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2010/1 Module Catalogue
 Module Code: HIS2002 Module Title: IMAGE MAKING IN TUDOR AND STUART ENGLAND
Module Provider: English Short Name: HF01X
Level: HE2 Module Co-ordinator: LUNA I Ms (English)
Number of credits: 20 Number of ECTS credits: 10
 
Module Availability
Assessment Pattern

Unit(s) of Assessment
Weighting Towards Module Mark (%)
Essay
100%
Qualifying Condition(s)
 
Essay (100% of total assessment)
 
1 essay of 2500 - 3000 words

      The assessment will demonstrate that the student has achieved the required level of understanding of the role of image making in Early Modern England. Formative assessment in group work and a short written piece will act as a diagnostic tool for the development of students’ knowledge and understanding. The interdisciplinary essay or equivalent as formal assessment is an opportunity for students to develop their written communication and critical skills. It will reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the module and show the student’s ability to integrate the appropriate methodologies. The formal assessment must incorporate discussion based on material from at least two of the core disciplines.
Module Overview
This level two interdisciplinary core module is designed to introduce students to early modern English court culture, artistic patronage and politics. This cultural overview provides a basis for the development of a deeper understanding of literature, history and art history of the period that can be gained from the single subject options and the interdisciplinary option Popular Culture in Early Modern England. Students will be able to consolidate knowledge and skills generic to humanities disciplines.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
60 credits at Level 1, or equivalent.
Module Aims

Module Aims:

  • To develop students understanding the nature and development of Royal Image Making in England between 1530s to the 1630s.
  • To critically evaluate the contrasting motivations and application of Royal Image Making between the Tudor and Early Stuart monarchs.
  • To explore the interrelationship between history, art history and literature within a thematic approach.
  • To provide a broad cultural framework on which to base the development of a more detailed understanding of the Early Modern period within the options at Level Two
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module the student should be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding
  • Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the cultural and political context of the period.
  • Evaluate changes in the nature and function of image making during the 16th and early 17th Century.
  • Demonstrate a good knowledge of scholarship in the field.
Cognitive / Intellectual Skills
  • Select and critically analyse contemporary and secondary material from the three core disciplines.
  • Demonstrate powers of synthesis through a thematic interdisciplinary approach to the subject.
  • Identify key issues and adopt the appropriate methods for studying them.
Key Transferable/Practical Skills
  • Demonstrate development in written and oral communication.
  • Further develop approaches to independent learning.
  • Develop critical and analytical skills.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work effectively in groups.
  • Provide evidence of good time management and the capacity to work to deadlines.
In order to achieve the threshold standard for the award of credits for this module, the student must meet the following criteria related to the learning outcomes described above:
  • Demonstrate the ability to understand the function and development of image making during the Tudor and Early Stuart Period.
  • Demonstrate awareness of the interrelationship between at least two of the core disciplines.
  • Demonstrate accurate knowledge of the period 1530 to 1630.
  • Provide evidence of appropriate selection and acknowledgement of source material in formal assessment.
  • Demonstrate the ability to answer the question.
Module Content
In the first session students will be introduced to the interdisciplinary framework of this module. A lecture outlining the central features associated with Royal Image Making during the 16th and early 17th centuries will also be included.
 
The historical context of the module will cover the period after the Henrican Reformation in the 1630s to the eve of the Civil War in the 1630s. Special attention will be given to the growth of national identity and the national church under Elizabeth I as well as changes brought about by the accession of James I to the English throne. The increase in European cultural influences which shaped Early Stuart court culture, patronage and politics will also be addressed.
 
The central importance of the Royal Court as the focus of social and political life and as a crucial element for the national and international credibility of the 16th and 17th century monarch will be examined in some depth. Particular attention will be given to the structure of the court, the effect of individual monarchs on the ‘style’ of the court and the changing role of patronage during the late Tudor and Early Stuart period.
 
This module will also explore the role of portrait painting and its use for self-promotion purposes. Students will study the Image Maker to Henry VIII, the Cult of Elizabeth and the increasing influence of the Dutch artists of the early Stuart period with special reference to images of divine kingship produced by Van Dyck. The cultural and political function of the masques will also be assessed as part of the Royal image making process
 
Literature topics have been selected to provide an insight into the nature of late 16th century and early 17th century assumptions and quentions concerning nobility and monarchy. The texts chosen include Castiglione’s influential work, The Courtier, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, which encapsulates the idealised Elizabethan monarchy (books I and V especially) and Shakespeare’s Richard II – one of the most well known literary exploration of the idea of kingship by divine right with allusions to the dangerous politics of the late Elizabethan age. The themes will be further developed through a selection of shorter poems of the 16th and early 17th century and a brief glance at the court masque
 
A visit to Hampton Court Palace with be arranged where students can study the function of the Royal Palace in the image making process at first hand. A variety of methods used by monarchs to promote themselves at home and abroad are highlighted. This includes a study of the architecture, interior decoration and paintings as well as court procedure and etiquette. Reference is also made to the development of the Royal Collection under Charles I.
Methods of Teaching/Learning
12 x 2 hour sessions, (or equivalent)

The Teaching and Learning Strategy is designed to ensure that students are able to display the knowledge and skills outlined in the learning outcomes for this module. Strategies adopted will encourage students to interact in classroom and group discussion and to reflect on their own learning. Close analysis of a variety of primary and secondary sources in all three disciplines will develop critical understanding of key issues. This interdisciplinary prescribed module will be taught by a small team of subject specialists who will remain in close contact for the duration of the module to ensure that the overall teaching strategy is coherent throughout.
 
The Teaching and Learning Method will include a mixture of lecture, group work and self-directed learning. Handouts outlining key issues may also be used to encourage a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. Visual aids will also accompany some sessions where relevant. 
Selected Texts/Journals
Essential Texts
Howarth, D. (1997) Images of Rule; The Art and Politics in English Renaissance 1485 – 1649, London, MacMillan
Smuts M. R. (1999) Culture & Power in England 1585 – 1685, Macmillan
Waterhouse, E.K. (1994) Painting in Britain 1530 to 1790, 5th revised edition, Yale, Yale University Press
Literary Set Texts:
Bondanella, P. (ed) (1998), Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince, Oxford: OUP
Brooks-Davies, D. (ed) (1994) Silver Poets of the 16th Century, London, Everyman
Bull, G. (ed) (1976), Castiglione, Baldassare, The Courtier, London: Penguin
Cummings, R. (ed) (2000) 17th Century Poetry: an annotated anthology, Blackwells, Oxford
Forker, C. (ed) (2003) Shakespeare Richard II, Arden edition
Roche, T. (ed) (1987) Spenser, Edmund, The Faerie Queene, London: Penguin
Sidney, Sir Philip, Astrophil & Stella in Silver Poets of the Sixteenth Century

Recommended Reading
Literature
Braunmuller & Hattaway (eds) (1990) The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama
Duncan-Jones, K. (1991) Sir Philip Sidney: Courtier Poet, London
Greenblatt, S. (1980) Renaissance Self-Fashioning, New Haven
Harp, R. & Stewart, S. (eds) (2000) The Cambridge Companion to Ben Jonson, CUP
Sale, R. (1968) Reading Spenser: An Introduction to the Faerie Queene, New York
Waller, G. (1986) English Poetry of the Sixteenth Century, London
Wynne-Davis, M. (ed) (1992) The Renaissance from 1500-1600
History
Corns, T.N. (ed) (1999) The Royal Image Representations of Charles I,Cambridge, CUP
Coward, B. (1997), The Stuart Age, 2nd Ed, London, Longman
Cruickshanks (ed) (2000) The Stuart Court, Sutton Pub.
Guy, J. (1988), Tudor England, Oxford, OUP
Hale, J. (1996) England of the Italian Renaissance, London, Fontana Press
Lloyd, C. and Thurley, S. (1995) Image of a Tudor King, London, Phaidon
Loades, D. (1986) The Tudor Court, Headstart History
Sharpe, K. and Lake, P. (ed) (1994) Culture and Politics in Early Stuart England, Problems in Focus
Starky, D. (1987) The English Court, London
Thurley, S. (1993) The Royal Palaces of Tudor England, YUP
Williamson J. A. (1994) The Tudor Age, (6th ed), Longman
Art History
Graham-Dixon, A. (1966) A History of British Art, London, BBC Publications
Hayes, J. (1991) The Portrait in British Art, National Portrait Gallery
Lloyd, C. (1977) The Royal Collection, London
Strong, R., Harris, J. and Orgel, S. (1973) The King’s Arcadia: Inigo Jones and the Stuart Court, Arts Council
Rowse A. L. (1971) The Elizabethan Renaissance, Penguin
Strong, R. (1999) The Cult of Elizabeth, London, Pimlico
Strong, R (1987) Gloriana, Portrait of Elizabeth I, London, Thames Hudson
Strong, R. (1984) Art and Power, Suffolk, Boydell Press
Strong, R. (1973) Splendour at Court; Renaissance Spectacle and Illusion, London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Summerson, J. (1966) Inigo Jones, London, Penguin
Waterhouse, E.K. (1988) Dictionary of 16th & 17th Century British Painting, London, Antique Collectors Club Ltd
Last Updated
30th June 2008