Medieval Chivalry

Subject 672-311 (2008)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2008.Search for this in the current handbookSearch for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.500
Level: Undergraduate
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2008.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 1.5-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial per week
Total Time Commitment: Not available
Prerequisites: Usually 12.5 points of first year history
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Dr Dianne Hall
Subject Overview:

This subject examines the concept and practice of chivalry in medieval Europe. The fiction of the period stresses the great deeds of mighty knights and the beauty of the ladies who watched from the sidelines. Was this fictional chivalry the code that guided men and women in the many wars and conflicts of the medieval period? Topics covered in this subject include the fictional representations of knights and warfare; the ideal knight and lady; the church's response to war and chivalry; advice literature; chivalry and the reality of war; gender and chivalric ideals and practice. Students completing this subject will have an understanding of the origins of the concept of chivalry in Europe; they will be familiar with the main literary and historical sources for the period and have a grasp of the historiographical debates that have occurred over the concepts of chivalry and knighthood.

Assessment: A tutorial journal of 1000 words 20% (due during semester), a document analysis of 1000 words 20% (due mid-semester), a research essay of 2000 words 50% (due end of semester) and class participation 10%.
Prescribed Texts: None
Recommended Texts:

Information Not Available
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

  • demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources;

  • show critical thinking and analysis through recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by determining the strength of an argument;

  • demonstrate understanding of social, ethical and cultural context through the contextualisation of judgements, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and possibilities and by constructing an argument

Download PDF version.