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The Celtic Frontier: Sources

Module description

This module will focus on the sources for studying all aspects of the impact of the Normans on the British Isles between 1066 and 1215. A variety of primary sources will be used to examine the processes of conquest and assimilation.  Writings of both conquerors and conquered are used and will include correspondence, ethnography, satire, chronicle, poetry, prophecy, and charters.  Texts may be from Latin, French, English, Welsh and Irish origin. We welcome students from other disciplines; however you will require at least 90 credits in History at level 1 and/or level 2.  You must take this module in conjunction with HIH3111, The Celtic Frontier: Post-Conquest England and its Celtic Neighbours: Context.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will focus on the sources for studying all aspects of the impact of the Normans on the British Isles between 1066 and 1215. This course examines the processes of conquest and assimilation using the writings of conquerors and conquered. The texts examined include correspondence, ethnography, satire, chronicle, poetry, prophecy, and charters originally composed in Latin, French, English, Welsh and Irish.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. A detailed knowledge of the different sources available for the study of the Normans' impact on the British Isles, together with a very close specialist knowledge of those sources which the students focus upon in their seminar presentations and written work
• 2. Ability to analyse the complex diversity of the sources studied.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Ability to analyse closely original source and to assess their reliability as historical evidence
• 4. Ability to focus on and comprehend complex texts
• 5. Ability to understand and deploy historical terminology correctly

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Independent and autonomous study and group work, including presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning.
• 7. Ability to digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.
• 8. Ability to present complex arguments orally

Syllabus plan

The module will examine the primary sources relating to the following subject: Norman expansion and intervention in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland; Norman domination and consolidation (military, economic, demographic, religious, cultural).

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 6,000 word portfolio of source work, as in the original assessment, but replaces the individual presentation with a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation and which is the equivalent of 25 minutes of speech (2,500 words).

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Domesday Book: A Complete Translation, ed. G.Martin and A.Williams (Penguin,2003)

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, transl. M. Swanton (Dent, 1996)

Gerald of Wales: The Journey through Wales/The Description of Wales, transl. L. Thorpe (Penguin Classics, 1978)

Gerald of Wales: The History and Topography of Ireland, transl. J.J. O'Meara (Penguin Classics, 1982)

The Conquest of Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis, transl. A.B. Scott and F.X. Martin (Dublin, 1978)

R. Bartlett, Gerald of Wales 1146-1223 (Oxford UP, 1982)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11339