Where History Meets Legend: Medieval English Royal Families

Catalog description

This course combines history and literature in an interdisciplinary study of the royal families that decisively influenced the history of later medieval England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries C.E. Our main focus will be on King Edward III and his descendants during the Hundred Years’ War in Europe, the dynastic battles between the Houses of York and Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses in England, the ultimate triumph of King Henry VII, and the rise of the Tudor dynasty. This course will examine the personalities and reigns of these rulers, explore the history and legends surrounding such figures as Henry V, Joan of Arc, and Richard III, and trace their influence through contemporary and subsequent forms of literature and art. Related topics include marriage, the family, and the role of women in society; the idea of sovereignty; monarchy as an evolving form of government; the conflict between history and memory/myth; the development of the English language; and more. We will focus on specific themes of contemporary significance within their historical context, and emphasize the development of argument and analysis as students work with a variety of texts and images.