Modiwl HTH-2143:
The Reign of King Stephen

Ffeithiau’r Modiwl

Rhedir gan School of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences

20 Credyd neu 10 Credyd ECTS

Semester 2

Trefnydd: Dr Susan Johns

Amcanion cyffredinol

This course will offer students the opportunity to analyse a wide range of evidence for the history of the reign of king Stephen (1135-54). It will include detailed study of primary evidence through close analysis of relevant sources. The module will introduce students to the historiography of the period and will challenge students to critically engage with theories and debates about the interpretation of evidence to facilitate a critical comparative approach. The course will demonstrate that a variety of sources including documentary forms such as charters and seals, literary and narrative sources and legal texts can be studied. It will introduce students to the major topics of political, social, and economic history of the period, allowing them to consider broad questions of chronology and development.

Cynnwys cwrs

This course offers students the opportunity to study the reign of king Stephen in the period 1135-54. It was, and has remained, controversial. Topics include: the roots of civil war: the reign of Henry I, the origins of civil war, the course of the war and the stalemate in the period1150-54, the role and characters of king Stephen and the Empress Matilda, the role of the barons, the social, economic, political impact of civil war, masculinity, kingship, queenship, women and power, attitudes to war and the role and views of the church.

Meini Prawf







C- i C+


Canlyniad dysgu

  1. Demonstrate clarity, fluency, and coherence in oral expression


  3. Analyse individual pieces of historical evidence very closely ¿ particularly setting them in context, judging their qualities as evidence, and explaining their significance

  4. Judge between competing interpretations of the historiography (including current positions in historical and other academic writings)

  5. Present clear, evidence-based, and cogent historical argument under examination conditions

  6. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the reign of king Stephen 1135-54.

Dulliau asesu

Math Enw Disgrifiad Pwysau
ARHOLIAD Examination

Essay Questions in the examination will test knowledge and understanding of specific aspects of the period. Answers will be graded by considering content (the range of knowledge displayed); the directness and clarity of the argument; analysis (the ability to judge between interpretations and back arguments with evidence). Answers will be expected to draw examples and evidence from across the period, but to analyse the evidence they use with care; and to engage with current historiographic controversies and to show knowledge of primary sources


The oral presentation will test knowledge and understanding of a particular topic which will be set into the context an understanding of the overall development of the period. Answers will be graded by considering scope of reading; content (the depth of knowledge displayed); the focus and clarity of argument; analysis (the ability to judge between interpretations and back arguments with evidence); presentation; and the ability to time the presentation properly, the quality of any additional resources used such as power point slides or handouts, for example considering whether they are accurately presented, the quality of the references, the bibliography is presented appropriately. Presentations will be expected to show a detail of knowledge about the topic discussed and to engage with current historiographic controversies where relevant.

TRAETHAWD Degree Essay

Degree essay questions will test knowledge and understanding of the overall development of the writing of history and historiography. Answers will be graded (in accordance with the marking criteria) by considering the scope of reading; content (the depth of knowledge displayed); the focus and clarity of argument; analysis (the ability to judge between interpretations and back arguments with evidence); presentation; and the ability to use references and bibliography appropriately [see Student Handbook for assessment criteria in these areas.] Answers will be expected to show detail of knowledge about the topic discussed and to engage with current historiographic controversies


Strategaeth addysgu a dysgu


One lecture and one one-hour seminar per week

Private study 178

One lecture and one seminar per week


Sgiliau Trosglwyddadwy

  • Llythrennedd - Medrusrwydd mewn darllen ac ysgrifennu drwy amrywiaeth o gyfryngau
  • Defnyddio cyfrifiaduron - Medrusrwydd wrth ddefnyddio ystod o feddalwedd cyfrifiadurol
  • Archwilio - Gallu ymchwilio ac ystyried dewisiadau eraill
  • Adalw gwybodaeth - Gallu mynd at wahanol ac amrywiol ffynonellau gwybodaeth

Sgiliau pwnc penodol

  • problem solving to develop solutions to understand the past
  • producing logical and structured arguments supported by relevant evidence
  • demonstrating a positive and can-do approach to practical problems
  • preparing effective written communications for different readerships
  • making effective and appropriate forms of visual presentation
  • making effective and appropriate use of relevant information technology
  • critical evaluation of one's own and others' opinions


Rhestrau Darllen Bangor (Talis)

Rhestr ddarllen

General Bibliography: more detailed reading will be provided in the module handbook

Barlow, F., The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216 (5th edn, London, 1999). Bartlett, R., England under the Norman and Angevin kings, 1075-1225 (Oxford, 2000). Brooke, Z.N., The English Church and the Papacy from the Conquest to the Reign of John, rev. edn. (C.U.P., 1989) Clancy, M.T., England and its Rulers 1066-1272: Foreign Lordship and National Identity (2nd edn., London, 1994). .-------------, From Memory to Written Record: England 1066-1307 (2nd. ed.,1993). Chibnall, M., The Empress Matilda (Oxford, Blackwell, 1991) Daniell, C., From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta: England, 1066-1215 (London, 2003). Davies, R.R., Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063-1415 (Oxford, 1987). Davis, R.H.C., King Stephen 1135-54, 3rd edn. (Longman, 1990) Davis, H.W.C., The Anarchy of Stephen's Reign', EHR, xviii (1903), 630-41. Frame, R., The Political Development of the British Isles, 1100-1400 (Oxford, 1990). Garnett, George, Conquered England: Kingship, Succession, and Tenure 1066-1166 (O.U.P., 2007). Gransden, A., Historical Writing in England, c. 550-1307 (London, 1974). Green, J.A., The Aristocracy of Norman England (Cambridge, 1997) Hugh, M.T. The English and the Normans: Ethnic Hostility, Assimilation, and Identity, 1066 - c. 1220 (Oxford, 2003). Johns, Susan M. Noblewomen, Aristocracy and Power in the Twelfth-Century Anglo-Norman Realm (Manchester, 2003). King, E.J. King Stephen (New Haven and London, 2010). King, E.J. Medieval England 1066-1485 (Oxford, 1988, 2nd ed. 2001). King, E.J. (ed.), The Anarchy of King Stephen's Reign (O.U.P., 1994). King, Edmund,The Anarchy of King Stephen’s Reign', TRHS, 5:34 (1984), 133-53. MacColl, A., ‘The meaning of “Britain” in medieval and early modern England’, Journal of British Studies, 45:2 (2006), 248-69. Matthew, Donald, King Stephen (Hambledon and London, 2002). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004), available in print and online, has recent biographies of many of the leading figures of the reign. Le Patourel, John, `What did not happen in Stephen's reign', History, 58 (1973), 1-17. Poole, A.L., From Domesday Book to Magna Carta (O.U.P., 1951). Reynolds, S,.Fiefs and Vassals (Oxford, 1994). Stenton, Sir Frank, The First Century of English Feudalism 1066-1166, 2nd edn. (O.U.P., 1961). Stringer, K.J., The Reign of Stephen (Lancaster pamphlet; Routledge, 1993) Walker, D., The Normans in Britain (Oxford, 1995).

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