HIS-20071 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

In this module you will look at an important group of powerful dead saints, who are critical to the formation of European culture, embodying concepts of ritual, power and celebrity. You will learn about a wide range of issues including the origins of the cult of saints in the early Church, its development and spread during the period c.900-c.1250, as well as the religious, social and political use functions of the saints in medieval culture.
We will address the significance that medieval society ascribed to the `very special dead¿ - the saints - through the close study of the range of their roles and the somewhat surprising and bustling trade in saints¿ relics in medieval Europe, a trade that often involved what is known as the furta sacra, that is, the holy theft of saints' relics. The module will also address the power of relics and their religious, social and political uses, and the way institutions controlled access to the saints and their shrines. Comparisons with the practices of other world faiths underline the universality of these traditions as well as differences.

To explore the development of the cult of saints and their role in society in early medieval Europe, with particular focus on the period c.900-1250, and the religious, social and political functions of the saints in medieval culture, in order to advance students' historical and historiographical knowledge using a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, including visual sources.

Intended Learning Outcomes

demonstrate that they have acquired knowledge of the role of the saints in medieval society and their religious, social and political functions: 1,2
read and use contested texts and other source materials critically, while addressing the issues of genre, content, perspective and historicity: 1,2
evaluate scholarly debates on this topic, in particular the idea of `living with the dead¿ in medieval culture: 1,2

Study hours

12 lectures, 12 seminars, 12 workshops, 38 hours seminar preparation, 38 hours commentary preparation, 38 hours lecture consolidation and exam preparation.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment