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The Celtic Frontier

Module description

The events of 1066 brought radical and permanent change not just to England but to Wales, Scotland and Ireland which, over the next century, became targets for Norman ambition. In This module you will examine the processes, voluntary and involuntary, by which these countries were brought into line with continental norms.

You will focus on 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. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

The events of 1066 brought radical and permanent change not just to England but to Wales, Scotland and Ireland which, over the next century, became targets for Norman ambition. This course examines the processes, voluntary and involuntary, by which these countries were brought into line with continental norms.

This module will focus on 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

Norman Conquest: Norman expansion in mainland Europe and intervention the British Isles.

Domination and Consolidation: Military, Economic, Demographic, Religious, Cultural.

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

Formative assessment

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 an 8,000 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 a 20 minute presentation plus supporting materials (3,000 words). 

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 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%. 

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• G. W. S. Barrow, Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000-1306 (Edinburgh, 1981)
• R. Bartlett, England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225 (Oxford, 2000)
• R. Bartlett, The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change 950-1350 (London, 1994)
• D. Broun, Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain: From the Picts to Alexander III (Edinburgh, 2007),
• J. J. Cohen, Hybridity, Identity, and Monstrosity in Medieval Britain: On Difficult Middles (New York, 2006)
• R. R. Davies, Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Wales and Scotland 1100-1300 (Cambridge, 1990)
• R. R. Davies, The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles 1093-1343 (Oxford, 2000)
• R. Frame, The Political Development of the British Isles, 1100-1400 (Oxford, 1990)

Key words search

Norman Conquest, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Celtic, Middle Ages, Colonisation, Empire