This core module studies the relationship between clergy, congregations, parish communities and wider society, principally in the medieval and early modern period but with reference to continuity into later periods.
Explore the nature and priorities of the intersecting communities which operated in a parish.
Consider the changing role of the church within a community as expressed through the activities of clergy and church officials.
Discuss the hierarchy within congregations and their differing roles within parish life and religious observance and practice
Consider the response to and management of dissent.
Examine the evolution of the concept of a ‘parish’ and the varying social and cultural structures inherent in that understanding.
Module learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the module students will have a knowledge and understanding of:
The development of parishes as social and administrative units
The interrelationship between the geographical and religious entities
The emergence of the roles of clergy and laity in the operation of the parish unit in its various guises
The tensions inherent in the parish system
The sources available for such study and how to utilise and interrogate them.
Academic and graduate skills
Be able to use primary archival material to study a locality
Able to employ a variety of sources both documentary and physical to construct a series of narratives
Employ interdisciplinary approaches to interpreting evidence.
Assessment
Task
Length
% of module mark
Essay/coursework 4000 word study
N/A
100
Special assessment rules
None
Reassessment
Task
Length
% of module mark
Essay/coursework 4000 word study
N/A
100
Module feedback
The tutor will give regular individual verbal and written feedback throughout the module on work submitted.
The assessment feedback is as per the university’s guidelines with regard to timings.
Indicative reading
Burgess, C. and Duffy, E. eds. The Parish in Late Medieval England: Proceedings of the 2002 Harlaxton Symposium. Harlaxton Medieval Studies Volume XIV. Donington, Lincolnshire: Shaun Tyas, 2006.
Cross, C. Church and People, 1450-1660: The Triumph of the Laity in the English Church. London: Fontana, 1976.
Duffy, E. The Voices of Morebath: Reformation And Rebellion in an English Village. New Haven, London: Yale, 2003.
Dyas, D. ed. The English Parish Church Through the Centuries: Daily Life and Spirituality, Art and Architecture, Literature and Music. York: Christianity and Culture at the University of York, 2010.
Heath, P. English Parish Clergy on the Eve of the Reformation. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969.
Shinners, J. and Dohar, W. eds. Pastors and the Care of Souls in Medieval England. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998.
Strong, R. A Little History of the English Country Church. London: Jonathan Cape, 2007.
Wilson, A.N. ed. The Faber Book of Church and Clergy. London: Faber and Faber, 1993.