Faith and Fire: Popular Religion in Late Medieval England

Code

HIST3034

School

History

Level

3

Credits

40

Semesters

Full Year UK

Summary

This module explores religious ’faith’ in England from c. 1215 to the beginning of the Reformation in 1534. The English church made great efforts in this period to consolidate Christianity amongst the masses through wide-reaching programmes of instruction, regulation and devotion. However, historians disagree as to how successful the church was in its efforts. The module engages with this debate by exploring the primary sources that detail the rich religious culture of late medieval England. It investigates the relationship between official and unofficial religion and examines how the church sought to maintain its authority in matters of faith. It asks how people responded and the degree to which they fashioned their own religious practices and beliefs. So, the module looks at topics such as magic and the supernatural; death, hell, purgatory and heaven; pilgrimage and the cult of saints; the Mass; confession; preaching; female piety, devotional images, and devotional reading and asks just how religious men and women were in this period and whether medieval religion can be meaningfully compared to religion today. The second major theme is ‘fire’: the violent repression by church and crown of those deemed to be ‘heretics’. It looks at the condemned teachings of the Oxford academic John Wycliffe and the significance of those who followed his ideas, known as Lollards. How healthy was the Catholic faith prior to the sixteenth century and in what ways was it changing?

Target Students

Studentsmust have taken HIST1001orHIST1002. Available to Liberal Arts students.

Classes

• One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
• One 2-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks

Assessment

• 30% Coursework 1: Piece of individually assessed coursework
• 30% Coursework 2: Piece of individually assessed coursework
• 40% Coursework 3: Piece of individually assessed coursework

Assessed by end of spring semester

Educational Aims

Learning Outcomes

a. Knowledge and understanding. 
By the end of the module students should be able to: 
• explain and interpret the major factors that shaped religious beliefs and practices in the period under discussion and demonstrate an understanding of key features of the processes involved 
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the diversity of religious practices, beliefs and experiences during the period and the broader patterns of continuity and change within which these occurred 
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a selection of primary sources that are used by historians in the study of late medieval piety 
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how historians interpret these sources with reference to theories about the nature of religious belief and practice 

. Intellectual skills. 
By the end of the module students should be able to: 
• think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter 
• identify and address key problems relevant to it 
• interpret primary sources critically 
• interpret secondary sources and be aware of differing historical interpretations of the subject matter 
• construct coherent and independent historical arguments of their own 

c. Professional/practical skills.
The module will develop students’ ability to: 
• select, sift and synthesise information from a range of primary and secondary sources 
• identify and address key arguments in those materials 
• demonstrate appropriate IT skills in the production and presentation of assignments 

d. Transferable skills.
The module will also develop students’ ability to: 
• manage a large, incomplete and disparate body of information 
• express themselves clearly, coherently and fluently in writing essays and documentary exercises and in seminars 
• work and learn actively with others 
• manage and take responsibility for their own learning 
• use IT for research and presentation purposes

Information on course (module) registration and enrolment can be found on the Course (Module) Enrolment site 

Conveners

• Matthias Bryson