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Seeing & Being Seen: English Art in the 14th Century - HOA00062I

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  • Department: History of Art
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module summary

This course explores the importance of the visual in a century that saw great changes in English society, economy and politics; including the Black Death, the Hundred Years War and, ultimately, the replacement of the ruling Plantagenet dynasty. How may these be related to changes in representation?

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23

Module aims

This course explores the importance of the visual in a century that saw great changes in English society, economy and politics; including the Black Death, the Hundred Years War and, ultimately, the replacement of the ruling Plantagenet dynasty. How may these be related to changes in representation?


Taking advantage of a rich literature on medieval bodies, visualities and identities, the course will range in scope from academic theories of vision, to wider understandings of the importance of sight and the senses, and medieval aesthetics. Themes include the development of portraiture, and the role of the visual in the fulfilment of spiritual needs, both public and personal. At court and on the battlefield, colourful display was a central part of royal and aristocratic life in this ‘age of chivalry’, in a culture that spanned the channel. The period witnessed the production of such individual wonders as the Luttrell Psalter and the Wilton Diptych, but also the development of architectural spaces, such as Ely cathedral and York Minster, in which art was part of ritual and performance.

The materials for study are extremely rich in York, especially in the Minster.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should have acquired:

  • A familiarity with a wide range of artworks and buildings produced in England during the 14th century.
  • An understanding of current critical debates about medieval visuality and aesthetics.
  • The ability to analyse art and architecture in contexts both secular and ecclesiastical, and to think about relationships between them.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on assessed work within the timeframes set out by the University - please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

The purpose of feedback is to help you to improve your future work. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further, you are warmly encouraged to meet your Supervisor during their Office Hours.

Indicative reading

Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200–1400, exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1987

P. Binski, Westminster Abbey and the Plantagenets, Kingship and the Representation of Power, 1200–1400, New Haven (CT)/London, 1995

P. Binski, Gothic Wonder, Art, Artifice and the Decorated Style, 1290-1350, New Haven/London, 2014

C. M. Carruthers, The Experience of Beauty in the Middle Ages, , Oxford, 2013

J. Hamburger and A.-M. Bouché (eds.), The Mind’s Eye: Art and Theological Argument in the Middle Ages, Princeton, 2006

C. M. Woolgar, The Senses in Late Medieval England, New Haven/London, 2006


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.