Overview

1066 is arguably one of the most significant dates in British History and William the Conqueror one of the most famous kings of England. The Normans destroyed the Anglo-Saxon elite and transformed England in many ways so that within twenty years of 1066 the political, cultural, and mental landscapes were very different. Their impact was felt in similar ways in Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland, too. This module will introduce students to England and Normandy before the Conquest, as well as the Hastings campaign of 1066 and the subsequent efforts of William I and his men to subdue and settle the kingdom that had fallen into their hands. On the way, we will also look at the religious, social, cultural, and artistic changes and developments that occurred as a direct result of the Conquest - but we will also be looking for continuity, for many aspects of English law, justice, and government remained largely unchanged. Students will be able to use a wide range of primary sources in translation for both classes and assessments, and will also engage with the extensive historiography relating to these events to explore how and why historians' views about the Normans have developed over the years.

During the module we will examine the following areas, week-by-week: 1. England and Normandy before the Conquest; 2. Edward the Confessor and the succession crisis; 3. The Hastings campaign and William's coronation; 4. The English rebellions and the Harrying of the North, 1067-1071; 5. Ruling England: earls, sheriffs, and acta; 6. Court and charisma; 7. Changes to the Church; 8. Wales and Scotland; 9. Domesday Book; 10. The new architecture. These topics will all be discussed with close reference to the primary sources, and the emphasis during the seminars will be on discussion of key primary sources and key historiographies.

During the module we will examine the following areas, week-by-week: 1. England and Normandy before the Conquest; 2. Edward the Confessor and the succession crisis; 3. The Hastings campaign and William's coronation; 4. The English rebellions and the Harrying of the North, 1067-1071; 5. Ruling England: earls, sheriffs, and acta; 6. Court and charisma; 7. Changes to the Church; 8. Wales and Scotland; 9. Domesday Book; 10. The new architecture. These topics will all be discussed with close reference to the primary sources, and the emphasis during the seminars will be on discussion of key primary sources and key historiographies.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -Threshold students (D- and D) will have done only a minimum of reading, and their work will often be based partly on lecture notes and/or basic textbooks. They will demonstrate in their written assessments some knowledge of at least parts of the relevant field, and will make at least partially-successful attempts to frame an argument which engages with historical controversies, but they will fail to discuss some large and vital aspects of a topic; and/or deploy only some relevant material but partly fail to combine it into a coherent whole; and/or deploy some evidence to support individual points but often fail to do so and/or show difficulty weighing evidence (thereby relying on unsuitable or irrelevant evidence when making a point). Alternatively or additionally, the presentation of the work might also be poor, with bad grammar and/or punctuation, careless typos and spelling errors, and a lack of effective and correct referencing.

-good -There are three grades for upper second-class performance:B+ (68%)Work will receive a B+ mark if it is consistently strong in: covering the necessary ground in depth and detail; advancing a well-structured, relevant, and focused argument; analysis and deployment of an appropriate range of historical and/or archaeological evidence and consideration of possible differences of interpretation; and is correctly presented with references and bibliography where appropriate.B (65%)Work will receive a B mark if it: is clear that it is based on solid reading; covers the necessary ground in depth and detail; advances a well-structured, relevant, and focused argument; analyses and deploys an appropriate range of historical and/or archaeological evidence and considers possible differences of interpretation; and is correctly presented with references and bibliography where appropriate.B- (62%)Work will receive a B- mark if it: is clearly based on solid reading; covers the necessary ground in some depth and detail; advances a properly-structured, relevant, and focused argument; analyses and deploys an appropriate range of historical and/or archaeological evidence and considers possible differences of interpretation; and is correctly presented with references and bibliography where appropriate.

-excellent -There are four grades for first-class performance:A* (95%) At this level, first-class work earns its mark by showing genuine originality. It may advance a novel argument or deal with evidence which has not been considered before. Such originality of ideas or evidence is coupled with the standards of content, argument, and analysis expected of first-class work graded at A or A+. At this level, the work exhausts relevant secondary material, includes in dissertation work extensive and often unanticipated primary evidence, and betrays no factual or interpretative inaccuracy. It can also show a mastery of theory and deploy hypotheses subtly and imaginatively. In the case of essays and dissertations, work of this standard will be impeccable in presentation and will be publishable.A+ (87%)At this level, first-class work will also have its argument supported by an impressive wealth and relevance of detail, but will further deploy the evidence consistently accurately and give indications of deploying unexpected primary and secondary sources. It will habitually demonstrate a particularly acute and critical awareness of the historiography and/or archaeological debate, including conceptual approaches, and give a particularly impressive account of why the conclusions reached are important within a particular historical or archaeological debate. It will show a particularly sophisticated approach to possible objections, moderating the line taken in the light of counter-examples, or producing an interesting synthesis of various contrasting positions. It will be original work. The standards of content, argument, and analysis expected will be consistently first-class work. In essays and dissertations standards of presentation will be very high.A (80%)At this level, first-class work will have its argument supported by an impressive wealth and relevance of detail. It will usually also demonstrate an acute awareness of historiography and/or archaeological debate, and give an impressive account of why the conclusions reached are important within a particular historical or archaeological debate. It may show a particularly subtle approach to possible objections, moderating the line taken in the light of counter-examples, or producing an interesting synthesis of various contrasting positions. Overall, the standards of content, argument, and analysis expected will be consistently superior to top upper-second work. In essays and dissertations standards of presentation will be high.A- (74%)A first-class mark at this level is often earned simply by demonstrating one or more of the features of a good upper-second essay to a peculiar degree, for example presenting a particularly strong organization of argument, strong focus, wide range of reading, engagement with the historiography and/or archaeological debate, depth of understanding, an unobjectionable style, and strong presentation.

-another level-There are three grades for lower second-class performance:C+ (58%)Work will receive a C+ mark if it: shows evidence of solid reading, but remains partially superficial; covers the important aspects of the relevant field, but in some places lacks depth; advances a coherent and relevant argument; employs some evidence to back its points; and is presented reasonably well with only a few or no mistakes. It will also contain appropriate references and bibliography, which may, however, be slightly erratic and/or partially insufficient.C (55%)Work will receive a C mark if it: shows evidence of solid reading, but remains superficial; covers most of the important aspects of the relevant field, but lacks depth; advances a coherent and largely relevant argument; employs some limited evidence to back its points; and is presented reasonably well with only limited mistakes. It will also contain appropriate references and bibliography, which may, however, contain some mistakes or be slightly erratic and/or partially insufficient.C- (52%)Work will receive a C- mark if it: shows evidence of solid reading, but little knowledge of in-depth studies (for first-year work the student may not have read beyond a few standard works; at second or third year the student may not have read a good selection of journal articles and specialist monographs); covers most of the important aspects of the relevant field, but lacks depth or misses a significant area (for second- and third-year work this may mean that it fails to deploy the historical details found in specialist literature); advances a coherent, and sometimes relevant argument, but drifts away from tackling the task in hand (for example, by ordering the argument in an illogical way, becoming distracted by tangential material, or lapsing into narrative of only partial pertinence); usually employs evidence to back its points, but occasionally fails to do so or deploys an insufficient range; displays an awareness that the past can be interpreted in different ways, but may fail to get to the heart of the central scholarly debate or fully understand a key point (in second- and third-year work this may extend to a failure to discuss important subtleties or ambiguities in the evidence, or to a lack of awareness of the current state of historical or archaeological debate); is reasonably well presented and contains appropriate references and bibliography, but makes some mistakes in presentation or appropriate use. For lower second-class marks for gobbet answers in third-year examinations specifically: the answer discusses the content and context of the general document from which the gobbet is taken, but fails to concentrate on the particular passage set and to discuss its particular significance. Alternatively, the answer may analyse the particular passage but fail to say enough about its wider context.

Learning Outcomes

• A detailed knowledge of the events and developments of the Norman Conquest gained through private reading and seminar discussions and tested by the written assessments.

• An ability to form and present cogent historical arguments (promoted by experiencing arguments in reading, by practice in seminars (especially seminar presentations), and by feedback on coursework essays, and tested by the written assessments).

• An awareness of the competing interpretations of the Norman Conquest, and an ability to judge between them (gained through private reading and seminars, many of which will take the form of debates on the period).

• Knowledge and understanding of primary sources for the period (promoted by student examination of a file of such sources (either in hard copy or online) which forms part of the course literature). The ability to analyse these sources and use them in argument will be promoted by seminars (some of which will concentrate on the sources in the file), and by feedback on coursework. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of techniques of source criticism in major texts and other sources

• The ability to analyse individual pieces of historical evidence very closely (promoted in specially designated seminars and tested by the written assessments).

• the ability to gather and deploy evidence and to find and exchange information from both primary and secondary sources.