Overview

This course will examine the role of the dukes of Normandy, the growth of their authority and the institutions that they used to rule the duchy. Students will trace the growth of the dukes' authority through the chronicles and the written instruments issued in their name; they will examine the extent to which the conquest of England affected Norman government and vice versa; and they will discuss the ways in which ducal authority might be helped or hindered by the Norman aristocracy, the Norman church, or Normandy's neighbours. A wide range of sources will be used, both published and unpublished. A comparative approach will be adopted throughout, putting Normandy, its laws, and its institutions within a broad context rather than treating it in isolation

Assessment Strategy

-good -Good students (B- to B+) will demonstrate a solid level of achievement and depth of knowledge in all the criteria in the C- to C+ range, and will in additionexhibit constructive engagement with different types of historical writing and historiographical interpretation. Ideas will be communicated effectively andwritten work will include a good range of sources/reading and demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues and of the existing interpretationsexpressed in a well-structured, relevant, and focused argument. Students at the top end of this band will engage with and critique the ideas that theycome across, and synthesise the various interpretations they find to reach their own considered conclusions. Written work will be correctly presented withreferences and bibliography where appropriate. -excellent -Excellent students (A- and above) will show strong achievement across all the criteria combined with particularly impressive depths of knowledge and/orsubtlety of analysis. In written work, they will support their arguments with a wealth of relevant detail/examples. They will also demonstrate an acuteawareness of the relevant historiography and give an account of why the conclusions reached are important within a particular historical debate. Theymay show a particularly subtle approach to possible objections, nuancing their argument in the light of counter-examples, or producing an interestingsynthesis of various contrasting positions. Overall, the standards of content, argument, and analysis expected will be consistently superior to topupper-second work. Standards of presentation will also be high. -another level-Students in this band (C- to C+) will demonstrate a satisfactory range of achievement or depth of knowledge of most parts of the module, and will makesuccessful, if occasionally inconsistent, attempts to develop those skills appropriate to the study of History at undergraduate level. In the case of thewritten assessments, the answers will attempt to focus on the question, although might drift into narrative, and will show some evidence of solid readingand research. The argument might lose direction and might not be adequately clear at the bottom of this category. Written work will be presentedreasonably well with only limited errors in grammar, punctuation, and referencing, and not to the extent that they obscure meaning.

Learning Outcomes

• A detailed knowledge of the rule and governance of the duchy of Normandy under the Norman rulers, and of the Anglo-Norman regnum and its European context more generally

• An understanding of broader medieval political and symbolic contexts and subtexts

• The ability to engage critically with the historiography on the subject and to construct supported and reasoned arguments using it.

• The ability to use and criticise (in a sophisticated manner) the primary sources both printed and unprinted, and both in their original Latin and in translation

• To enhance research skills by learning about and using the various research tools available on the Internet, such as the BnF’s ‘Gallica’ database and the digitized primary sources published by, for example, the Archives de la Seine-Maritime