Module overview
In present-day Europe most of us consider religion a matter of personal choice and private conscience to the point that many are hardly religious at all and our society is increasingly secular. This module will explore how the opposite was largely true in the medieval West: orthodox religion was compulsory and affected all aspects of public and private life. The module will focus on sin, wrongdoing that violated religious norms, and how it was defined and disciplined. The module is wide-ranging and will cover such topics as sexual behaviour, violence (including warfare and murder) and heresy (religious dissent), and explore both the Church’s teachings on such issues and how these shaped social attitudes and behaviour. The module will draw on a rich variety of sources, including Dante’s Inferno and religious art.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- how effectively the Church controlled social behaviour in this period.
- how religious teachings and rituals can inform the historian
- how Christian teachings and practices concerning sin changed in the period 1100- 1520.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- present and defend your point of view
- make effective use of your time and meet deadlines
- consider a wide variety of material and produce a written synthesis.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- engage critically with contrasting viewpoints in primary and secondary sources
- adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the past
- understand why a past society observed certain beliefs and practices
Syllabus
An indicative list of topics may include:
- The Church’s attitude to sin in c. 1100 and how this underwent a major transformation in the twelfth century.
- Medieval religious art and Dante's ‘Inferno’.
- The performance of penances such as pilgrimage
- Punishment for sins such as violence, apostasy (runaway monks), violations of clerical celibacy and other sexual crimes.
- The challenge that the early-sixteenth religious reformers posed to traditional beliefs and practices concerning sin.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
Lectures
Seminars
Learning activities include
participating in small group and plenary discussion and debate.
close analysis of primary source documents and images.
independent reading and research for seminars and essays.
listening and note-taking during lectures.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 72 |
| Wider reading or practice | 92 |
| Lecture | 24 |
| Completion of assessment task | 100 |
| Seminar | 12 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
B. Bolton (1983). The Medieval Reformation. London: Arnold.
Mark Musa (Ed.) (1995). Dante's Inferno: critical edition. Bloomington, IN: Indians UP.
R N. Swanson (1995). Religion and Devotion in Europe, c.1215-c1515. Cambridge: CUP.
J.A. Brundage (1987). Law, Sex and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago: Chicago UP.
E. Duffy (1992). The Stripping of the Altars – Excellent on the late medieval English evidence. New Haven, CT: Yale UP.
J. Bossy (1985). Christianity in the West, 1400-1700. Oxford: OUP.
S E Ozment (1980). The Age of Reform, 1250-1550. New Haven, CT: Yale UP.
R. I. Moore (2007). The Formation of a Persecuting Society – a thought-provoking study of medieval intolerance of religious dissent (heresy) and other forms of deviance. Oxford: Blackwell.
M. Lambert (2002). Medieval Heresy – a fine survey of the main forms of heresy. Oxford: Blackwell.
B. Hamilton (2003). Religion in the Medieval West – an invaluable introduction. London: Arnold.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Written assignment | 40% |
| Essay | 60% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 60% |
| Written assignment | 40% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External