Medieval Studies
The 2009-10 membership of this committee has not yet been finalized. Complete membership information for 2009-10 will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
Faculty of the Committee on Medieval Studies
Jeffrey F. Hamburger, Kuno Francke Professor of German Art and Culture (Chair)
François Bovon, Frothingham Professor of the History of Religion (Divinity School)
Charles Donahue, Jr., Paul A. Freund Professor of Law (Law School)
Daniel G. Donoghue, John P. Marquand Professor of English
John Duffy, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature
Sean Gallagher, Associate Professor of Music
Luis M. Girón Negrón, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of Comparative Literature
Virginie Greene, Harvard College Professor, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures
Amy Hollywood, Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies (Divinity School)
Baber Johansen, Professor of Islamic Studies (Divinity School)
Thomas Forrest Kelly, Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music
Michael McCormick, Francis Goelet Professor of Medieval History
Stephen A. Mitchell, Professor of Scandinavian and Folklore
Panagiotis Roilos, Professor of Modern Greek Studies and of Comparative Literature
James Simpson, Harvard College Professor, Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English
Daniel L. Smail, Professor of History
Christine Smith, Robert C. and Marian K. Weinberg Professor of Architectural History (Design School)
R. J. Tarrant, Pope Professor of the Latin Language and Literature
Nicholas Watson, Professor of English
Jan Ziolkowski, Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Medieval Latin
The Standing Committee on Medieval Studies exists in order to promote and coordinate teaching and scholarship on medieval Europe and the Near East throughout the University, including Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. As a program committee within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, it mounts a number of undergraduate and graduate courses each year, and coordinates a Secondary Field in Medieval Studies for PhD students and a Secondary Field in Medieval Studies for undergraduates. Although Harvard offers no PhD specifically in Medieval Studies, the committee has the authority to administer interdisciplinary PhDs in liaison with a regular departmental program. Working in cooperation with the GSAS Graduate Student Workshop, it also sponsors events and activities of interest to medievalists. Among these are the frequent meetings of the Medieval Studies Seminar on Monday afternoons, an occasional series of Special Seminars and conferences in Medieval Studies, the twice-yearly receptions for medievalists throughout the Boston area, and a graduate student Workshop in Medieval Studies. The committee has the further responsibility of fostering the Medieval Studies Library in Widener D. Its electronic mailing list is the most comprehensive guide to late antique, medieval, and Byzantine events at Harvard University and in the Boston area generally.
Specific questions concerning Medieval Studies on either the undergraduate or the graduate level and requests for the annual list of courses on medieval topics should be addressed to the Chairman of the Committee, Robinson Hall 201.
For more information and to receive the Medieval Studies Committee email on its frequent activities, contact medieval@fas.harvard.edu (and view its website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~medieval).
For Undergraduates and Graduates
Medieval Studies 107. Authority and Invention: Medieval Art and Architecture
Catalog Number: 9420
Christine Smith (Design School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
Masterworks of art and architecture in Western Europe from the revival of monumental building to the dawn of the Italian Renaissance. Explores the creative tension between the impulse to originality and the authority of classical models in the search for new art forms. Emphasis on relatively few works considered in their totality (architecture, painting, sculpture, and minor arts) as experiential wholes; and on the plurality of geographical and cultural contexts (Italy, Germany, France, and Spain).
Note: Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Design as 4358. Meets at the Graduate School of Design, Gund Hall. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
[Medieval Studies 108. Nature and the Ideal: Art and Architecture in Italy, 1250–1520]
Catalog Number: 2898
Christine Smith (Design School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to Italian painting, sculpture, and architecture from ca. 1250 to 1520 emphasizing style and technique. The course is structured in three parts, each focusing on a single artist whose works are of outstanding historical and artistic significance and whose numerous interactions with artists working in other media, and activity in diverse centers of artistic production, indicate the broader range of artistic concerns and achievements of their time.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Graduate School of Design as 4402. Meets at the Graduate School of Design, Gund Hall.
Medieval Studies 114. The Medieval Imagination: Visions, Dreams, and Prophecies
Catalog Number: 3080
Nicholas Watson
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
The medieval imagination was the ambiguous mediator between the world and the human understanding, a mental locus in which either prophetic truths or dreams and diabolic deceptions might be apprehended. This course investigates dream poetry and visionary writing in the context of medieval psychological theory. Texts to be read include Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, Dante’s Inferno, Chaucer’s House of Fame, The Romance of the Rose, and works by Augustine, Bonaventure, and others.
[Medieval Studies 117. Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England]
Catalog Number: 5468
Charles Donahue, Jr. (Law School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of the ideas and events that shaped the structure of English law and governance from the Anglo-Saxon invasions to the Reformation Parliament. Topics include the formation of the kingdom of England, the emergence of institutions of royal governance, the relations between church and state, the development of Parliament, and the various institutional reactions to political conflict and social change.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12. Offered concurrently, but with a separate section, at the Law School.
[Medieval Studies 119. Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval Continental Europe]
Catalog Number: 4410
Charles Donahue, Jr. (Law School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of the main outlines of continental European constitutional and legal history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the “Rise of absolutism” at the beginning of the 17th century. Focuses on the main expressions of European legal culture over this long period of time. In each period an effort is made to relate the types of law produced to the social, political, and religious history of the period.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered concurrently, but with a separate section, at the Law School.
Primarily for Graduates
[Medieval Studies 201 (formerly Medieval Studies 101). The Auxiliary Disciplines of Medieval History: Proseminar]
Catalog Number: 3759
Michael McCormick
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Familiarizes scholars in all areas of medieval studies with the research tools and techniques for advanced study of late antique and medieval evidence: Latin palaeography, codicology, hagiography, late Latin philology, late antique studies, numismatics, diplomatic.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[*Medieval Studies 202 (formerly *Medieval Studies 102). Latin Palaeography and Manuscript Culture: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 7124 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Beverly M. Kienzle (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to Latin manuscripts, their production and use. Taught in collaboration with William P. Stoneman, Houghton Library. Practical initiation to Latin palaeography, work with manuscripts, practice in transcription, and discussion of problems in textual criticism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2223/4330.
Prerequisite: Completion of an intermediate Latin course or the equivalent.
[Medieval Studies 223. Preaching and Sermon in the Middle Ages]
Catalog Number: 8726
Beverly M. Kienzle (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Literary and historical survey of preaching and sermons from the early to the late Middle Ages, as practiced by clergy, religious women, lay people, dissidents. Readings in Latin; discussion of current research and methodological issues.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2226.
Prerequisite: Completion of an intermediate Latin course or the equivalent.
[Medieval Studies 225. Heresy, Orthodoxy, and Religious Identity in Medieval Christianity]
Catalog Number: 3648
Beverly M. Kienzle (Divinity School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Heresy, orthodoxy, and religious identity from the early to the late Middle Ages. Focus on western European persons and movements that were deemed heretical. Readings in Latin; discussion of current research and methodological issues.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2216.
Prerequisite: Completion of an intermediate Latin course or the equivalent.
[Medieval Studies 227 (formerly Medieval Studies 127). Hildegard of Bingen and the Gospels: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 7365
Beverly M. Kienzle (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Reading of Hildegard of Bingen’s Expositiones evangeliorum with attention to genre, exegetical and homiletic tradition, intertextuality, questions of gender and authority. Scholarship on Hildegard’s works, medieval exegesis, monastic culture, medieval religious women.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2224/4331.
Prerequisite: Completion of an intermediate Latin course or the equivalent.
*Medieval Studies 280 (formerly *Comparative Literature 280). Literary Theory and Criticism in the Middle Ages: Seminar
Catalog Number: 2215
Jan Ziolkowski
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Examines literary theory and criticism inside curriculum (trivium) and outside (oral culture); manuscripts and commentary tradition; biblical exegesis; arts of poetry, letter-writing, preaching; Platonic and Aristotelian traditions; allegory/allegoresis; sign theory. Includes Augustine, Snorri, Dante, Boccaccio.
Note: Knowledge of Latin not required. Qualified undergraduates welcome.
Medieval Studies 290. Making the Middle Ages (Graduate Seminar in General Education) - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 94548
Andrew John Romig and Daniel L. Smail
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
An introduction to the process of designing and developing a General Education course on the study of medieval Europe for undergraduates. The course is built around discussion and analysis of a set of singular and understudied objects and texts. Students will gain a facility with multiple disciplinary perspectives on interpreting texts and artifacts in context. Students will each develop a multidisciplinary project of his or her own design for use in the General Education class.
Graduate Course
*Medieval Studies 300hf (formerly Medieval Studies 300). Medieval Studies Interdisciplinary Workshop
Catalog Number: 5321
Jeffrey F. Hamburger 3800
Half course (throughout the year). Hours to be arranged.
Focuses on dissertations in progress and other research topics of mutual concern.
Note: Enrollment is open to all graduate students.
Cross-listed Courses
For courses of additional interest, please see courses taught by members of the Committee at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Law School.
Core Curriculum
[Culture and Belief 20 (formerly Historical Study A-27). Reason and Faith in the West]
[Historical Study A-40. The Middle East and Europe since the Crusades: Relations and Perceptions]
Historical Study B-13. Charlemagne and the Birth of Medieval Civilization
[Historical Study B-19. The Renaissance in Florence]
Literature and Arts A-26. Dante’s Divine Comedy and Its World
[Literature and Arts A-67. Poetry and Power: The Celtic Bard]
[Literature and Arts A-70. The Book of Job and the Joban Tradition]
Literature and Arts B-35. The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent: Art, Architecture, and Ceremonial at the Ottoman Court
Literature and Arts C-20. The Hero of Irish Myth and Saga
Literature and Arts C-28. Icon-Ritual-Text: Reading the Culture of Medieval Rus’
Celtic Languages and Literature
Celtic 107. Early Irish History
[Celtic 114. Early Irish Historical Tales]
[Celtic 137. Celtic Mythology]
Celtic 138. Narrative Traditions of Medieval Wales
Celtic 151. The Literature of Medieval Celtic Christianity
[Celtic 184. The Táin]
Celtic 189. The Gaelic Learned Tradition - (New Course)
Celtic 200. Introduction to Old Irish
Celtic 201. Continuing Old Irish
[Celtic 204r. Readings in Early Irish Poetry]
[Celtic 205r. Readings in Early Irish Prose]
[Celtic 225a. Introduction to Middle Welsh]
[Celtic 225b. Continuing Middle Welsh]
Celtic 226r. Readings in Middle Welsh
Celtic 227. Seminar: Welsh Bardic Poetry
The Classics
Classical Philology 277. Latin Palaeography - (New Course)
[Greek Bbm. Introduction to Late Antique and Mediaeval/Byzantine Poetry]
Latin Bam (formerly Latin 3m). Latin Prose Selections (Late Antique and Medieval)
Latin Bbm (formerly Latin 4m). Introduction to Latin Poetry (Late Antique and Medieval)
Medieval Greek 115ar. Introduction to Byzantine Greek
[Medieval Greek 125. Byzantine Religious Tales]
Medieval Greek 185. Workshop in Greek Palaeography
Medieval Greek 195. Byzantine Saints’ Lives of the 7th Century
Medieval Latin 105 (formerly Medieval Latin 205). The Waltharius
Medieval Latin 110. Latin Literature of the Twelfth Century - (New Course)
[Medieval Latin 115. The Cambridge Songs and Medieval Lyric]
English
English 102f. Anglo-Saxon Language and Culture: Heroic Poetry and Heroic Legend - (New Course)
English 103f. Anglo-Saxon Language and Culture: Before Love
English 104. Epic, romance, and saga: orality and literary history - (New Course)
*English 201. Images, Idolatry and Iconoclasm, 1350-1600: Graduate Seminar
*English 209. Necessary Truths: William Langland, Julian of Norwich, and the Idea of Vernacular Learning: Graduate Seminar
*English 300hf. Old and Middle English: Doctoral Conference
Folklore and Mythology
*Folklore and Mythology 98a (formerly *Folklore and Mythology 97b). History and Theory of Folklore Methodology
Freshman Seminars
*Freshman Seminar 34j. Medieval and Early Modern Love Poetry
*Freshman Seminar 37i. Love, Medieval Style
General Education
Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 16. Openings: The Illuminated Manuscript - (New Course)
Culture and Belief 18. Enlightenments and their Literary Discontents - (New Course)
[Culture and Belief 24. Gregorian Chants] - (New Course)
Culture and Belief 27 (formerly Jewish Studies 55). Text and Context: Jews and their Books in Pagan, Christian and Muslim Surroundings
Germanic Languages and Literatures
[Scandinavian 150 (formerly Scandinavian 80). The Vikings and the Nordic Heroic Tradition]
Scandinavian 160a. Old Norse Language, Literature, and Culture: The Viking Legacy
Scandinavian 160br (formerly Scandinavian 160b). Old Norse Language, Literature, and Culture: Mythology
Government
Government 1060. Ancient and Medieval Political Philosophy
History
*History 71b (formerly *History 1942). The European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1650
*History 80b (formerly *History 1122). Persons and Things in Medieval Europe
[*History 81b. Book History]
*History 81f (formerly History 1127). Women’s Voices in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
History 1040 (formerly History 1111). The Fall of the Roman Empire
[History 1050 (formerly History 1101). Medieval Europe]
History 1055 (formerly History 1121). Vengeance, Hatred, and Law in Premodern Europe
[History 1060. Europe and Its Borders, 950-1550]
[History 1080 (formerly History 1150). The Jews in Muslim and Christian Spain]
[History 1110 (formerly History 2310). Problems in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe 1250-1750: Conference Course]
History 1114 (formerly History 1514). Early Modern Eastern Europe (1450-1795)
History 1166 (formerly *History 71a). Marriage, Sex, and Family in Western Europe, 1250-1750: Conference Course
[History 1301 (formerly History 20b). Western Intellectual History: The Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century]
[History 1877a (formerly History 1877). History of the Near East, 600-1055]
History 1877b (formerly *History 78b). History of the Near East, 1055-1500: Conference Course
History 1878a. Ottoman State and Society I (1300–1550)
*History 2050 (formerly *History 2101). Medieval Societies and Cultures: Proseminar
History 2055 (formerly History 2122). Early Medieval History: Seminar: Communications in the Early Medieval Mediterranean
[History 2060 (formerly History 2125). Problems in High and Late Medieval History: Seminar]
[History 2080 (formerly History 2126). Medieval Law]
[History 2111. Classical and Neo-Latin Literature in the Italian Renaissance: Seminar]
*History 2112 (formerly *History 2473). Latin Texts of the Italian Renaissance: Proseminar
History 2884. Topics in Ottoman Social and Cultural History: Seminar
History 2885. Introduction to Archival Research in Ottoman History: Proseminar
History 2886. Topics in Islamic History: Seminar
History and Literature
*History and Literature 90x. Medieval Margins - (New Course)
*History and Literature 97. Tutorial — Sophomore Year
History of Art and Architecture
[History of Art and Architecture 12m. Monuments and Cities of the Islamic World: An Introduction]
[History of Art and Architecture 55k. Northern Renaissance]
[History of Art and Architecture 120n. Art of the Timurids in Greater Iran and Central Asia]
[*History of Art and Architecture 140r. Family and Daily Life in Byzantium]
[History of Art and Architecture 141k. Rome, Constantinople, Ravenna in the Light of Imperial Rule]
[History of Art and Architecture 143r (formerly *History of Art and Architecture 143m). The Art of the Court of Constantinople]
*History of Art and Architecture 146x. The Art of Devotion
[*History of Art and Architecture 149g. Casts, Construction and Commemoration: German Gothic in America and Abroad]
[History of Art and Architecture 151k. Italian Artists as Competitors, ca. 1300-1700]
History of Art and Architecture 152. Italian Renaissance Art
[History of Art and Architecture 152m. Leonardo da Vinci]
[History of Art and Architecture 155p. Jan van Eyck and the Rise of Painting]
[*History of Art and Architecture 226e. Cross-Cultural Artistic Exchanges: Islamic and European Courts]
[*History of Art and Architecture 229p. Word and Image in Persian Painting]
[*History of Art and Architecture 240r. Topics in Byzantine Art : Manuscripts]
*History of Art and Architecture 241n. Image-Text-Context
[*History of Art and Architecture 241r. Topics in Early Christian Art: Art and Politics in Late Antiquity]
[*History of Art and Architecture 242. Issues of Interpretation in Medieval Art]
[*History of Art and Architecture 243n. Hieronymus Bosch]
[History of Art and Architecture 252k. The Age of Albrecht Durer]
[*History of Art and Architecture 252y. Pieter Bruegel]
*History of Art and Architecture 254p. The Invention of Portraiture
[*History of Art and Architecture 257r (formerly *History of Art ans Architecture 257n). The Medieval Treasury]
History of Science
[History of Science 107. History of Medieval Science]
[History of Science 112. Health, Medicine and Healing in Medieval and Renaissance Europe]
History of Science 114v. From Angels to Monsters: Cosmology, Anthropology, and the Ends of the World - (New Course)
[History of Science 117. Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages]
*History of Science 206r. The Continuum of Motion, Space and Change in Aristotle and the Aristotelian Tradition: Seminar - (New Course)
*History of Science 207r. Science, Philosophy and Religion in the Middle Ages and The Renaissance: Seminar - (New Course)
[History of Science 212. The Sciences of Life, Medicine and the Body in Medieval Renaissance Europe: Proseminar]
History of Science 215r. Science and Culture in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Seminar
History of Science 297r. Topics in the History of Medieval Latin Science
*History of Science 298r. The Establishment of Medieval Latin Scientific and Philosophical Texts: Seminar
Linguistics
[Linguistics 158r. From Indo-European to Old Irish]
Linguistics 168. Introduction to Germanic Linguistics
Linguistics 247. Topics in Germanic Linguistics
Linguistics 250. Old Church Slavonic
[Linguistics 251. Advanced Readings in Church Slavonic Texts ]
Literature and Comparative Literature
[*Comparative Literature 211. Mysticism and Literature: Seminar]
[Comparative Literature 251. Literary Criticism and Theory: Antiquity to the Renaissance] - (New Course)
Comparative Literature 252. The Literatures of Medieval Iberia: Approaches and Debates in their Comparative Study - (New Course)
[Literature 157 (formerly Comparative Literature 111). From Type to Self in the Middle Ages]
Literature 163. Jewish Languages and Literature
Music
Music 1a. Introduction to Western Music from the Middle Ages to Mozart
Music 191r. Topics in Medieval and Renaissance Music: Proseminar
Music 212r. Chant: Seminar
[Music 213r. Topics in Medieval Polyphony]
Music 214r. Renaissance Music: Seminar
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Arabic Ba (formerly Arabic 120a and 121a). Intermediate Arabic I
Arabic 146r. History of the Arabic Languages
[Arabic 150r. History of Classical Arabic Literature: Seminar]
[Arabic 160r. Readings in Arabic Historians, Geographers, and Biographers]
Arabic 240r. Classical Arabic Philology
Arabic 245r. Classical Arabic Literature: Seminar
[Arabic 246r. Andalus, Sicily, and the Maghrib in Literary and Cultural Texts: Seminar]
[Arabic 248r. Medieval Arabic Writings on Literary Theory and Criticism: Seminar]
Arabic 249r. Arabic Philosophical Texts: Seminar
[Arabic 250r. Arabic Theological Texts: Seminar]
Armenian 120. Armenian Magical Texts
[Hebrew 160. The Origins and Development of the Classical Jewish Liturgy]
[Hebrew 171. The Problem of Language in Medieval Jewish Thought]
[Hebrew 176. Aristotle’s Ethics in Medieval Jewish Thought]
Hebrew 217. The Medieval Torah Commentary: A Practical Introduction: Seminar
Jewish Studies 135. Jewish-Arab Encounters: the Classical Age
[Jewish Studies 146 (formerly Jewish Studies 215). Does Glikl Stand Alone? Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Autobiographical Writing]
Jewish Studies 168. Eighth-Century Prophets - (New Course)
The Study of Religion
[Religion 45. Introduction to Christian Thought]
[Religion 1029. Jewish-Christian Interaction and Conflict, ca. 200-1789]
[Religion 1402. Early Christian Thought 2: The Latin Tradition]
[Religion 1403. The Mystical Theology of Dionysius the Areopagite]
Religion 1411. Seminar: Saints, Sanctity, and Society in Ancient and Medieval Christianity
[Religion 1421. The Gospel of Luke]
Religion 1422. The Epistle to the Romans
Religion 1423. First Images of Christ—Earliest Christologies of the New Testament
Religion 1429. Augustine and His Heretics - (New Course)
Religion 1434. History of Western Christianity, 150-1100
Religion 1437. History of Western Christianity: 1100–1500
Religion 1446. Recent Trends in Medieval Ecclesiastical Historiography - (New Course)
[Religion 1450. History of Christian Thought: The Medieval West]
Romance Languages and Literatures
French 70a. Introduction to French Literature I: From the Middle Ages to Modernity
[French 100. History of the French Language]
[French 102. Introduction to Medieval Literature and Old French]
French 108. “Amours et armes”: A Study of Medieval Romances
French 216. The Romance of the Rose and the Art of Debating - (New Course)
Italian 130c. Dante’s Paradiso - (New Course)
[Italian 140. The Human Comedy: the novella from its origins to the Renaissance]
Italian 141. Renaissance Epic
[Italian 230. Petrarca and the Divided Self]
Romance Studies 79. Romance Languages and Cultures in Comparative Perspective
[Romance Studies 120. Emergence of the Lyric Subject in Early Romance Poetry (12th to 16th Centuries)]
[Spanish 70a. Heroes, Rogues, Saints, Sinners: Archetypes of Spanish Literature]
[Spanish 110. Hispanic Literature: The Middle Ages]
Spanish 201. Historia de la lengua española
[Spanish 220. Jews and Judaism in Medieval Spanish]
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Slavic 280r. Slavic Culture: Seminar
[Slavic 291. Problems in the History of Early Ukrainian Literature]