HIST 101 The Norman Conquest and Twelfth-Century England
Waldman
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
SEM
This freshman seminar will be an introduction to the study of English medieval history based primarily on the reading of original sources. We will cover three major topics. First, Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest of 1066. We will read portions of Bede's History of the English Church and People paying particular attention to the introduction of Christianity into England, the organization of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and military organization. Second, we will discuss the Conquest itself examining the contrasting versions contained in the Norman and English chronicles. Finally, we will discuss the career and death of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. In this case we will explore the growth of the monarchy and the role of the aristocracy in the twelfth century, and we will read several eye-witness accounts of the murder. In addition to written sources, we will look at archaeological and manuscript evidence, as well as the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events of the Conquest. We will also look at film treatments and plays (by T.S. Eliot and Jean Anouilh) of the Becket story.
