Writing Women in the English Middle Ages

Module title	Writing Women in the English Middle Ages
Module code	EASM207
Academic year	2025/6
Credits	15
Module staff	Dr Naomi Howell (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	10

Module description

Writing Women focuses on literature produced by, for, and about women in the English Middle Ages. The five main

segments of the syllabus focus on (and explore the relationship between) Exemplary Women, Translating Women,

Praying Women, Travelling Women, and Recording Women. The module traces the activity of women as authors,

translators, pilgrims, and keepers of magical and medical lore, alongside debates over female authorship, reading,

and agency. These themes will be examined through the works of authors including Marie de France, Julian of

Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Geoffrey Chaucer, among others, in relation to contexts including visual and material

culture.

Module aims - intentions of the module

To introduce you to a range of canonical and lesser-known works of medieval English literature, centring on examples of women as authors, readers, and protagonists. You will examine the connections between texts and contexts, and explore a range of texts written by, for, and about medieval women. The module is also designed to develop your skills in research and writing about medieval culture.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

1. Demonstrate an advanced appreciation of the literary and cultural history of the medieval period
2. Demonstrate an advanced capacity to relate medieval texts to their cultural contexts, including visual and material culture

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

3. Demonstrate a sophisticated and intellectually mature ability to analyse the literature of an earlier era and to relate its concerns and its modes of expression to its historical context
4. Demonstrate an advanced and precise ability to work from the detail of literary texts, with a full appreciation of their formal aspects

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

5. Through essay-writing, demonstrate advanced research and bibliographic skills, an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument and to write clear and correct prose
6. Through research, discussion, and essay writing demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to question assumptions, to distinguish between fact and opinion, and to critically reflect on your own learning process

Syllabus plan

While the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

· Translating Women: Lais, Fables, and Legends

· Exemplary Women: Saintly and Heroic Women in Middle English Texts

· Praying Women: Visionaries and Anchoresses

· Travelling Women: Real and Imagined Pilgrimage

· Recording Women: Epistolary and Manuscript Communities

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	22	Seminars
Guided Independent Study	55	Seminar preparation
Guided Independent Study	73	Research, Essay Preparation

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	100	4000 words	1-6	Feedback sheet with tutorial follow-up

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

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (4000 words)	1-6	Referral/Deferral Period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Core Reading:

· Geoffrey Chaucer, The Riverside Chaucer, third edition (Oxford, 2008)

· Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, trans. Barry Windeatt (Oxford, 2015)

· Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe, trans. Anthony Bale (Oxford, 2015)

· Marie de France, Poetry, trans. Dorothy Gilbert (Norton, 2015)

· The Trotula: An English Translation of the Medieval Compendium of Women's Medicine, ed. Monica Green (Penn, 2002)

· Heroic Women from the Old Testament in Middle English Verse [TEAMS]

· Middle English Legends of Women Saints [TEAMS]

· Other readings will be supplied in class or made available online

Secondary Reading:

· Carolyn Dinshaw and David Wallace, eds, The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Women's Writing (Cambridge, 2003)

· D. H. Green, Women Readers in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 2007)

· Rebecca Krug, Reading Families: Women's Literate Practice in Late Medieval England (Cornell, 2002)

· Carolyne Larrington, ed, Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook (Routledge, 1995)

· Tory Vandeventer Pearman, Women and Disability in Medieval Literature (Palgrave, 2010)

· Jocelyn Wogan-Browne, et al., eds, Medieval Women: Texts and Contexts in Late Medieval Britain (Brepols, 2000)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE course pages

Key words search

Medieval, Middle Ages, women, manuscripts, magic, medicine, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Marie de France, Chaucer

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None (Students enrolled on this module cannot also enrol on EASM174.)
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	10/02/2025
Last revision date	10/04/2025