| Unit name | History in the Middle Ages (Level H Lecture Response Unit) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30031 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Pohl |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This Unit explores the way in which people in the Middle Ages conceptualized the world and their Past. We will examine different types of historical writing and the different approaches they took in, for example, Chronicles, Histories, Annals, Biographies, and Gestae (Deeds). For example, what were the models for writing history? Did the future have a place in the writing of history? Why did some people write world chronicles and others national chronicles? What was the place of biography? We will explore these and other questions focused on material mostly from Western Europe to c. 1250.
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed: (1) a broad understanding of the development of history writing in the Middle Ages; (2) the ability to analyse and generalise about how and why approaches to the writing of history evolved in the way they did; (3) the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general issues and arguments; (4) the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically, and form an individual viewpoint.
1 x 2-hour interactive lecture per week.
One summative coursework essay of 3000 words (50%) and one unseen examination of two hours (50%). Both elements will assess ILOs 1-4.
Anne A. Latowsky, Emperor of the world: Charlemagne and the construction of imperial authority, 800-1229 (2013)
Chris Given-Wilson, Chronicles. The writing of history in medieval England (2004)
William R.Leckie, The passage of dominion. Geoffrey of Monmouth and the periodization of insular history in the twelfth century (1981)
Monika Otter, Inventiones: fiction and referentiality in twelfth-century English historical writing (1996)
Gabrielle M. Spiegel, 'History, Historicism and The Social Logic of the Text in the Middle Ages', Speculum 65 ( 1990), 59-86
