Studying at York
Seeing & Being Seen: English Art in the 14th Century - HOA00062I
Module summary
This course explores the place of the visual and the importance of display in later medieval art and architecture.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
This course explores the place of the visual and the importance of display in later medieval art and architecture. It focuses upon a century that saw many changes in English religion, society and politics, including the peasants’ revolt, the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War with France and the replacement of the ruling Plantagenet dynasty. It also included a cataclysmic epidemic, the Black Death, which wiped out up to a half of the population.
The span will be a ‘long’ fourteenth century, venturing over the limits at either end.
Taking advantage of a rich literature on medieval bodies, visualities and identities, the course will range in scope from academic theories of vision, to the role of seeing in devotional culture and displays of lordship. Issues will include the development of portraiture, and the role of the visual in the fulfilment of spiritual needs and aspirations, both public and personal, for new audiences, especially women. We shall ask whether the Black Death had an effect on artistic representation. At court and on the battlefield, display was a central part of royal and aristocratic life in this ‘age of chivalry’.
The period witnessed the production of such individual wonders as the Luttrell Psalter and the Wilton Diptych, but also the development of complex architectural spaces, in which art was in dialogue with ritual and performance.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should have acquired:
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Knowledge of a range of works of art and architecture, and of the contexts within which they were made
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Understanding of approaches to their intepretation
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Ability to present these works and apply these methods in seminars and written work
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
- Camille, Michael. The Gothic Idol, Ideology and Image Making in Medieval Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
- Coldstream, Nicola. The Decorated Style, Architecture and Ornament, 1240–1360. London: British Museum Press, 1994.
- Jones, Michael, ed. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 6, c. 1300-c.1415. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- Kessler, Herbert L. Seeing Medieval Art. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2004.