Pilgrims, knights and swindlers

Daily life on by land and by sea ways in Medieval Europe ITALYCZECH REPUBLICSLOVENIASWEDEN

“These men and women thought that the world was reaching the end and humanity was shabby and declining. However they have never stopped to invent things to get better and improve their conditions. These men and women believed that the universe was closed, they had values firmly joined to the places and objects they were living with. Neverthless they were pilgrims towards other territories waiting for other spaces and times. They created the concept of “new” though this principle seemed to be despicable for them codes and values of this period may be considered as very far away values more than we think, but we must admit that we are debitors to those values more than we want to assert.” Jean-Maurice de Montremy, Dialogues with Jacques Le Goff A la recherche du Moyen Age

How the idea of the project came about The cultural event: The European Middle Ages by Jacques Le Goff (Parma, 2003) This fair showed the essence and the origins of Europe. It exhibited all common traits of the nations partecipating, the historical background that made the birth possible, the devolopment and the consciousness of unity through Christianity.

The historical quest: Norbert Ohler, The Medioeval traveller Memorabilia merchants, penitent bandits, pious knights and swindle friars, men and women looking for salvation both of soul and body. The Medioeval pilgrimage is here expounded not only as a religious event but also as a cultural, social and economic fact: pilgrims were merchants, they built pathways and bridges, they estabilished connections between different people and countries, they constructed towns and fortification that still exist. Why did men and women of all ages and different social conditions undertake the adversities of a pilgrimage? How did they organize such a long trip that could also last years? What risks did they meet? What was everyday pilgrim’s life like? Where did they stay and what did they eat?

Two general remarks about the project: A complex historical and cultural study that aims to search in the past, and in this specific context in the middle ages, the common roots of the present age particularly within cultures that can be apparently considered as different and distant. The European integration process has nowadays been threatned by different events in many diffent countries: our students are the future citizens, If we involve them in such a project we will offer them the opportunity to experiment one way of the European integration. Particularly they will experience the study and the respect of different cultures and the evaluation of similarities.

General targets: To help students to gain basic life abilities experimenting a common group research. In particular the aim is to help students to use different research strategies such as extracurricular learning and the use of information and communication technologies To develop the knowledge, the understanding and the value of the cultural and linguistic European diversity between students and teachers; to support and encourage the improvement of the English language together with other learning activities and content subjects.

Peculiar targets: To learn in depth the culture of the Middle Ages, expecially the one linked to the European pathways from the 9th Century to the 12th one using different learning/teaching strategies; To gain knowledge and understanding of the historical research through practical experience using laboratories and workshops and experimenting the passage from theory to praxis; To develop specific competences analysing documents about everyday life in the Middle Ages.

Some possible areas to develop: 1. The practice of working 2. The variation of the landscape 3. The nutrition 4. The hygiene and illness 5. The houses, the streets and the towns 6. Hospitality 7. The tour among pilgrims, merchants and everyday dangers 8. The theme of sacred in everyday life 9. The meaning of religious buildings and many more!

Possible methods: To develop a new teaching strategy based on the following practices: A first approach to the diffent topics of Medioeval history and historiography; Attivation analysis of extracurricular and multi- subject matters; To experiment the work in the labs and during workshops both “in loco” and on line; Meetings with specialists; Practical activities: school visits, interviews ect.

Expected outcome: Students: 1.To improve competences and interests regarding themes and people involved in the project; 2. To develop the consciousness and the sense of belonging to Europe through periodical meetings with European schools; 3. To improve the knowledge and the communication through English; 4. To develop the practice of the research and the cooperative work.

Teachers: 1.To gain new professional competences, to experiment new teaching strategies taking into consideration both the experience of the partecipants and the targets involved in the project; 2. To improve the knowledge of the European dimension meant as a general framework with common problems and solutions; 3. To improve competences of the adopted foreign language as the result of the exchange and of the comunication.

The school: 1.To enrich the curricula experimenting and adopting new teaching methods; 2. To increase the value of the international dimension and to emphasize the talent of each involved institution.

Final works: 1.Book/Cd Rom (June 2010) with the documentation relating to the activity of the first year; 2. Book/Cd Rom “Our project” (may 2011) with the documentation relating to the activities of the whole project and the final evaluation of the project itself.