Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Written Essay (2500 words) | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Written Essay (2500 words) | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the main developments in English history from 1066-c.1250.
2. Construct coherent historical arguments about the extent to which elite warrior culture changed in England across the high medieval period.
3. Identify the main ideas which shaped contemporary concepts of ideal elite conduct in high medieval England.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of some of the problems historians face when attempting to define cultural models and ideas.
Brief description
Chivalry and knighthood are two of the concepts most strongly associated with medieval England. Despite this, medieval historians have not reached a consensus on how to define these cultural models. There is still much debate regarding not only the point at which the ideology of chivalry and knighthood became established in medieval England, but also why these ideologies were adopted so fully by the medieval elite. In this course, students will explore these decades-long debates and consider how the identity of noble warriors changed across the course of the medieval period. Our investigations will begin in 1066, when an invading Norman force brought new ideas of exemplary conduct to the Anglo-Saxon realm. They will continue into the twelfth century and follow the career of the greatest knight of this age, William Marshal. The course will end by considering whether historians have been correct in their suggestions that there was a decline in chivalry at the end of the thirteenth century.
Content
Norms and ideals as markers of social status
1066 – A turning point?
Knighthood 1: Problems and definitions
Knighthood 2: An aristocratic knighthood
Chivalry: Problems and definitions
The education of the elite: youth, tournaments and technological developments
Elite behavioural ideals and norms: War and honour
Elite behavioural ideals and norms: The court
Elite behavioural ideals and norms: Emotions
Elite behavioural ideals and norms: Conflict and reconciliation
Elite warriors in Anglo-Norman historical narratives
Knightly behaviour during civil war: King Stephen and the ‘Anarchy’
King John and his barons
The greatest knight?: William Marshal
Elite culture in the reign of Henry III
The Decline of Chivalry? Evesham and its aftermath
Conclusion: What was chivalry?
Seminars
Knighthood in historical narratives
Chivalry in historical narratives
Representations of behaviour in historical narratives
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal
The Battle of Evesham
What was chivalry?
Revision seminar
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Students will be introduced to data in the form of tables and figures and a range of quantitative data, which will require some degree of interpretation and understanding. |
| Communication | Written communication skills will be developed through the coursework; skills in oral presentation will be developed in seminars but are not formally assessed. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be advised on how to improve research and communication skills through the individual tutorial providing feedback on submitted coursework. |
| Information Technology | Students will be encouraged to locate suitable material on the web and to apply it appropriately to their own work. Students will also be expected to word-process their work and make use of Blackboard. These skills will not be formally assessed. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will develop a range of transferable skills, including time management and communication skills, which may help them identify their personal strengths as they consider potential career paths. |
| Problem solving | Students are expected to note and respond to historical problems which arise as part of the study of this subject area and to undertake suitable research for seminars and essays. |
| Research skills | Students will develop their research skills by reading a range of texts and evaluating their usefulness in preparation for the coursework and the written examination. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students will develop their analytical skills by engaging with primary source material from the period under study. They will increase their knowledge of historical approaches and methodologies as well as their ability to debate and critique existing historical arguments. |
| Team work | Students will be expected to play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars) and to learn to evaluate their own contribution to such activities. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5