| School of Humanities | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HIS-30104 | The Kingship of Edward II, I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Co-ordinator: | Dr Philip Morgan Room: CBB0.048, Tel:33204 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Team: | Miss Amanda Roberts, Dr Philip Morgan, Dr Nigel Tringham, Mrs Christine Edge, Miss Jo-Anne Watts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture Time: | See Timetable... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level: | 3 | Credits: | 15 | Study Hours: | 150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School Office: | Tel: 01782 733147 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Programme/Approved Electives for |
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| History
Dual Honours (Level 3) History Major (Level 3) History Minor (Level 3) |
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| Available as a Free Standing Elective |
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| Yes |
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| Barred Combinations |
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| None
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| Prerequisites |
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| None |
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Description Most people know at least one thing about Edward II. But, it wasn't a poker, it was a plumber's rod; and historians have never quite managed to rule out the bizarre story that Edward survived imprisonment, and lived out his final years in comfortable exile in Italy, no doubt next to the McDonald's in which Elvis later worked. In the popular imagination Edward started out his rule with a boyfriend, but lost his throne to a conspiracy led by his wife and her lover. $ùThe king, the boyfriend, the wife, and her lover', so to speak. The rule of Edward II (1307-1327) marks one of several moments of crisis in the English middle ages. There is a narrative unity to the reign and the relatively short timescale allows students to feel that they have really got to grips with a period. Political opposition to the king was an early feature, initially focused on Edward's friendship with Peter Gaveston, but also embodied more general constitutional issues in which contemporaries struggled with ways in which the king's person and his office could be seen as separate. The king's sexuality and later that of his wife are other themes. Opposition turned into rebellion and civil war, and the period was marked by political murders and executions, including those of three earls, a bishop and the king himself. The European economy during the period 1315-1320 is usually seen as displaying the first symptoms of the late medieval general crisis which included famine, cattle plague and the rise of public disorder. The contemporary French court was riven by sexual intrigue, and the campaign to expel the Templars. In Scotland Edward's rule saw Robert Bruce's prosecution of a successful war of independence from England following the battle of Bannockburn, and an attempt to invade Ireland. Paradoxically this era coincides with a period of great cultural originality in architecture and manuscript illumination. The Decorated style in English architecture is a movement of international significance. The Luttrell psalter, an oft-illustrated manuscript, has its roots in the reign. Both Edward II and his principal opponent, Thomas of Lancaster, were the subjects of religious cults. The historiography of Edward's troubled reign was early the subject of a substantial historiography. In the sixteenth century Christopher Marlowe wrote a play on the king's life, as did Brecht in the twentieth. There are more modern echoes in Derek Jarman's film Edward II and in Mel Gibson's treatment of the life of William Wallace, the Scottish hero, in Braveheart. There is a recent new biography of the king, studies of some of his major opponents, and a new edition of the principle chronicle of the reign. Students are able to pursue interests in social, political, literary and economic history, and also in architectural history. There is a good literature in English and a wide range of possible dissertation topics. One student from this special went on to complete a PhD, another to an M.Phil. There will be ONE field trip to Lichfield Cathedral (partly built during Edward's reign) and to examine original documents at the Staffordshire Record Office. |
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| Aims |
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| The module will introduce students to the 'new political history' of the late middle ages via a detailed study of a single and significant reign. |
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| Intended Learning Outcomes |
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| Explain and Recognise the social, religious, political and economic changes in the fourteenth century, a period recognized as vital in the formation of Western European culture. will be achieved by assessments: 1,2 Evaluate and critically assess a range of different kinds of primary sources and to use them appropriately in the development of historical analysis. will be achieved by assessments: 1,2 Evaluate and critically assess secondary sources and historiographical debates, and to use them appropriately in the development of historical analysis. will be achieved by assessments: 1,2 |
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| Study hours |
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| 150 hours: 10 x two-hour seminars, 50 hours seminar preparation, 30 hours extended document commentary preparation, 50 hours preparation for unseen examination. |
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| Description of Module Assessment |
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| 01: Commentary weighted 40% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extended 1700-word commentary on a choice of gobbets supplied by the tutor. An extended commentary on ONE gobbet (or document extract) from a choice of EIGHT. |
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| 02: 2 Hour Unseen Exam weighted 60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unseen essay questions Students will sit a TWO-HOUR unseen examination and answer TWO questions from a list of EIGHT |
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| Version: (1.06B) Updated: 03/Mar/2013
This document is the definitive current source of information about this module and supersedes any other information. |
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