Early Middle Ages, 300-1100. The decline of Rome and the rise of Germanic monarchy, the Carolingian and Ottonian Empires, the growth of feudalism, and monasticism and papal reform. The emphasis is on the political and institutional development of Western European society and its relations with Byzantium and Islam. Later Middle Ages, 1100-1500. 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.