Module manager: José A. Pérez Díez
Email: J.A.PerezDiez@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: I View Timetable
Year running
This module is not approved as an Elective
Students on this module will engage with a representative selection of literature written by English and other European religious writers between 1300 and 1700. Through the study of prose, poetry, and drama dealing with mysticism and theological polemic, the module will survey the rich legacy of Western Christian spirituality and its impact on English authors.
This module explores a range of religious texts written mainly by English writers from the early fourteenth to the end of the seventeenth centuries, focussing on the representation of the individual experience of the sacred in a Christian context. It explores the rich spiritual legacy of medieval and early modern Europe, and particularly its reception in England. It attends particularly to the historical contexts in which these works emerged, and the processes by which debates about the Christian faith shaped the very social and political fabric of the continent during this crucial moment in history. It will also demonstrate the importance of devotional literature in the articulation of selfhood. By engaging with these authors, the module aims to understand how these sacred literary works shaped our civilisation to the present day.
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Acquire an in-depth knowledge of the rich spiritual tradition of Western Christianity in the medieval and early modern period.
2. Discriminate between the main theological and spiritual debates of the period, including the impact of the Protestant Reformation from 1517.
3. Critically investigate how Christian mysticism was received by English writers during those crucial four centuries.
4. Evaluate how varied, vibrant, and culturally current these writings are, even in an increasingly secularised world today.
Literary analysis; historical study.
Masters (Taught), Postgraduate Diploma & Postgraduate Certificate students will have had the opportunity to acquire the following abilities as defined in the modules specified for the programme:
- the skills necessary to undertake a higher research degree and/or for employment in a higher capacity, including the ability to present work verbally to a specialist audience;
- evaluating their own achievement and that of others by delivering and auditing presentations in class and as conference papers;
- self direction and effective decision making;
- independent learning and the ability to work in a way which ensures continuing professional development;
- to engage critically in the development of professional/disciplinary boundaries and norms.
The selection of texts for this module aims to provide a representative survey of works by the most influential religious writers of the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Most of the works featured on the module originate in England or were written by English writers. Medieval writers represented on the module will include Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, Walter Hilton, and Richard Rolle, and may also feature selections from the York and Wakefield cycles of mystery plays.
The English Reformation will be studied with reference to the work of theologians, poets, and polemicists including writers from different traditions, both Protestant and Catholic, such as William Tyndale, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas More. Early modern Catholic mysticism will be contextualised with a selection of texts by St Teresa of Ávila, St John of the Cross, and St Ignatius of Loyola.
The module will then focus on the seventeenth-century metaphysical poets, including works by John Donne, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Crashaw. Later religious works will be represented by authors including John Milton, John Bunyan, and Richard Baxter.
Texts in Middle English will be available in the original and in modernised form. Key works written in other vernacular languages, as well as in Latin, the scholarly language of Western Christianity, will be offered in the original and in English translation.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 280 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300 | ||
Formative feedback is built into the pedagogy of the weekly seminars.
In the final seminar of the module, candidates give short presentations (5-10 minutes), with PowerPoint slides, on their chosen second assignment topic, for peer and tutor formative feedback.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | Discursive essay (including an optional creative writing exercise) | 30 |
| Written Work | Conference paper with PowerPoint slides. | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Written work totalling 6,000 words: a 2,000-word discursive essay, or creative writing exercise (due in week 8), and a 3,000-word conference paper with up to six PowerPoint slides (notionally 1,000 words), for which there will be formative instruction.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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