Pandemic, Famine, War and Popular Revolt: The Apocalyptic Fourteenth Century

Module overview

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – War, Famine, Plague and Death – were believed to presage the end of the world, and many Europeans living through the fourteenth century believed this was close at hand. The Great Famine (1315-22) and the arrival of the Black Death in 1347 decimated the continent’s population and the effects of these natural disasters were exacerbated by the destructive conflict waged between England and France known as the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Challenges to the established social hierarchy and demands for improved living standards also sparked a wave of popular rebellions including the English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Furthermore, the century witnessed religious turbulence with the growth of heretical movements and a split in the leadership of the Catholic Church between rival popes during the ‘Great Schism’ (1378-1417). Hence famine, plague, war, popular unrest and religious crisis are the principal themes examined in this module.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

structure your ideas and research findings into well-ordered essays and critical commentaries
analyse critically a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources
engage with secondary literature on the principal themes of the module, and contribute to the debates relating to the historiography of fourteenth-century Europe

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

To familiarise you with and enable you to evaluate a range of primary sources on fourteenth-century European history
To introduce you to key themes in the social, economic, political and religious history of fourteenth-century Europe
To enable you to gain a critical understanding of scholarly debates on aspects of fourteenth-century European history

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

research historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays and commentaries
utilise and develop your time-management skills
locate and use effective textual, visual and material culture sources in the library and on-line, synthesising this material in order to develop cogent arguments.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

The current intention is to deliver teaching for this module online. If circumstances allow, some form of blended delivery methods, including lectures, seminars, workshops, or individual tutorials may be introduced if it is safe for all concerned to do so. However, delivery will remain entirely online if face to face teaching is not possible or advisable.

Study time
Type	Hours
Lecture	12
Independent Study	276
Seminar	12
Total study time	300

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	50%
Timed Assignment	50%