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HIS-20133 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Business, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 17 March 2026

HIS-20133 - Persecution in Medieval Europe
Coordinator: Kathleen Cushing Room: CBB0.044 Tel: +44 1782 7 33207
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

Between 1000-1300, minority groups including Jews, heretics, lepers, the disabled, homosexuals and prostitutes faced increasing restrictions, persecution and even death. Building on the skills you developed at Level 4, you will explore how these groups were depicted in text and image and assess the reasons for their increasing marginalisation. Through seminar discussions, you will evaluate debates about whether the treatment of minority groups were independent phenomena or whether Medieval Europe became a ‘persecuting society'.

Aims
To explore a range of marginalised groups (including Jews, heretics, disabled, homosexuals and prostitutes) in medieval Europe, with particular focus on the period c.1000-1300, and assess the reasons for their increasing marginalisation, in order to advance students' historical and historiographical knowledge using a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, including visual sources.

Intended Learning Outcomes

communicate/contextualise the religious, social, economic and political mechanisms that have contributed to the persecution of marginalised groups: 1,2
read, appraise and use contested texts and other visual source materials critically, while addressing the issues of genre, content, perspective and historicity: 1,2
evaluate scholarly debates on this topic, in particular the idea of medieval Europe as 'a persecuting society': 2

Study hours

12 interactive lectures, 12 seminars, 42 hours seminar preparation, 42 hours presentation preparation, 42 hours lecture consolidation and assessment preparation.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Group Assessment weighted 40%
Presentation
This will be a group presentation (3-4 students; anyone with group work adjustments will present individually and if required just to tutor). Presentation format and guidance will be posted on the KLE and discussed in a dedicated workshop. Each student will present c. 5 minutes in a live presentation and will also submit a reflection (c.250 words) on the process and design of the presentation in the powerpoint notes section. Each student will receive an individual mark.

2: Essay weighted 60%
Essay
Essay of c.2000 words; students to devise and research their topic/title through one-to-one consultation with tutor

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 17 March 2026