The Nobility of Scotland from Macbeth to Bannockburn, 1050-1328 (U04546)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : HCA-4-U04546

This fourth-year course is an exploration of aristocracy in Scotland between about 1050 and 1300. The defining feature of noble society at this time was a supposed gulf between the existing native, mostly Gaelic, nobles on the one hand, and the incoming Normans, French-speaking knights, on the other. Semester One of this course will examine the conceptual underpinnings of the role of aristocracies in medieval European societies, and the nature of ethnicity and national identity in defining our understanding of aristocracies in Scotland. This semester will rely mainly on secondary sources, and will explore late 20th-century orthodoxy on the subject as well as important debates on issues such as feudalism and ethnicity. The second semester will allow students to use primary sources to explore some of the most important themes relating to nobility. Contemporary chronicles and charters will be the most significant sources consulted, but students will also get the chance to engage with courtly literature, Gaelic poetry, saints lives, and visual evidence, such as seals. Issues to be discussed are divided into four themes, which will allow students to assess the nature of native and immigrant aristocracies on the ground. These themes focus on the issues of who were the nobles and what they did, analysis of two zones of interaction and discussion of aristocratic culture.

This course draws heavily on the organisers own research, as well as a great deal of Scotland-based historiography from the 19th century to the present day, but it also is strongly situated within broader European historiographical thinking, drawing on such authors as Susan Reynolds, Robert Bartlett, David Crouch and Rees Davies.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Pre-requisites : A pass in a third level historical course or equivalent.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Scottish History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Other subject areas

History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 22 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Tutorial	Monday	09:00	09:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Through essays, exams, oral presentation and class discussions, demonstrate a sound knowledge of the conceptual and historiographical issues discussed in semester one and the primary sources and thematic issues discussed in semester two.
2. Engage critically with the complexities of the debates and concepts, and to add their own perspetive to an awareness of the secondary sources in semester one
3. Engage effectively with the primary sources in semester two. This will involve learning how to work critically with medieval sources such as chronicles and charters, and to place the non-traditional source material into an appropriate historical context.
4. Demonstrate, through the essays and exams, an ability to place the contemporary Scottish evidence in the appropriate Britain-wide and Europe-wide contexts, as well as to analyse the primary source material against the backdrop of the relevant conceptual and historiographical issues.
5. Demonstrate an ability to formulate and express, both orally and in writing, clear and concise arguments, which are based on evidence that has been interpreted and analysed in a critical manner.

Assessment Information

2 individual essays of 5000 words each; and 2 two-hour Degree Examinations in the May diet. One final mark will be reported, composed of an essay mark, weighted at one-third of the final mark and an exam mark, weighted at two-thirds of the final mark. In both cases the mark will be the AVERAGE of the two marks earned in each category. The final mark reported to Registry will be DOUBLE-WEIGHTED.