Sin and Society, 1100-1500

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 Christian teachings and practices concerning sin changed in the period 1100- 1520.
how religious teachings and rituals can inform the historian
how effectively the Church controlled social behaviour in this period.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the past
understand why a past society observed certain beliefs and practices
engage critically with contrasting viewpoints in primary and secondary sources

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.

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.

Study time
Type	Hours
Preparation for scheduled sessions	72
Wider reading or practice	92
Completion of assessment task	100
Seminar	12
Lecture	24
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

B. Hamilton (2003). Religion in the Medieval West – an invaluable introduction. London: Arnold.

S E Ozment (1980). The Age of Reform, 1250-1550. New Haven, CT: Yale UP.

J. Bossy (1985). Christianity in the West, 1400-1700. Oxford: OUP.

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.

Mark Musa (Ed.) (1995). Dante's Inferno: critical edition. Bloomington, IN: Indians UP.

B. Bolton (1983). The Medieval Reformation. London: Arnold.

M. Lambert (2002). Medieval Heresy – a fine survey of the main forms of heresy. Oxford: Blackwell.

J.A. Brundage (1987). Law, Sex and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago: Chicago UP.

R N. Swanson (1995). Religion and Devotion in Europe, c.1215-c1515. Cambridge: CUP.

E. Duffy (1992). The Stripping of the Altars – Excellent on the late medieval English evidence. New Haven, CT: Yale UP.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
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.

Breakdown
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.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Written assignment	40%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External