University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 40

ECTS credits : 20

Level : SCQF level 11

Semester: Both

Planned timetable: To be arranged.

More than a century ago the greatest historian of English law, F. W. Maitland, wrote that 'legal documents of the most technical kind, are the best, often the only evidence that we have for economic and social history'. This module acts as an introduction to the single most important source for early-modern British social history: the records of law courts, which played a far more central role in everyday life than they do now. Students will explore the documentation produced by a wide range of British courts and look at their uses for the social historian. The aim is to provide students with a broad awareness and understanding of how particular resources have been and might be used in actual research.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 2-hour seminar.

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: Coursework = 100%


Re-assessment: New coursework: 6,000-word essay