Module manager: Dr N. Kıvılcım Yavuz
Email: N.K.Yavuz@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Medieval origin stories were central to how communities in the Middle Ages understood their identity and place in the world. These historiographical narratives intertwined myth, history, and ideology, with various peoples tracing their roots to legendary ancestors or classical heroes. This module examines the creation, adaptation, and transmission of these stories across medieval Europe and the wider Mediterranean world, revealing how communities connected their present to an imagined, authoritative past. You will engage with a variety of primary sources, ranging from chronicles and genealogies to manuscript illuminations and floor mosaics, to explore how these narratives shaped ideas of ethnicity, gender, self and otherness as well as early notions of nationhood. The module encourages interdisciplinary exploration, combining cultural history, textual and visual analysis, and comparative studies, and invites you to consider how these medieval narratives continue to shape modern understandings of identity and heritage. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The objective of the module is to explore a wide range of medieval origin stories, examining how peoples across medieval Europe and the Mediterranean world imagined both themselves and others. It aims to equip you with the analytical tools to assess the cultural, historical, and ideological significance of these historiographical narratives, focusing on patterns of continuity, the role of rewriting in shaping collective memory, and how these stories influenced concepts of identity, power, and belonging. You will gain extensive experience in working with primary sources, including interpreting them in their original forms such as medieval manuscripts and other artefacts, while at the same time developing transferable digital skills in communicating your work to a variety of audiences.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Evaluate the historical, cultural, and ideological significance of medieval origin stories through key narratives and debates.
2. Analyse and interpret a range of textual and visual primary sources to assess how medieval peoples imagined themselves and others.
3. Critically examine the role of rewriting and adaptation in the transmission of medieval origin stories, exploring how these narratives evolved over time.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Critically analyse and interpret primary sources, evaluating their historical significance and relevance to key themes.
5. Critically evaluate different arguments and perspectives, using evidence to support well-formed opinions and interpretations.
6. Develop transferable digital skills to create, manage, communicate and share effective and engaging content to a variety of audiences.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practical | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Seminar | 8 | 2 | 16 |
| Independent online learning hours | 10 | ||
| Private study hours | 170 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will submit a blogpost introducing a primary source to a public audience as a formative assignment in advance of your summative assignments. You will receive peer-feedback as well as written feedback from the module leader for this formative assignment. You will each choose a different primary source to write on, allowing you to do in-depth research into different historiographical narratives. You will then be providing feedback for your peers, which will further enable you to expand your learning by close reading of your peers’ writings. Peer feedback will also allow you to conduct close reading of the assessment criteria at the School and will provide you with opportunities to learn from each other.
The feedback you receive for your formative assignments will inform your approaches for both summative assignments, as the first summative assignment will focus on primary source analysis and the second will be preparing a presentation for a public audience on a module-related theme also utilising primary sources.
You will receive feedback on your first summative assignment (source analysis) before you start developing your second summative assignment (recorded presentation). Therefore, feedback on summative work also has a key formative function.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Primary Source Analysis | 50 |
| Coursework | Presentation with slides (Recorded) | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The resit will take the same form as the original assessment. For this assessment you will be permitted to resubmit an improved version of your original submission, taking into account the tutor’s written feedback to help improve the reworked version. You can highlight the changes that have been made from the original version on the re-submitted work. Alternatively, you may prefer to choose to do an alternative question/title and should discuss this with your module tutor. Please note that if you are required to resit this assessment as the outcome of an academic integrity hearing you will need to submit an entirely new piece of work on a different question.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team