University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 60

ECTS credits : 30

Level : SCQF level 10

Semester: Full Year

Planned timetable: TBC

The life of Mary Stewart (1542-1587) is among the best known and most highly mythologized of all British monarchs. Queen of Scots more or less from birth, she also possessed a strong claim to the throne of England and it was as much her dynastic rights as her personal charms that led to the series of marital adventures that have so preoccupied her biographers. Yet while her career needs to be firmly situated in the context of sixteenth-century dynastic politics and diplomacy, it is important also to recognize that her life and reign generated a range of ideological debates that proved critical in crystallizing and developing early modern thinking on such issues as the role of women in government, the rights of the people to resist tyranny, religious confessionalization, and the meaning of Britain. Using a range of contemporary record and literary sources, this module uses Mary's life as a focal point for exploring these ideological issues as they developed in England as well as Scotland in the years from the 1540s to the 1508s.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact:

Scheduled learning hours: 88

Guided independent study hours: 512

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews:

As defined by QAA
Written examinations : 60%
Practical examinations : 7%
Coursework: 33%

Personnel