Hailed by the English as a second Arthur, but reviled by his enemies as ‘the Covetous King’, Edward I was one of the most forceful kings in Britain’s history. What were the contemporary expectations of kingship which shaped his reign?
The Reign of Edward I
This is an In-person course which requires your attendance to the weekly meetings which take place in Oxford.
Overview
Programme details
Course begins: 20th Jan 2025
Week 1: Introduction: England and Christendom in the thirteenth century
Week 2: Apprenticeship in Civil War: The Lord Edward and Henry III
Week 3: Edward’s Government: Recovery – and Reform? W
Week 4: Wales
Week 5: France and Scotland
Week 6: Edward, the Nobility and Parliament
Week 7: Edward’s kingship
Week 8: The Crisis of 1297-8
Week 9: The Final Years
Week 10: Conclusion: ‘A Second Arthur’?
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading:
- Edward I: A New King Arthur? / King, Andy
- A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain / Morris, Marc
- Plantagenet England 1225-1360 / Prestwich, Michael
Certification
To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £285.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £30.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Tutor
Dr Andy King
Andy King completed his PhD at Durham University in 2002, and is currently a Lecturer in History, at Southampton. He edited Sir Thomas Gray: Scalacronica (1272–1363), and has published on warfare, the Anglo-Scottish Marches and on chronicles.
Course aims
To develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the politics of Edward I's reign.
Course Objectives:
- To develop an understanding of how politics functioned in England during the reign of Edward I, and to assess how successful was Edward's kingship.
- To develop an understanding of the nature and limits of kingship and government in late medieval England.
- To develop skills in the analysis of historical sources.
Teaching methods
Teaching will be based around informal lectures and class discussion based on short set readings from contemporary chronicles and documents (in translation). Emphasis will also be placed on developing the skills to analyse these texts.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- Students should have gained an understanding of the course and nature of politics and war in Edward's reign.
- Students should have developed an understanding of the nature of successful kingship in late-medieval England.
- Students should be able to analyse textural material and relate it to their understanding of the reign.
Assessment methods
A range of assessment options will be available and will be discussed in detail in the first class. Students can choose between a combination of shorter excercises: written analysis of texts (short extracts from chronicles, or documents), short class presentation or book review totalling 1500 words. Alternatively, they may write a 1500-word essay from a list of questions provided in the first class, or a topic of their own devising, agreed upon with the tutor.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
Application
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)
Level and demands
The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.