Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Medieval Church and Religious Orders

Unit Code: 
CH314
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

 This unit examines the ‘religious orders’ (monks, nuns, canons, friars) from the fourth to the fourteenth century. This study will provide a focus for the study of broader developments in church and society, such as: the role of the Papacy; changing attitudes to authority and law; spirituality and literature in the twelfth century; economic change; male and female roles in medieval society; reform, heresy and orthodoxy.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. demonstrate knowledge of the development of medieval religious orders
  2. discuss the theme of reform in the medieval western church
  3. show how the development of a religious order reflects a particular understanding of the relationship of church and society
  4. produce a critical reading of a medieval text to illuminate its social and ecclesiastical context 
Lecturer/s: 
Geoffrey King
Timetabling
Semester: 
Semester 1
Day: 
Tuesday
Time: 
2:15 - 5:15
Location: 
Centre for Theology and Ministry
Unit Frequency: 
Biennial
Years Offered: 
2010
Years Offered: 
2012
Years Offered: 
2014
Unit Fields
Courses: 
Graduate Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Master of Divinity
Courses: 
Master of Theological Studies
Field: 
Field C Christian Thought and History
Disciplines: 
Church History
MDiv Field: 
Christian Thought and History
Department Name: 
Department of Christian Thought and History
Unit Level
GradDip Field: 
Elective
MDiv Type of Study: 
Specialised
Prerequisites: 

30 points of Foundational units in Christian Thought and History

Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Teaching Methods: 

 3 hours of lectures and seminars weekly for 12 weeks

Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours per week: 
12
Total workload hours for unit: 
144
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

1 x 3000 word essay on a medieval text

Weighting: 
50%
Assessment Type: 

1 x 3000 word thematic essay

Weighting: 
50%
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

  • Brooke, R. and C. Brooke. Popular Religion in the Middle Ages. London: Thames and Hudson, 1984.
  • Bynum, C. W. Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages. Berkeley: University of California, 1982.
  • Constable, G. Three Studies in Medieval Religious and Social Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  • De Vogüé, A. Reading Saint Benedict. Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994.
  • Hamilton, B. Religion in the Medieval West. Baltimore: Arnold, 1986.
  • *Lawrence, C. H. Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 2001.
  • Lawrence, C. H. The Friars: the impact of the early mendicant movement on Western society. London: Longman, 1994.
  • Le Goff, J., ed. The Medieval World. London: Collins & Brown, 1990.
  • Leclercq, J. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: a study of monastic culture. Translated by Catharine Misrahi. New York: New American Library, 1962.
  • Levi, P. Frontiers of Paradise: a study of monks and monasteries. London: Collins Harvill, 1987.
  • Little, L. K. Religious Poverty and the Profit Economy in Medieval Europe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1978.
  • Moore, R. I. The Origins of European Dissent. Oxford: Blackwell, 1985.
  • Morris, C. The Papal Monarchy. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989.
  • *Southern, R. W. Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages. Harmondsworth: Pelican, 1970.

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.