HIST 222

Beginning in the long twelfth century with the Norman Conquest of England, through to the early fifteenth century, this course provides a social and cultural history of England in the medieval period. Although a temporal overview will be provided in the first lectures of each section, the course will focus on themes rather than an events-based narrative. Examining in detail the issues of community and social binds, economic change, population change, disease, political structures, ecclesiastical structure and political upheaval, students will gain a foundational understanding of the process of conquest, the expansion of art and of a written culture, the impact of warfare; also the relationships between lords and labourers; development of trade and urbanization, the spread of written culture, the development of the common law and parliament.