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Module Catalogue

HI3T7-30 Religious Conflict and Civil War in France, c.1560-1600

Department
History
Level
Undergraduate Level 3
Module leader
Penny Roberts
Credit value
30
Module duration
10 weeks
Assessment
100% coursework
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

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Introductory description

This undergraduate final-year module focuses on the experience of war in sixteenth-century France from the perspective of local communities as well as the crown and the nobility and other European states. It draws on a wide variety of contemporary sources in English translation including correspondence, memoirs, legislation, petitions and prints. The aim of the module is for students to develop an understanding of the circumstances which led to and perpetuated civil war and why repeated attempts to establish peaceful confessional co-existence failed. Students will develop the critical skills to engage with current historiographical debates, and be given the opportunity to write an extended piece of assessed work using both primary and secondary sources.

Module aims

The module will address the principal historiographical themes and debates associated with the French religious wars. These include the impact of the Reformation and the outbreak of a series of wars on royal authority as well as on the French kingdom. It will look at the confessional conflict through the lenses of both notable acts of violence and attempts at peacemaking as well as clandestine activities such as espionage. It will assess the role of the nobility, the towns, the judiciary and the Huguenot and Catholic churches in the ongoing conflict and how they intersected with external actors, not only in Geneva and Rome, but in the Netherlands, the Empire, Spain, England and Scotland. It will do so through a wide range of secondary works and primary sources available in English translation (those who wish to can also consult sources in French), including images as well as texts. Together these approaches will provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the impact of division and war on an early modern state and its people.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Spring Term

  1. France in 1560
  2. The European Context
  3. The French Reformation & the Huguenot Church
  4. Religious Toleration and the Edicts of Pacification
  5. Warfare and Violence
  6. Reading Week
  7. The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacres
  8. Theories of Resistance and Henry III
  9. The Catholic Response: Militancy and the Catholic League
  10. The 'Triumph' of Henry IV: France in 1600 and the Impact of War

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the experience of war in France from 1560-1600.
  • Communicate ideas and findings, adapting to a range of situations, audiences and degrees of complexity.
  • Generate ideas through the analysis of a broad range of primary source material, including electronic resources.
  • Analyse and evaluate the contributions made by existing scholarship.
  • Act with limited supervision and direction within defined guidelines, accepting responsibility for achieving deadlines.

Research element

Students are expected to undertake substantial private study of secondary and primary sources in order to contribute to seminars and complete their assessed work.

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes.

Transferable skills

See learning outcomes.

Study time

Type Required
Seminars 18 sessions of 2 hours (12%)
Private study 264 hours (88%)
Total 300 hours

Private study description

History modules require students to undertake extensive independent research and reading to prepare for seminars and assessments. As a rough guide, students will be expected to read and prepare to comment on three substantial texts (articles or book chapters) for each seminar taking approximately 3 hours. Each assessment requires independent research, reading around 6-10 texts and writing and presenting the outcomes of this preparation in an essay, review, presentation or other related task.

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A
Weighting Study time Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
Seminar contribution 10% No
Reassessment component
1000 word reflective essay in lieu of seminar contribution Yes (extension)
Assessment component
1500 word essay 10% Yes (extension)
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
3000 word essay 40% Yes (extension)
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
7 day take-home assessment 40% No
Reassessment component is the same
Feedback on assessment

Written feedback provided via Tabula; optional oral feedback in office hours.

Courses

This module is Core optional for:

  • Year 3 of UENA-VQ34 Undergraduate English and History (with a term in Venice)
  • Year 3 of UHIA-V102 Undergraduate History (Renaissance and Modern History Stream)
  • Year 4 of UHIA-V103 Undergraduate History (Renaissance and Modern History Stream) (with Year Abroad)