Postgraduate Course: Lords and Vassals in Medieval Scotland (LAWS11545)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will explore the creation of the Scots common law in the middle ages and the components that made it up with a special focus on the development of feus and feudal law, though paying attention to royal institutions. |
| Course description |
The course will consider the background to the 'feudalization' of Scotland, reflecting on Celtic institutions and their survival, before considering such 'feudalization' in the light of the work of Reynolds and MacQueen. The introduction of Anglo-Norman institutions and structures of government will be assessed, reflecting on their impact on the law, and how they moved to create a Scots common law. Consideration will be given to royal courts, baronial, and feudal courts, Parliament and the impact of the English Conquest and the Wars on Independence, as well as on the role of the Church and its laws. Students will understand why feudal tenures and structures were introduced, how they were introduced, and their impact on Scottish society and Scots law, developing a critical understanding of and insight into the origins of Scottish law and governmental practice in the later middle ages.
Please note that classes for this course will be jointly taught with Honours level students. Although students at both levels will study the same course materials, assessments will be graded according to the relevant benchmark appropriate to the level of study.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 15 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Coursework, consisting of: Essay 1 (30%), 2,500 words maximum Essay 2 (70%), 3,500 words maximum |
| Feedback |
The first essay will be formative as well as summative. Feedback will be provided to the students after the first essay, which has a much lighter weighting in overall assessment, but also with an element of feed-forward to assist in preparation of the second. The feedback from the first essay will also involve feed forward for the second, thereby helping the students hone their writing skills. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Conduct advanced comparative analyses of the legal and socio-political positions of Lords and Vassals in Medieval Scotland, in light of evolving political structures within a broader European context.
- Demonstrate mastery in critically interpreting primary legal sources and historiographical materials related to Medieval Scottish laws, including charters, treatise evidence, and statute, and assess their reliability and significance.
- Produce essays which make sophisticated legal and historical arguments, and demonstrate advanced writing skills, rigorous analysis, and the ability to engage with scholarly debates in this area.
- Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the evolving interpretations of legal and social structures.
- Develop and articulate original research proposals that address specific legal and historical problems related to Lords and Vassals in Medieval Scotland, and demonstrate a capacity for independent scholarly inquiry and contribution to the field
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Reading List
Susan Reynolds, Fiefs and vassals: the medieval evidence reinterpreted (OUP, 1994)
H.L. MacQueen, Common Law and Feudal Society in Medieval Scotland (EUP)
GWS Barrow, The Anglo-Norman Era in Scottish History (1980) Atlas of Scottish history to 1707 (1996)
C J Neville, Land, Law and People in Medieval Scotland (EUP 2010)
Alice Taylor, The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1100-1290 (OUP 2015) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Familiarity with the historical foundations of a Scottish common law, and the legal pluralism of the developing law in the Late Middle Ages. |
| Keywords | Lords,Vassals,Medieval Scotland,Legal History |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Lisa Cowan
Tel:
Email: lcowan2@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hannah Ackroyd
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008
Email: hackroyd@ed.ac.uk |
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