Last modified: 20 Aug 2024 15:46
The courts of kings and other rulers in the later middle ages (c. 1300 – c. 1500), in which they and their households lived and hosted their subjects as well as visitors from other lands, have been characterised by scholars as both a grand stage for a dying chivalric culture and a creator of conditions for the modern state. This course addresses this apparent paradox and examines the many facets of this phenomenon, using the Scottish royal court as its starting point but also making use of evidence from around Europe. It draws on theories and methods from a range of academic disciplines including sociology, anthropology, art history and literature. Topics include the household, the palace, the competition for status amongst elites at court and the court as a stage for presenting political messages. Students taking the course will emerge with a detailed understanding of the court and the different forms it took and a view on how it shaped the broader history of Europe.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
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| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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For much of the 20th century, historians neglected the subject of the princely court as irrelevant to their view of historical progress towards the modern state. In more recent decades, historians have re-examined the court using theories drawn from sociology and anthropology. Amongst the most influential theories on which they drew was that of historical sociologist Norbert Elias. Elias, primarily through the study of Louis XIV’s court at Versailles, developed a theory whereby the king brought the nobility to court and thus neutered their political power. This, he argued, was part of a far-reaching ‘civilising process’ whereby the nobility, once warriors, learned that to get ahead they had to carefully calibrate the presentation of their emotions and that this was an important foundation for the formation of the modern state. Many have criticised Elias’s specific conclusion, but his general approach to the court – putting its power dynamics in focus rather than ignoring (or celebrating) it as a place of empty and backwards pomp and pageantry – has been highly influential in shaping the field. Now historians focus on many aspects of the court which might once have been deemed largely irrelevant to political history – such as domestic service, etiquette, and social activities – through the lens of power. On this course students will be invited to evaluate and challenge scholars such as Elias while drawing on this methodologically diverse literature to form their own view of the court and its historical significance.
The course begins with an overview of the relationship between rulers and their subjects in the later middle ages, with a particular focus on the aristocracy of which the ruler was the head. This provides a background for a discussion of how to define the court, which has defied easy definition as far back as the middle ages. Students will examine the household, the institution at the heart of the daily life of the court. It reflects the primacy of the household as a form of organisation across medieval society but in much larger and more complex form and providing many more functions. Students will also study the itinerant life of the court as well as the palaces that the court inhabited. The course will examine the ways in which the court acted as a stage to broadcast messages through a variety of media such as ceremony, chivalric tournaments and fine art. It will also consider the court as a site of status competition between elites and how this interacted with politics more broadly, including the relationship between the court and the state. The course will also allow students to reflect on the relevance of ideas about the pre-modern court in the modern world.
Students will explore these subjects through a variety of primary sources including archival sources such as financial accounts, household ordinances, letters and charters, literary sources such as chronicles, poetry and the accounts of travellers, works of art such as tapestries and portraits and architectural evidence such as Scottish royal palaces.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 20 | Feedback Weeks | 24 | |
| Feedback |
The exam will feature both essay questions and gobbet analyses. The take-home exam will take place during the agreed departmental/School open period. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Create | Demonstrate an ability to construct and sustain arguments using a variety of primary and secondary material. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Demonstrate a command of and the ability to engage critically with scholarly literature in the field. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Show an understanding of how ideas about the court have developed and the different theories and methodologies that have been used to interpret the court. |
| Factual | Understand | Show awareness of different aspects of the court, e.g. the role of the court as a stage for political and as a site of status competition, & different forms the court took in different parts of Europe |
| Procedural | Analyse | Demonstrate an ability to work with and analyse a variety of different sources, recognising their usefulness and potential limitations. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 14 | Feedback Weeks | 16 | |
| Feedback |
3,000-word gobbet exercise.
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Create | Demonstrate an ability to construct and sustain arguments using a variety of primary and secondary material. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Demonstrate an ability to work with and analyse a variety of different sources, recognising their usefulness and potential limitations. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Analyse | Demonstrate an ability to work with and analyse a variety of different sources, recognising their usefulness and potential limitations. |
| Factual | Understand | Show awareness of different aspects of the court, e.g. the role of the court as a stage for political and as a site of status competition, & different forms the court took in different parts of Europe |
| Conceptual | Create | Demonstrate an ability to construct and sustain arguments using a variety of primary and secondary material. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Demonstrate a command of and the ability to engage critically with scholarly literature in the field. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Show an understanding of how ideas about the court have developed and the different theories and methodologies that have been used to interpret the court. |
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