HIST 388: Topics in European History
HIST 388-002: Anglo-Saxon England
(Spring 2026)
01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW
Horizon Hall 2017
Section Information for Spring 2026
In this course we will consider the political, cultural, and religious history of England from the end of Roman control in the fifth century (c.410) to the Norman Conquest of the eleventh (1066). Our primary aim is to think through the early kingdoms of England both for their own unique characteristics and as examples of wider trends in the post- Roman history of Western Europe. Topics to be addressed include: the changing nature of kingship and rule; the spread of Christianity; interaction between England and its Celtic neighbors to the north and west and its continental connections with the Frankish kingdoms, Scandinavia, the papacy, and the Normans; art and archaeology; the impact of the Vikings on English politics and culture; and the alleged debts of modern Anglo-American political and legal culture to the “Anglo-Saxon” past.
At the end of this course students will be familiar with the main outline of English early medieval history and how the history of England in this period relates to wider European developments. And, more importantly, students will have developed a familiarity with the main literary, documentary, and material sources for that.
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Course Information from the University Catalog
Credits: 3
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
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