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Semester 2

Bestiary: Animals in the Middle Ages (HIST10433)

Subject

History

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 3 History courses at grade B or above, and please note that we will only consider courses with a specific focus on History (not including History of Art) towards these pre-requisites. We will only consider University/College level courses. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

This course examines the relationship between humans and animals in the Middle Ages. The recent "animal turn" in the Humanities and Social Sciences has prompted a re-evaluation of assumptions about the relationship between humans and their ever present animal neighbours. The course will investigate key aspects of that relationship in the Medieval world, investigating and contrasting materials from a range of medieval societies, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and "pagan". How were animals and the natural world interpreted by medieval people? The course will examine various types of medieval sources, visual as well as textual in this exploration of the interface between humans and animals.

Course Description

In recent years, a number of studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences have re-evaluated the assumptions that have informed understandings of the multi-faceted relationship between animals and human beings. This course makes use of the new approaches generated by this "animal turn" and applies them to an investigation of human-animal relationships in the Middle Ages. The course will examine a range of primary source materials, both textual and non-textual, relating to Christian, Muslim, Jewish and "pagan" societies. The chronological focus will be from Late Antiquity to c. 1300, although there will be references to ancient Greek and Roman texts. The course will cover themes including, but not necessarily restricted to: The "animal turn"; the medieval Bestiary; working and domesticated animals; thinking with animals; animals and religion; the commercial exploitation of animals and animal products; animals and medieval sport, spectacle, and entertainment; animal symbolism; animals and social status; animals and medieval social satire. Students will be taught through a series of seminars each of which will discuss one or more of the themes outlined above. The intended learning outcomes for the course include the expectation that students will attain a more informed understanding of the place of animals in medieval human societies.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on a History or HCA exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in two 3rd year History courses each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. This includes courses in Economic History and Scottish History. Enrolment in a third course from this group will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the January Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

view the timetable and further details for this course