Module Identifier HY35430  
Module Title COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND, 1200-1500  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Dr Phillipp Schofield  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   18 Hours  
  Seminars / Tutorials   10 Hours  
Assessment Essay   2 essays (1 x 4,000 words, 1 x 2,500 words)   40%  
  Exam   3 Hours   60%  
  Resit assessment   3 hour exam plus any missing written work    

Learning outcomes


On completion of this module, students should be able to:
a) Demonstrate familiarity with a substantial body of historical knowledge in the field of later medieval English history.
b) Engage in source criticism, discussion and understanding of relevant primary and secondary literature.
c) Gather and sift appropriate items of historical evidence
d) Read, analyse and reflect critically on secondary and primary texts, including the principal source types for the investigation of medieval socio-economic history of medieval England.
e) Explore the relationships between history and other disciplines, particularly anthropology and sociology.
f) Develop the ability to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of particular historical arguments and where necessary challenge them.
g) Develop oral (not assessed) and written skills which will have been improved through seminar discussions and essays
h) Work both independently and collaboratively, and to participate in group discussions (not assessed).

Brief description


This course attempts to discuss the main elements from which late medieval society was constructed; after a broad overview, intended to introduce the issues which underpin the course and clarify its structure, a series of lectures will describe the nature of familial, local community and national ties in four main contexts: rural, urban, aristocratic, religious. The course will also consider ways in which individuals perceived themselves or were perceived as members of certain communities and the degree to which individual membership of communities overlapped. Additionally, the potential for 'alternative' communities to pose challenges as, say, heretical sects, dissident groups, or simply by offering mildly differing agendas needs to be addressed. The extent to which society in this period was divided according to class, education, economy, culture, and so on, will, consequently, be a central theme for investigation.