| Unit name | Chivalry in the Later Middle Ages (Level C Special Topic) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST14013 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Gibbons |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
A knight on horseback is a potent symbol of the Middle Ages. Shining armour, fluttering pennons, and feats of derring-do performed for honour or the love of a lady have inspired the imagination of countless writers and artists in a cultural stereotype remaining constant from Thomas Malory in the fifteenth century to A Knight's Tale in the twenty-first.
This unit uncovers the truth behind these tantalising representations in a period described both as a 'golden age' of chivalry, a heady time of luxury and colour, but also 'an epoch of fading and decay', of decline, cynicism and bathos. We'll look at the knight's military role, developments in weaponry, armour and battlefield practice, along with contemporary theories of chivalry and its ethics. We'll analyse uses of heraldry, pageantry and courtly culture to emphasise aristocratic status and ties between crown and nobility, and key themes in the lives and activities of the chivalric class.
Within this Special Topic, students will become familiar with a variety of written and visual sources, such as contemporary handbooks of chivalry, chronicles, poems, legal and personal documentation, artefacts and artwork.
10 x 2- hour seminars.
1 x 2 hour exam
INTRODUCTORY READING:
