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HIS32440

Academic Year 2026/2027

Florence 1400-1530 (HIS32440)

Subject:
History
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Edward Coleman
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Florence is one Europe’s greatest cities and the birthplace of the artistic and cultural movement known as the Renaissance. Although a relatively unimportant centre until the thirteenth century it thereafter grew rapidly in size, wealth, power and prestige. It became a self-governing city state with an extensive territorial dominion in the region of Tuscany. Its rise rested on a thriving economy dominated by the textile industry, commerce and banking. Despite a demographic and economic decline following the Black Death (1348), by the early fifteenth century Florence had once again become one of the most important cities in the Italian peninsula and a rival or other large states such as Milan, Venice, Naples and the Papacy. During this time, although Florence remained in theory a republic, one of the city’s great banking families - the Medici - became rulers of the city in all but name, firstly under Cosimo il Vecchio (1434-64), and then his son Piero (1464-69) and grandson Lorenzo ( 1469-92), known as 'the Magnificent'.Art and architecture flourished under Medici patronage and Florence became the capital of the Italian Renaissance. However, following French and Spanish invasions of Italy in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the political importance and prestige of the city declined. The Medici were expelled and Rome surpassed Florence as cultural and artistic centre. The Florentine republic was revived episodically between 1494 and 1512, an era associated with such famous figures as Savonarola and Machiavelli, and again more briefly in the late 1520s, before the Medici returned to rule with the title of Dukes of Florence and Tuscany from the 1530s. The module will study Florence in its Renaissance heyday, paying particular attention to themes such as the tension between republicanism and family power; changes in social structure and class consciousness; factionalism and conflict; territorial expansion, war and municipal patriotism; commerce and banking; civic humanism and education; the writing of history and the shaping of the past; ecclesiastical organisation and popular piety; the private and public patronage of art, architecture and literature; the lives and times of the great artistic figures who lived and worked in the city.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module students should be able to:
- Demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of the principal events of Florentine history in the Renaissance.
- Critique relevant primary sources in translation.
- Identify themes and engage with debates in the modern historiography of Florence.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the spatial development of Florence in the period studied and of the significance of the principal buildings and monuments of the city.
- Contribute effectively to class discussions .
- Produce written work on aspects of Florentine history appropriate to level 3 of a history degree.

Indicative Module Content:


1. Visualising Renaissance Florence: urban form, building, monuments.

2. Cosimo de’Medici , the Medici bank and Florentine politics (1400-34).

3. Cosimo de’Medici: exile and rise to power (1434-55)

4. Cosimo de’Medici: Father of the State’ (1455-64)

5. Piero de’ Medici as ruler of Florence (1464-69).

6. Lorenzo de’Medici and the art of diplomacy in Italy (1469-80)

7. The Florentine Renaissance: cultural, artistic and intellectual life in Lorenzo de’Medici’s Florence (1480-92)

8. The French Invasion of Italy, Savonarola and the Bonfire of Vanities (c.1494-1498).

9. The Florentine republic restored (1498-1513).

10. The Medici Popes and the end of the republic I: Leo X (1513-21)

11. The Medici Popes and the end of the republic II: Clement VII (1523-34)



UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Competent

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Advanced Beginner

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Advanced Beginner

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

22
Specified Learning Activities

95
Autonomous Student Learning

95
Total

223

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is a small-group seminar-based module. It is taught through a one-hour weekly lecture and a two-hour seminar. The lecture provides an overview of the week's topic and provides context for the material studied in the seminar. The seminar is based around in-class discussion of primary sources, online Discussion Boards on Brightspace and peer review. The module is assessed through a weekly learning journal and a end of trimester essay (3000 words). Autonomous student learning is encouraged in tandem with instructor mentoring of both assessment components.

Generative AI may be permitted for certain assignments in this module, subject to the instructions of the module coordinator and in accordance with the Academic Integrity Policy. . The module coordinator will provide further information.

A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of History are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This can include oral moderation meetings where the student is invited in for a short meeting with the module coordinator to discuss the assignment. Moderation contributes to better informed marking

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): An essay 3000 words. Students will have the opportunity to have input into the choice of essay titles available. Week 14 Graded No
40
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Participation in class discussion, group work and online post on Brightspace. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 Graded No
20
 No
Reflective Assignment: A reflective journal (400 words) submitted weekly on Brightspace that provides a comment on the source material studied in class. Students must submit a minimum of eight journals. Week 12 Graded No
40
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

- Learning Journals: written feedback given on Brightspace and through one-to-one meetings by appointment throughout the semester. - End of trimester essay: feedback provided on essay plan prior to summative assessments on Brightspace and through one-to-one meetings by appointment.

Black R., and Law, J., eds., The Medici. Citizens and Masters ( Florence,2015),
Brucker, G.A., Florentine Politics and Society, 1343-1378 ( Princeton, 1962).
Brucker, G. A., Renaissance Florence (New York, 1969).
Goldthwatie, R.A., The Economy of Renaissance Florence ( Baltimore, 2008).Najemy, John M., A History of Florence , 1200-1575 (Oxford, 2008)
Jurdjevic, M., Piano N. and McCormick, J.P., eds., Florentine political writings from Petrarch to Machiavelli ( Philadelphia, 2019)
Maxson, J., A short history of Florence and the Florentine republic (London, 2023)
Najemy, J. M., A History of Florence , 1200-1575 (Oxford, 2008)
Najemy, J. M, Machiavelli's Broken World ( Oxford, 2022)

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 15:00 - 15:50
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 09:00 - 10:50
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