Medieval Britain and the wider world c.400-1500: exploring the global Middle Ages

Aims

This course aims to: 

• introduce you to the increasing archaeological and historical evidence for long-distance trade, contacts and migration between Britain and the wider world from Late Antiquity through to the later middle ages
• enable you to think critically about the sources from various disciplines that relate to these connections and how they can be interpreted and used
• challenge old assumptions about the degree of inter-connectivity and cross-cultural links that existed prior to the age of European colonisation and imperialism

Content

The five sessions in this course will challenge common assumptions about the insularity of medieval Britain and its relative isolation, exploring the increasing evidence for changing and evolving connections and interactions between Britain and the wider world from c. AD 400 to 1500. This course offers you an interdisciplinary introduction and approach to this material, bringing together a wide range of evidence, including archaeological finds, recent scientific analyses of burial sites and artefacts, textual references, and medieval artworks, in order to allow such connections and interactions to be thoroughly explored and analysed. 

Material to be examined includes the large quantities of imported goods and artefacts now known from early medieval Britain, such as the garnets decorating the Sutton Hoo ship burial finds, Early Byzantine pottery and coins found across Britain and Wales, and the Islamic dirhams discovered by metal-detectorists across eastern and northern Britain. These testify to the continued connection of Britain to long-distance trading networks in the early medieval period, and the quantities of such material available for study have vastly increased in recent years through the recording of metal-detected finds. You will look at the impact of these finds on our understanding of these connections, as well as some of the potential issues with them. 

Likewise, work on the burial and textual evidence from medieval Britain suggest that people with African, Muslim and possibly East Asian heritage and connections visited, lived and were even buried here, according to recent scientific analyses of the burial evidence. You will consider this evidence and start to think critically about how it can be used and the limits of what it might show.

Finally, other evidence indicates that people from medieval Britain and Ireland found their way to the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, India and even further afield. This course will introduce you to some of the evidence for this and the debates over what it shows, as well as considering how it fits with common assumptions about the insularity of Britain in the medieval period.

Presentation of the course 

The course will be taught by illustrated in-class talks, followed by questions and discussion.

Course sessions

1. Britain and the Byzantine Empire in the early medieval period
2. Imports and influences from the Vikings to the Late Middle Ages
3. The archaeological and textual evidence for cultural diversity in medieval Britain
4. The Anglo-Saxons abroad: evidence for Anglo-Saxon travel and activity beyond Britain
5. Emigrants, travellers and conquerors after the Norman Conquest

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to be able to understand how new evidence and perspectives have modified previous views about the nature and degree of long-distance trade, contacts and migration between Britain and the wider world in the medieval period
• to start to be able to evaluate the evidence for interconnectivity between Britain and the wider medieval world critically and identify how this material can be used and some of the potential problems with elements of it
• to be able to show an awareness of how Britain was viewed by those outside these islands and how people from Britain interacted with other cultures and communities in the medieval period

Required reading

There are no compulsory readings for this course. 

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.