Medieval Civilization in Western Europe

Associate Professor Carmela Mattza Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures

This course explores the diverse cultures of medieval Europe and the intellectual development that took place thanks to the encounter between Pagans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It will challenge commonly held assumptions concerning language, travel, women, warfare, poetry, knowledge production, art, and music from 300 to 1500. From Ireland to North Africa, from the Iberian Peninsula to Asia Minor, from Italy to England – we will examine themes of love, devotion, violence, and compromise in textual and visual works such as the Confessions of Augustine of Hippo, the Song of El Cid, Dante’s Inferno, the Voyage of St Brendan, the Cantigas de Santa Maria, Christine de Pisan’s Book of the City of Ladies, the Dream of the Rood, and La Celestina among others.