Undergraduate Course: Kings and Kindreds: Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the Later Middle Ages (SCHI10005)
Course Outline
School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | The course compares the way in which the native 'Celtic' aristocracies of the British Isles responded to the political, economic and cultural pressures and opportunities created by the burgeoning power and ambition of the emergent 'national monarchies' of England and Scotland. Within this broad framework the course focuses on a number of specific themes such as the decay of native kingship, the success or failure of attempts at aristocratic integration, and the emergence of minority political cultures whose key features were a sense of decline and exclusion. |
Course description |
The course engages with the methodologies and conclusions of the wave of historical studies, pioneered by Rees Davies and Robin Frame, that address the history of the medieval polities of Britain and Ireland as an inter-connected whole rather than a series of discrete 'national' stories. The course is organised into three sections, covering the relationship between 'Frankish' lordship, embodied in the post conquest English monarchy and aristocracy, and the nobility of Wales, Ireland and Scotland in turn. The Welsh section covers, inter alia, the rise of the thirteenth-century Princes of Wales and the rebellion of Owain Glyn Dwr. The Irish section examines the declining status of Irish kings after 1170, the notion of the so-called 'Gaelic Resurgence' of the fourteenth century, and the ambivalent role of and cultural identity of the 'English of Ireland'. The Scottish material looks at the Lordship of the Isles and the emergence of the idea of the Highlands. The course thus gives students the opportunity to consider the implications of the so-called 'New British History' for the study of medieval history in the British isles and Ireland.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A pass or passes in 40 credits of first level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second level historical courses or equivalent.
Before enrolling students on this course, Personal Tutors are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Secretary to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 504030). |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have 3 History courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Enrolments for this course are managed by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department. All enquiries to enrol must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
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High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
J. W.M. Bannerman, 'The Lordship of the Isles', in Jennifer Brown (ed.), Scottish Society in the Fifteenth Century (London, 1977)
A. Cosgrove (ed.), Medieval Ireland, 1169-1534: A New History of Ireland, ii (Oxford, 1987)
R.R. Davies, Domination and Conquest: Ireland, Wales and Scotland, 1100-1300.
R.R. Davies, The First English Empire Power and Identities in the British Isles 1093-1343
R.R. Davies, Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063-1415. (Oxford, 1987)
R.R. Davies, Lordship and Society in the March of Wales (Oxford, 1978)
R.R. Davies, Owain Glyn Dwr (Oxford, 1998)
S. Duffy, Ireland in the Middle Ages (London, 1997)
R. Frame, The Political Development of the British Isles, 1100-1400.
R. Frame English Lordship in Ireland, 1318-1360 (Oxford, 1982)
A. Grant, 'Scotland's 'Celtic fringe' in the late middle ages: the MacDonald lords of the Isles and the kingdom of Scotland', in Rees Davies (ed.), The British Isles 1100-1500: comparisons, contrasts and connections (Edinburgh, 1988)
K. Simms, From Kings to Warlords: The Changing Political Structure of Gaelic Ireland in the Later Middle Ages (Woodbridge, 1987)
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Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Keywords | Kings |
Contacts
Course organiser | Prof Stephen Boardman
Tel: (0131 6)50 4035
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Claire Brown
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: |
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