Medieval Men and Masculinities

This course introduces students to the study of medieval men and masculinities. The course focuses on a series of primary sources from the tenth to the twelfth centuries including Scandinavian sagas; chivalric romances; monastic histories and medieval letter collections. The course examines constructions and representations of medieval masculinities. Over the last twenty years there has developed considerable academic interest in this subject and students will be expected to engage fully with this historiography. The course examines three major themes (designated 'Course Units') taught through a series of ten seminars. These themes are: constructions of masculinity and the medieval life course (mothers and sons; young men; fathers and fatherhood); medieval men at war (the rise of the chivalric ideal; courtliness and taming the warrior; courage and cowardice); medieval men and the Church (the Herrenfrage; monastic masculinities; holiness and masculinity). Credit Level: 11 Year taken: Postgraduate

Not running in 2025/26