Medieval History

Core modules throughout the degree will allow you to develop important research skills, equipping you to work with primary sources. You’ll gain a working knowledge of medieval Latin, look at research methods in historical study and learn to read and transcribe medieval manuscripts by studying palaeography.

Then you’ll build on this foundation with your choice of optional modules. You’ll choose at least one module offered by the School of History, but you could also choose from the range of interdisciplinary modules offered by IMS. You’ll also specialise further when you complete your dissertation, allowing you to conduct independent research on a specific topic of your choice to showcase the skills you’ve acquired.

If you choose to study this programme part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.

Details of compulsory modules can be found in the table below; for details of optional modules please see the online module catalogue.

Course structure

These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Modules Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Dissertation (Medieval History) 30 credits
• Introduction to Medieval Latin 30 credits
• Intermediate Medieval Latin 30 credits
• Research Methods and Bibliography 15 credits
• Palaeography: Reading Medieval Manuscripts 15 credits

Optional modules

• Making History: Archive Collaborations 30 credits
• Bede's Northumbria 30 credits
• Gender, Sex, and Love: Byzantium and the West, 900-1200 30 credits
• Christian Society and the Crusades, 1185-1230 30 credits
• Lifecycles: Birth, Death and Illness in the Middle Ages 30 credits
• Warfare in the Age of the Crusades (1095-1204) 30 credits
• How to be a Saint in the Middle Ages: Saints' Cults and their impact on culture and society (500-1500) 30 credits
• Religious Communities and the Individual Experience of Religion, 1200-1500 30 credits
• The Medieval Tournament: Combat and Spectacle in Western Europe, 1100-1600 30 credits
• The Holy Land under the Franks: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and its Enemies, 1099-1187 30 credits
• Medieval Bodies 30 credits
• Preaching History: Understanding Sermons as Literary Genre and Historical Source 30 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Medieval History MA Full Time in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Medieval History MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

IMS tutors are experts in their fields, and their cutting-edge research will inform your teaching. To help you make the most of their expertise, all IMS modules are taught in small groups.

You may study skills in seminar groups of 12 or more students, but languages and other interdisciplinary options are usually taught in tutorials of up to eight students. You’ll also have one-to-one meetings with your supervisor during your dissertation.

Assessment

Depending on the modules you choose, you’ll be assessed by a range of methods to develop skills that are useful across the field of medieval studies. These will include transcriptions, bibliographies, essays, reports, translations and occasionally exams.