Medieval Studies

Program Offerings

Offering type
Minor

The Program in Medieval Studies encourages the interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages: its art, literature (Latin and vernacular), music, religion, science, philosophy, politics, and economic and social structures. Supported by the vast resources for medieval studies at Princeton (including an outstanding medieval manuscript collection and the photographic archive known as the Index of Medieval Art), the program sponsors one course: an introductory seminar, and a (noncredit) thesis writers' colloquium for seniors. Other courses directly relevant to medieval studies are listed under the courses section.  

Through a flexible model wherein independent work may take various forms and coursework may intersect students' plans of study in various ways, the minor is designed to welcome students with any degree concentration.

Goals for Student Learning

The Program in Medieval Studies provides a platform for the study of histories and cultures from roughly the 3rd to the 16th centuries C.E. The program brings together faculty, graduates and undergraduates from various departments and units across the humanities and social sciences, as well as computer sciences and engineering. We offer a capacious minor degree, in which students explore the past through the cutting-edge methods and questions of various contemporary disciplines, including archaeology, biology, art history, computer science, anthropology, literatures and languages, manuscript studies, archival studies, history, religious studies, environmental history, and biology and chemistry. Guided by members of our faculty, students develop individual approaches and techniques to studying cultures of the past and their continued importance today. Courses and independent work prioritize students' direct engagement with primary sources, often working out of Princeton's extraordinary collections. The program prizes scholarly community: undergraduates study in formal collaboration through their senior colloquium and enjoy many opportunities to engage with faculty, graduate students and one another through regular program activities.

The minor's multidisciplinary training in the study of history, culture and society fosters students' future work in fields such as media, heritage management, archives and museums, publishing industries, legal studies, public scholarship and academic research.

Admission to the Program

During the first or sophomore year, each student who wishes to enroll in the program should take MED 227 The Worlds of the Middle Ages or discuss with the director what other kinds of preparation might be acceptable. At the time of the selection of a major in a department, a student wishing to obtain a minor in medieval studies at graduation should also seek admission to the program from the director. At this time, an online application to the program (accessible from the Medieval Studies website) should be filled out and submitted.

Program of Study

We offer students two pathways to the minor degree.

Model 1: Five courses including the introductory course (MED 227 or equivalent) and a 400-level course in which students write a substantive final paper.

Model 2: Four courses including the introductory course (MED 227 or equivalent) and substantial independent work (see below).

Coursework:

  • 200-level Introductory Class. MED/HUM/HIS/HLS 227 (Worlds of the Middle Ages), offered in alternate years, is the designated introductory course for the minor. Students may consult the director for comparably broad introductory course offerings that may be taken instead (e.g., HUM 216–217, HIS 210, ART 228). Students are encouraged to complete their introductory class as early as possible in their course of study. 
  • At least three additional courses on a medieval topic, taught by faculty in different departments. Students’ coursework should cultivate geographic and cultural range. For courses on medieval topics from East Asia to Iceland, please see the current list of courses on our website.
  • All four courses, the introductory class and three electives, must be completed in three different departments. 
  • Students may complete a fifth course at the 400 level (or 500 level with the permission of the instructor) in lieu of independent work, but are also required to present and discuss these projects in the senior thesis colloquium.

Normally, students may count at most two courses taken for the minor toward their major. Students with unusual circumstances should speak with the program director about how best to fulfill their minor requirements.

Language Requirements

Students are encouraged to study an appropriate source language in the department of their choice. Two semesters of a relevant medieval source language at the 100 level, or one medieval source language course at the 200 level or above, will count as one course toward the minor. Relevant languages include Latin, Classical Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Classical Chinese, Classical Japanese and Persian; for other relevant languages, including possible graduate courses, students should consult with the program director.

Independent Work

One larger final project on a relevant topic completed in the senior year, amounting to the equivalent of one thesis chapter or more. Project forms include: a departmental senior thesis, a substantive data-based project on primary sources and materials, internships that require intensive work with primary sources. Please discuss the range of possibilities (and Princeton’s own opportunities) with the director. In the senior thesis colloquium, taught by the director of the program, these projects, activities, experiences and expertise will be regularly presented and discussed during senior year.

Additional Requirements

Senior Thesis Colloquium

Separate from any other departmental requirements, this noncredit colloquium will regularly bring together all seniors in the program in order to discuss issues and strategies related to conducting independent research and writing, such as problems of data collection, organization of ideas and the process of writing. Ordinarily, meetings will take place every other week during the fall semester and weekly during the spring semester. In addition to discussing research strategies, students will have the opportunity to workshop drafts of their work in progress throughout the year. At the end of the spring semester, students present the results of their research projects to the community in an afternoon mini-conference.

Faculty

  • Director

    • William C. Jordan
  • Executive Committee

    • Charlie Barber, Art and Archaeology
    • Emmanuel C. Bourbouhakis, Classics
    • Marina S. Brownlee, Spanish & Portuguese
    • Daniel Heller-Roazen, Comparative Literature
    • William C. Jordan, History
    • Beatrice E. Kitzinger, Art and Archaeology
    • Daniela E. Mairhofer, Classics
    • Simone Marchesi, French & Italian
    • Sara S. Poor, German
    • Helmut Reimitz, History
    • Jamie L. Reuland, Music
    • Esther H. Schor, English, ex officio
    • Jack B. Tannous, History
  • Associated Faculty

    • Wendy Laura Belcher, Comparative Literature
    • Thomas D. Conlan, East Asian Studies
    • Michael A. Cook, Near Eastern Studies
    • Pietro Frassica, French & Italian
    • Anthony T. Grafton, History
    • Eric S. Gregory, Religion
    • Lara Harb, Near Eastern Studies
    • Thomas W. Hare, Comparative Literature
    • Eve Krakowski, Near Eastern Studies
    • Christina H. Lee, Spanish & Portuguese
    • Russ Leo, English
    • Hendrik Lorenz, Philosophy
    • Bryan D. Lowe, Religion
    • AnneMarie Luijendijk, Religion
    • Benjamin C. Morison, Philosophy
    • Jennifer M. Rampling, History
    • Marina Rustow, Near Eastern Studies
    • Teresa Shawcross, History
    • Daniel J. Sheffield, Near Eastern Studies
    • Anna M. Shields, East Asian Studies
    • D. Vance Smith, English
    • Brian R. Steininger, East Asian Studies
    • Julien R. Stout, French & Italian
    • Stephen F. Teiser, Religion
    • Moulie Vidas, Religion
    • Rob C. Wegman, Music
    • Xin Wen, East Asian Studies
    • Trenton W. Wilson, East Asian Studies
  • Sits with Committee

    • Sarah M. Anderson
    • Pamela A. Patton
    • Alain St. Pierre
    • Alan M. Stahl

For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Courses

MED 227 - The Worlds of the Middle Ages (also HIS 227/HLS 227/HUM 227) Spring LA

We will begin in 476 with the fall of Rome and will end in 1453, with the fall of New Rome (Constantinople). In between, we will trace the different trajectories that the area stretching from Iceland to Iran traveled along over the course of this fateful millennium. We will meet Northern barbarians, Arab armies, Vikings, Crusaders, Mongols, and the Ottomans; we will witness the birth of Islam and medieval Islamic civilization; Charlemagne's creation of the Western Roman empire; will see clashes between Popes and rulers and Caliphs and Muslim religious authorities. We will do all this and more, all the while asking: what were the Middle Ages? W. Jordan

MED 412 - Topics in Medieval Studies Not offered this year LA

An intensive seminar devoted to a particular aspect of European medieval life and culture. Topics change yearly. One three-hour seminar. Staff

ART 228 - Art and Power in the Middle Ages (also HLS 228/HUM 228/MED 228) HA or LA

In twelve weeks this course will examine major art works from the twelve centuries (300-1500 CE) that encompass the European Middle Ages. Presenting works from Europe and the Middle East, the course will introduce students to the art of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Judaism and Islam; the great courts of the Eastern- and Holy Roman Empires, and the roving Vikings, Celts and Visigoths. Students will not only be invited to consider how art can represent and shape notions of sacred and secular power, but will also come to understand how the work of 'art' in this period is itself powerful and, sometimes, dangerous. Staff

ART 310 - The Icon (also HLS 354/MED 307) Spring LA

In this class we will examine the history, function, theory and meaning of the icon. We will also examine the icon's influence upon the discourses of Modernism. A more practical aspect of this class is that participants in the course will work with the Princeton University Art Museum's icon collection and with its collection of icon painter's preparatory drawings. The class will provide participants with a broad grounding in questions pertaining to the icon. C. Barber

ART 311 - Arts of the Medieval Book (also HUM 311/MED 311) Spring HA or LA

This course explores the technology and function of books in historical perspective, asking how illuminated manuscripts were designed to meet (and shape) cultural and intellectual demands in the medieval period. Surveying the major genres of European book arts between the 7th-15th centuries, we study varying approaches to pictorial space, page design, and information organization; relationships between text and image; and technical aspects of book production. We work primarily from Princeton's collection of original manuscripts and manuscript facsimiles. Assignments include the option to create an original artist's book for the final project. B. Kitzinger

ART 430 - Seminar. Medieval Art (also HLS 430/MED 430) Fall EM or LA

Topics in medieval art and/or architecture. Prerequisite: a course in the art of this period or instructor's permission. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 2 distribution requirement. One three-hour seminar. C. Barber

CLA 320 - Topics in Medieval Greek Literature (also GSS 320/HLS 320/MED 320) Not offered this year LA

The subject of this course will be medieval Greek Romantic fiction. We will read translations of the four surviving novels written in twelfth-century Constantinople in a bid to answer questions about the link between eroticism and the novel, truth and invention in the middle ages, who read fiction and why, and what role, if any, did the medieval or Byzantine Romances have in the story of the European novel. Above all, we will seek to recover some of the pleasure felt by the medieval readers and audiences of these novels. E. Bourbouhakis

CLG 240 - Introduction to Post-Classical Greek from the Late Antique to the Byzantine Era (also HLS 240/MED 240) Not offered this year LA

Readings will focus on historical, literary, philosophical, or religious texts with a range from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. Two 90-minute seminars. M. Kotwick

COM 310 - The Literature of Medieval Europe (also HUM 312/MED 308) Not offered this year LA

An introductory survey of major representative Latin and vernacular texts in modern English versions, including hagiography, romance, lyric and philosophical poetry, allegory, religious and secular prose, and drama. Special attention will be paid to Christian transformations of classical traditions and to the emergence of the Continental vernaculars of the late Middle Ages. Lecture and preceptorials. D. Heller-Roazen

EAS 218 - The Origins of Japanese Culture and Civilization: A History of Japan until 1600 (also HIS 209/MED 209) Fall HA

This course is designed to introduce the culture and history of Japan, and to examine how one understands and interprets the past. In addition to considering how a culture, a society, and a state develop, we will try to reconstruct the tenor of life in "ancient" and "medieval" Japan and chart how patterns of Japanese civilization shifted through time. T. Conlan

ENG 310 - The Old English Period (also MED 310) Not offered this year LA

An intensive introduction to the English language spoken and written in the British Isles approximately 500 to 1100 C.E., leading to a critical survey of the literature. Attention is paid both to linguistic questions and to the cultural context of such poems as Beowulf and the Dream of the Rood. Two 90-minute seminars. S. Anderson

ENG 311 - The Medieval Period (also MED 309) Fall/Spring LA

A study of the Middle English texts that span the period from the Norman Conquest to the Tudor Renaissance, with attention paid to Middle English as a language. Readings will be chosen from verse romance, drama, political and religious writings, romance and/or lyric. One three-hour seminar. D. Smith

ENG 312 - Chaucer (also MED 312) Fall LA

It's no accident that authors from William Shakespeare to Zadie Smith have taken inspiration from the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's collection of tragedies, romances, satires, fantasies, and farces engages with problems that remain urgent today vexed dynamics of gender and power, freedom, servitude, antisemitism, Islamophobia, grief, trauma, piety and hypocrisy. Our task in this class will be to read this multiform masterpiece from beginning to end, learning its original Middle English as we go. The goal: to understand the Tales both in their late-medieval context and as living literature, still capable of teaching today's writers a few tricks. S. Strub

GER 321 - Topics in German Medieval Literature (also GSS 321/MED 321) Spring CD or LA

Exploration of German medieval literature. Topics may include medieval German Arthurian literature and the relationship between gender and power in the medieval epics. S. Poor

HIS 207 - History of East Asia to 1800 (also EAS 207/MED 207) Not offered this year HA

General introduction to major themes in the cultural, intellectual, and institutional history of China and Japan, with some attention to Korea and Southeast Asia. Two lectures, one preceptorial. T. Conlan, X. Wen

HIS 210 - The World of Late Antiquity (also CLA 202/HLS 210/MED 210) Not offered this year HA

This course will focus on the history of the later Roman Empire, a period which historians often refer to as "Late Antiquity." We will begin our class in pagan Rome at the start of the third century and end it in Baghdad in the ninth century: in between these two points, the Mediterranean world experienced a series of cultural and political revolutions whose reverberations can still be felt today. We will witness civil wars, barbarian invasions, the triumph of Christianity over paganism, the fall of the Western Empire, the rise of Islam, the Greco-Arabic translation movement and much more. J. Tannous

HIS 343 - The Formation of the Christian West (also CLA 343/HLS 343/MED 343) Fall HA

A study of the emergence of a distinctive Western European civilization out of Christian, Greco-Roman, and Germanic institutions and ideas from the decline of the Roman Empire to about A.D. 1050. Two lectures, one preceptorial. H. Reimitz

HIS 344 - The Civilization of the High Middle Ages (also CLA 344/MED 344) Not offered this year HA

An analysis of typical institutions, social and economic structures, and forms of thought and expression from about 1050 to about 1350. Emphasis is placed on the elements of medieval civilization that have influenced the subsequent history of European peoples. Two lectures, one preceptorial. W. Jordan

HIS 345 - The Crusades (also HLS 345/MED 345) Not offered this year HA

The Crusades were a central phenomenon of the Middle Ages. This course examines the origins and development of the Crusades and the Crusader States in the Islamic East. It explores dramatic events, such as the great Siege of Jerusalem, and introduces vivid personalities, including Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. We will consider aspects of institutional, economic, social and cultural history and compare medieval Christian (Western and Byzantine), Muslim and Jewish perceptions of the crusading movement. Finally, we will critically examine the resonance the movement continues to have in current political and ideological debates T. Shawcross

HIS 428 - Empire and Catastrophe (also HLS 428/MED 428) Not offered this year HA

Catastrophe reveals the fragility of human society. This course examines a series of phenomena--plague, famine, war, revolution, economic depression etc.--in order to reach an understanding of humanity's imaginings of but also resilience to collective crises. We shall look in particular at how political forces such as empire have historically both generated and resisted global disasters. Material dealing with the especially fraught centuries at the transition between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period will be set alongside examples drawn from antiquity as well as our own contemporary era. T. Shawcross

ITA 303 - Dante's 'Inferno' (also MED 303) LA

Intensive study of the Inferno, with major attention paid to poetic elements such as structure, allegory, narrative technique, and relation to earlier literature, principally the Latin classics. Course conducted in English in a highly interactive format. S. Marchesi

MUS 230 - Music in the Middle Ages (also MED 230) Fall LA

Major developments of Western music up to about 1400, including some of the following: the origin and growth of chant, its liturgical context and musical properties; medieval secular song; early polyphony and Parisian organum; the French ars nova and Machaut; the Italian trecento; English medieval music. R. Wegman

MUS 270 - Medieval and Renaissance Music from Original Notation (also MED 270) Not offered this year LA

A "hands-on" course that explores music from before 1600 using the pedagogical methods of the period. Medieval and Renaissance techniques of sight-singing, memorization, improvisation, and harmonization will be learned. Modern computer technology will also be used to investigate the deeper mystical and philosophical content of music from this period. Prerequisite: ability to read modern music notation comfortably. J. Reuland

NES 220 - Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Middle Ages (also HIS 220/JDS 220/MED 220) Not offered this year HA

An introduction to the history and culture of the Jews in the Middle Ages (under Islam and Christendom) covering, comparatively, such topics as the interrelationship between Judaism and the other two religions, interreligious polemics, political (legal) status, economic role, communal self-government, family life, and cultural developments. Two 90-minute classes. Staff

NES 350 - The Islamic World from its Emergence to the Beginnings of Westernization (also MED 245) Not offered this year HA

Begins with the formation of the traditional Islamic world in the seventh century and ends with the first signs of its transformation under Western impact in the 18th century. The core of the course is the history of state formation in the Middle East, but other regions and themes make significant appearances. The course can stand on its own or serve as background to the study of the modern Islamic world. Two 90-minute classes. M. Cook

NES 389 - Everyday Writing in Medieval Egypt, 600-1500 (also HIS 289/JDS 389/MED 389) Fall CD or HA

This class explores medieval Islamic history through everyday documents from Egypt: letters, decrees, contracts, court records, and accounts. We will read a wide range of documents in translation, learn to understand them, and use them to evaluate politics, religion, class, commerce, material history, and family relationships in Egypt from just before the Islamic conquests until just before the Ottoman era. We will also consider documents themselves, as historical artifacts and as historical evidence. Why did medieval people produce and preserve written records? And what does history look like when told through documents? E. Krakowski

REL 244 - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Their Emergence in Antiquity (also JDS 245/MED 246/NES 244) Fall EM or HA

The period studied in this course saw wide-ranging transformations that inform religion and culture to this day, such as the emergence of the traditions now called Judaism, Christianity and Islam, a spread in allegiance to a single God, and a decline in public animal sacrifice. The course will introduce students to a critical examination of these changes. We will learn to identify patterns across different traditions, uncover the ways these traditions shaped one another, trace the development of beliefs from their earliest forms, and analyze the social and political context of these changes. M. Vidas

REL 251 - The New Testament and Christian Origins (also HLS 251/MED 251) Not offered this year HA

This course is a historical introduction to early Christian texts within and outside of the New Testament canon. We investigate how the Christian movement began, using ancient sources - Jewish, Greek, Roman, and Christian - about Jesus of Nazareth. We read the letters of the Apostle Paul and New Testament gospels, and the recently discovered gospels of Thomas and Mary. We will discuss the formation of the New Testament canon, views of Jesus, and attitudes toward gender, race and community. The course is accessible to students new to these sources, as well as to those familiar with them. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff

SPA 301 - Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish Culture (also COM 368/MED 301) LA

Poetry, prose, and drama of the Golden Age. Readings might include the works of authors such as Garcilaso, Saint Theresa, Saint John of the Cross, Góngora, Quevedo, Lope de Vega, and Calderón. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission. Staff