MST341H1: Middle Ages by the Numbers

24L

Numbers and their uses often appear to be absolute fact: a thousand dollars is exactly that, not more or less; and if you weigh fifty kilos, that’s what you weigh. But the use and meaning of numbers—for recording and counting dates, money, weights, distances, and myriad other functions—is not, in fact, devoid of cultural, historical, and political context. Mediaeval Europe provided a bewildering range of calendric systems, currencies, systems of measurement, and numerical symbolism was much used in art, music, religious thought, and literature. This course provides an introduction to the various uses of numbers in this period across different regions and cultural contexts.

Completion of 9.0 credits
Humanities
Society and its Institutions (3)