HI3498 Ireland and the Plantagenet Empire, 1327-1399

Module Coordinator: Professor Peter Crooks
Duration: All year
Contact hours: 3 hours per week
Weighting: 20 ECTS
Assessment: 20% essay, 80% examination

Was Medieval Ireland England’s first ‘colony’? Did the English who settled in Ireland assimilate to the native population, and become a ‘middle nation’ or retain a sense of their own Englishness?  This module sheds light on these controversial issues through an exploration of the politics and society of Ireland in the age of the Hundred Years War to 1399. The module introduces students to the latest scholarly literature by placing the experience of English Ireland in the context of the wider Plantagenet dominions or ‘empire’.  It also challenges students to engage with wider theoretical frameworks and, in particular, to debate the merits of applying to medieval Irish history key concepts such as ‘colonialism’, ‘imperialism’, ‘race’, ‘identity’, and ‘state’.

The aim of this module is to conduct an intensive study of the politics and society of Ireland between 1327 and 1399, especially through the medium of primary sources

Bibliographical advice will be provided in the module handbook

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Recognize the principal developments in politics and society of Ireland in the age of the Hundred Years War to 1399
• Identify and contextualize the main interpretative trends and problems identified in historical writing on the period
• Engage with wider theoretical frameworks and debate the merits of key historical concepts applying to medieval Irish history
• Undertake an advanced analysis of a wide range of relevant primary sources
• Apply different techniques of evaluation and interpretation to these sources
• Critique relevant historiography in the light of these sources
• Provide an individual synthesis based on a reading of primary and secondary sources
• Defend such a synthesis in written and oral presentations.