for the early modern period (i.e. if they have not studied an Early Modern European history handbook), then they will study the following texts

a. One manual chosen among the following:

Francesco Benigno, L'età moderna. Dalla scoperta dell'America alla Restaurazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;

or

Carlo Capra, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2004 (fino al capitolo 25 incluso, cioè fino a pagina 320)

(The students interested in the subject "Global history" can study the textbook Introduzione alla storia moderna, a cura di Marco Bellabarba e Vincenzo Lavenia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018. It is a very complex and difficult textbook, written by many authors)

and

b. Another book, chosen among the following

Giampaolo Romagnani, La società di antico regime (XVI-XVIII secolo). Temi e problemi storiografici, Roma, Carocci, 2010

or

Guido Dall'Olio, Storia Moderna. I temi e le fonti, Roma, Carocci, 2004.

Textbook for the students who choose to give the exam in English:

M. E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2013 (2nd edition)

2) If the students have already attended an early modern history course and they have studied a handbook, then they will study the following texts (please take note that the choice is between a) one huge book, or b) a group of three books, or c) a group of two books:

a. Adriano Prosperi, Tribunali della coscienza. Inquisitori, confessori, missionari, Torino, Einaudi, 1996 (and reprints)

or

b. R. H. Bainton, La Riforma protestante, Torino, Einaudi, 1960 (e successive ristampe); G. Dall'Olio, Martin Lutero, Roma, Carocci, 2013; R. H. Bainton, Erasmo della cristianità, Firenze, Sansoni, 1970

or

c. M. Firpo, F. Biferali, Immagini ed eresie nell'Italia del Cinquecento, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2016 ; M. Firpo, Artisti, gioiellieri, eretici. Il mondo di Lorenzo Lotto tra Riforma e Controriforma, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2001.

Textbooks for the students who choose to give the exam in English:

- Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther. Renegade and Prophet, London, Vintage, 2017

It is possible, to ask the professor for a "personalized" syllabus. In this case, the students have to contact the professor by e-mail or talk to him during the office hours.

Assessment

oral exam. The oral exam aims to assess the basic knowledge of the main problems of the topic and the knowledge of the main methods of research.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.