Key facts

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Type	Weekly Classes
Location	Oxford
Address	Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford
Dates	Thu 18 Apr to Thu 20 Jun 2013 Day: Thursday Time of meeting: 10.30am-12.30pm Number of meetings: 10
Subject area(s)	History Local and Social History
CATS points	10
Fees	From £165.00
Application status	Course full
Course code	O12P672LHW
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Overview

King Henry II (1154-1189) fascinated his contemporaries and has intrigued historians, writers and film makers in our own time. This course will explore his reign in the context of the wider twelfth-century world.

Description

Henry II was crowned king in 1154. This was after a period of bitter civil war which had undermined the standing of the English monarchy and the task before him was to re-establish it. Two years earlier Henry had married Europe's greatest heiress, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the lands over which Henry claimed lordship extended over the British Isles and into the heart of France. With a combination of ingenuity, intelligence, force - and able ministers - he created a new style of monarchy. His reforms were destined to havea long lasting impact on law and government. But for all Henry's abilities, he made miscalculations that were to have tragic consequences. The death of Thomas Becket was an event which shocked contemporaries and changed Henry's reputation for ever. This course will use documentary and visual sources to examine the major political events of his reign, and their causes and consquences. We will consider the wider context of the institutions and personalities that wielded power and authority in twelfth-century Europe. We will study the developments in religion, culture and learning of the period and their impact in England.

Programme details

Week 1: Twelfth-century England: Henry I and his family
Week 2: Empire and papacy
Week 3: France in the twelfth century
Week 4: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Week 5: Henry II's accession
Week 6: Legal reforms
Week 7: The twelfth-century renaissance
Week 8: Thomas Becket
Week 9: Henry II and his family
Week 10: The legacy of Henry II

Background Reading:

Carpenter, David The Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britian, 1066-1272
Clanchy, Michael England and Its Rulers, 1066-1272
Daniell, Christopher From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta: England 1066-1215
Mayr-Harting, Henry Religion, Politics and Society in Britain, 1066-1272
Constable, Giles The Reformation of the Twelfth Century

Staff

Course aims

Course Aim:
To examine and evaluate the reign of Henry II, with particular reference to its implications for the authority of the monarchy and relations with continental Europe, and to the historical debates surrounding the period.

Course Objectives:
1. To study the major political events of the reign of Henry II and the nature of political power in this period
2. To examine developments in religion, culture and learning in twelfth-century Europe
3. To evaluate appropriate documentary and visual sources; to study, compare and assess historical interpretations of the period

Assessment methods

All students will be provided with a coursework booklet at the first session of the course. This will contain, for Option A, a series of exercises based on extracts from written primary sources or reproductions of artefacts or buildings. Each exercise will be based on work covered in the classes. Students will be required to provide a written answer of c. 250 words to four of the exercises. For Option B, students will be given a choice of assignments requiring a written answer equivalent to 1,000 words.

Teaching methods

A range of teaching and learning methods will be used in the course. There will be tutor presentations and class discussion of primary sources (both written and visual) and of the views of historians. Handouts of materials for discussion, powerpoint and DVDs will be used. Outside the class, students will be encouraged to read introductory texts, including primary source materials, in preparation for the individual sessions, and to follow up their particular interests by reading more specialist material and to visit relevant sites of interest, exhibitions and other events.

Teaching outcomes

By the end of the course students should be able to:
1. Describe the main political events of the period and discuss their causes and consequences; to have awareness of their wider context
2. Interpret, evaluate and discuss a range of primary source materials
3. Evaluate, compare and discuss historical interpretations of the period

Fee options

Programme Fee

EU Fee: £165.00

Non-EU Fee: £165.00

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