Gwybodaeth Modiwlau

This module will develop in students an awareness of the physical remains of the medieval church at a local level, and in particular introduce them to the ways in which historians explore the parish. The introductory session will contextualize the parish within the religious, socio-economic and cultural framework of medieval England and Wales. Seminars will then focus on the physical aspects of parish churches; when, where and why were parish churches built? How did they change over time, and for what reasons? The interior of most surviving medieval parish churches is very different from how they would have looked before the Reformation, and students will explore how and why this is the case. Attention will also be paid to regional patterns in the style, size and decoration of parish churches. The final session will consider the impact of the religious upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries on the appearance of parish churches, and how this effected and still informs historical investigations. This module will require students to use a range of documentary and non-documentary sources, and to consider the different approaches and agendas behind scholarly interpretations of this range of evidence. Particular attention will be paid to how to interpret physical remains, and how to use documentary evidence to reconstruct lost material. There will be a group visit to the church of St Padarn, Llanbadarn Fawr, and students will be encouraged to visit other medieval parish churches

The parish and parish churches have been used by historians and archaeologists for many years as a way into the mindset, devotional practices and daily lives of medieval men and women. In the last couple of decades there has been renewed interest in and a reassessment of parochial evidence, with a more integrated, cross-disciplinary approach. The aim of this module is to introduce students to the parish as an ecclesiastical unit and a community, and then to focus on the material aspects of the church; its location, structure, component elements and furnishings and fittings. Students will be expected to consider where, when and how parish churches were built, rebuilt or extended in the context of socio-economic, cultural and devotional changes. The furnishings and fittings, particularly side-altars and chapels, glass and wall-paintings will be explored, with questions of why, when and by whom additions or changes were made central to the study. Students will be expected to use some edited parish records, and to explore the physical remains of parish churches and their interiors.