Centre for Medieval Studies

Introduction to the sound, sight, and touch of the distant past, telling the story of the Middle Ages through objects from animal skin parchment to enameled icon. Lectures are complemented by hands-on learning in weekly tutorials featuring text- and narrative-oriented digital methods, along with medieval drama and music performance.

From world maps to tales of pilgrimage, trade, and exploration, from imagined other worlds to historical cityscapes, this course tells the story of the Middle Ages through the places and spaces that defined medieval culture. Lectures are complemented by hands-on learning in weekly tutorials featuring network visualization and digital mapping.

Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), king of Macedon, was one of the most successful military campaigners the world has ever seen. By the time he was thirty, he had established a vast empire stretching from Greece in the west to India in the east. Fantastic stories and legends about Alexander the Great circulated throughout the medieval world, from Iceland to Iran and from Ethiopia to England. In this course, we explore what different representations of the same figure can tell us about the range of medieval cultures. Through the use of digital tools, students and the instructor work together to explore this rich material. We trace the transmission of Alexander’s legend using digital maps. We compare different versions of the same story using text analysis tools. And we curate a small selection of the lavishly-illustrated manuscripts of the Alexander Romance in a digital exhibition.

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities…. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

The course is designed as a practicum in the transcription of scripts from the late Roman Empire to the twelfth century. The goal is to offer students the opportunity to participate in a graduate course in manuscript studies where comparable offerings at the undergraduate level are unavailable.

Study of Latin Scripts from 1200 to 1600, with attention to background of Gothic writing, physical characteristics of manuscripts, library practices and bibliographical resources. The goal is to offer students the opportunity to participate in a graduate course in manuscript studies where comparable offerings at the undergraduate level are unavailable.

Introduction to Old Norse language and literature, focusing on basic instruction in Old Norse grammar and short readings from poetic and prose texts. The goal is to offer students the opportunity to participate in a graduate course in medieval languages where comparable offerings at the undergraduate level are unavailable.