- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
- See module specification for other years: 2023-24
This module examines aristocratic culture and chivalry in England and France during the age of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). This period has traditionally been regarded as the ‘autumn’ of chivalry, a time when the extravagance of tournaments, knightly orders and court culture contrasted with the horrors of warfare and rapid changes to the role of the knight on the battlefield. We will look closely at the impact of the literary ideals of chivalry and courtly love upon aristocratic society, thinking carefully about how rituals and games shaped identity and culture. We will then consider how profound changes in both warfare and society reshaped the very nature and significance of chivalry, asking what role developments in strategy and tactics such as the ‘infantry’ and ‘artillery revolutions’ had upon the role of the aristocratic warrior. Why did the chivalric ideology not serve to protect civilians and non-combatants from the horrors of warfare? Did the development of national feeling undercut the sense of international brotherhood that was supposedly a hallmark of chivalric culture?
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
The aims of this module are:
Students who complete this module successfully will:
Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1. Students will then attend a 1-hour plenary/lecture and a 2-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW) during which there are no seminars. Students prepare for and participate in eight 1-hour plenaries/lectures and eight 2-hour seminars in all.
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
For formative assessment, students will complete a referenced 1200 to 1500-word essay relating to the themes and issues of the module. This will be submitted in either the Week 5 or Week 9 RAW week (on the day of the weekly seminar).
For summative assessment, students will complete an Assessed Essay (2000 words, footnoted). This will comprise 100% of the overall module mark.
Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Following their formative assessment task, students will typically receive written feedback that will include comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission.
Work will be returned to students in their seminars and may be supplemented by the tutor giving some oral feedback to the whole group. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their formative work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For the summative assessment task, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.
For term time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading: