| Unit name | The Good, The Bold and The Handsome? Power, Patronage and Piety in Fifteenth-Century Burgundy |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM0028 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Harry |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
During the fifteenth century England and France were engaged in intermittent war and the Dukes of Burgundy stood to inherit the spoils. Yet they remain widely understudied - and misunderstood. Students will investigate some of the major political figures in fifteenth-century Europe, many of whom will be unfamiliar to them; others, such as Margaret of Burgundy, they may think they know. But this unit is about more than politics, arranged marriages, jousting and bloodshed. Burgundy and the Low Countries were at the heart of the Northern European Renaissance, centres of culture, learning, printing and portraiture, driven by the patronage of the Dukes of Burgundy. The Low Countries were also the heart of spiritual renewal and birthplace of the devotio moderna. This unit offers students a unique approach to a well-trodden period of history, drawing on leading European research and the growing number of online resources that bring the period vividly to life.
To allow students to assess the nature and characteristics of the Court of Burgundy, and its contribution to European history.
To place students in direct contact with the current research interests of the academic tutor and to enable them to explore the issues surrounding the state of research in the field.
To develop students’ ability to work with primary sources relating to this field.
To develop students’ abilities to integrate primary source material into a wider historical analysis.
To develop students’ ability to learn independently within a small-group context.
10 x 1.5 hour seminars
One essay of 5,000 words.
Belozerskaya, M., Burgundian Arts Across Europe, (Cambridge, 2002)
Eichberger, D., Women of Distinction: Margaret of York, Margaret of Austria, (Brepols, 2005)
Fliegel, S. N., et. al. (eds), Art From the Court of Burgundy, (Paris, 2004)
Knecht, R. J., The Valois: Kings of France, (London, 2004)
Marti, S. et. al., (eds), The Splendour of the Burgundian Court, (Brussels, 2009)
Vaughan, R., Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy, (London, 1973)
