This module is not currently running in 2026 to 2027.
How, when and why did England become a kingdom for the first time? What did it mean to be English in the early Middle Ages? What impact did Vikings have on Britain? And truly how significant was 1066 for the trajectory of English history? This special subject explores the rich political, cultural and social histories of England from the ninth to eleventh centuries, starting with the first wave of Viking invasions and the rise of the kingdom of Wessex in the ninth century, and ending with the reign of William the Conqueror and his Domesday Survey. In doing so, you will encounter a wide variety of evidence, including documentary sources, laws, historical narratives, archaeology, sculpture and poetry. Moreover, you will interrogate powerful yet often highly problematic discourses of national ‘origins’, and you will uncover how the historic reality of this period of English history is far more complex and fascinating than modern representations often suggest.
Seminar - 64 hours
Main Assessment Methods:
15-minutes + slides Presentation (Individual). Assessment Details: Students individually present twice on an allocated specific historical subject in line with the week's focus (worth 15%).
15 minutes + slides Presentation (Individual). Assessment Details: Students individually present twice on an allocated specific historical subject in line with the week's focus (worth 15%).
1,000 words Source Analysis. Assessment Details: Students interpret gobbet or primary source extract using analysis techniques learned in seminars (worth 15%).
2,500 words Essay. Assessment Details: Students interpret a question using primary sources and the secondary literature on a topic (worth 35%).
2,000 words Timed Thematic Essay. Assessment Details: 72-hour paper in which students will write two thematic question-based essays (worth 20%).
Reassessment Method: Single Instrument 100% written assessment / essay (5,000 words)
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Systematically understand and review the political, cultural and social developments in English history between the ninth and eleventh centuries.
2) Accurately deploy established techniques of analysis to a diverse range of primary sources pertaining to the module topic.
3) Critically evaluate the historiographical paradigms and debates that surround the history of England in the later Anglo-Saxon and early Norman periods, particularly in relation to ideas of ‘identity’ and ‘the nation’.
4) Individually and/or collectively review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge with regard to the political, cultural and social developments that took place in England between c. 800 and c. 1100.
5) Effectively communicate information, ideas, and interpretations concerning scholarly debates using written and visual primary evidence to a variety of audiences.
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