A survey of political, economic, religious, and intellectual developments within western Christendom. Special emphasis is on the main currents of medieval thought. An introduction to the political, social, cultural, and intellectual history of northern Europe, 1450-1650. The Visual Arts in Medieval Society. A study of masterworks of medieval art in relation to society, environment, technology, and literature and as an expression of a phase in the development of the moral and intellectual ideas of the western world.
Emphasis is on the fortress, the castle, the city, the cathedral, the abbey, and the book.
Lectures and discussions are supplemented by museum trips and by readings in medieval epic, romance, and general history in addition to more specialized studies in the history of art. Art and city culture in early Renaissance Italy. Painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy from Michelangelo to the Carracci. The Themes and Symbols of Western Art. May be repeated for a total of twelve credits.