HS1003: Chivalry: the Emergence and Impact of a Medieval Ethos

Module code: HS1003

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: 4

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Elizabeth Matthew , email: e.a.e.matthew@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: No placement specified

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students:

Talis reading list:

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module investigates the code and culture of chivalry, the ethos of the second of the three ‘orders’ of medieval society, the warrior elite, looking at the development of chivalric theory and practice across the high and later Middle Ages, male and female roles in chivalric culture, and chivalry’s post-medieval survival and legacy.

The aims of the module are to:

• introduce students to the character and impact of a key ethos of the Middle Ages;
• offer students insights into life and culture in Europe in the eleventh to fifteenth centuries;
• encourage students to reflect on some of the ways in which the legacy of this period still shapes aspects of our world today.

The purpose of the module is to equip students with a broad understanding of the emergence and impact of medieval chivalry, while developing their skills and ability to analyse a wide range of primary sources and historiographical interpretations.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand how ideas and events are shaped by their historical contexts;
2. Be aware of differing types of primary evidence and of differing historiographical interpretations;
3. Organise material and articulate arguments effectively in writing; and
4. Demonstrate familiarity with bibliographical conventions and development of library skills.

Module content

This module will investigate the theory and practice of medieval chivalry, and the roles of men and women in chivalric culture, through a wide variety of visual and written primary sources ranging from the eleventh-century Bayeux Tapestry to a private letter sent by a son in Bruges to his mother in Norfolk in the 1460s. The first part of the module, ‘Chivalry in Theory’, will start by contrasting modern connotations of chivalry and historians’ definitions of medieval chivalry, then explore medieval books of instruction for knights and their families, and the medieval romance literature which entertained and inspired them with stories of knightly adventure. The second part of the module, ‘Chivalry in Practice’, will consider the emergence, ordering and chronicling of chivalry across the high and later Middle Ages. We shall investigate the development and spread of elite skills in fighting on horseback; the harnessing and adapting of these skills to the defence and expansion of Christendom in the era of the crusades; the development and purpose of tournaments, heraldry and secular chivalric orders such as the Order of the Garter. How chivalric was medieval warfare? Did chivalry ‘decline’ at the end of the medieval era or did it become more socially inclusive? How gendered was chivalry? In conclusion, we shall assess medieval chivalry’s legacy in the modern world. What traces of it survive today?

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching is by eleven, weekly, two-hour seminars, supplemented by engagement with online resources in preparation for group work and whole-class discussion as directed and independent study.

Fortnightly workshop sessions will give practical advice on working towards the assessment and practice time for skills related to the module.

Study hours

At least 27 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Staff will devise formative assessment appropriate to the module content.

Reassessment

Additional costs