Medieval Studies

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Overview The University of Virginia’s Program in Medieval Studies provides an interdisciplinary and transhistorical framework for the study, teaching, and learning of pre-modern world civilizations, from the first centuries of the Common Era through to the fifteenth century.

Faculty The study of the Middle Ages has been strong and active at the University of Virginia for many years. There are now more than thirty faculty members who offer courses on medieval topics in the departments of History, Classics, Religious Studies, Philosophy, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures, East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Art History, Architecture, Music and Government. Research and teaching on the medieval period are supported by extensive holdings in the University Library, including Special Collections.

Students For the interested and able student, the Medieval Studies Major provides a route of study free of existing departmental requirements, along with opportunities for language study within the field, a sound training for graduate work, and a chance to share knowledge and opinions with other students across disciplines. Its comprehensive structure promotes cordiality, collegiality, and an exchange of views across departmental lines. Work in Medieval Studies helps to develop and refine powers of criticism and imagination, and encourages, through practice, the ability to think and write with clarity and precision. It thus furnishes skills useful in a wide variety of vocational fields.

As an interdisciplinary major, Medieval Studies requires the student to explore sources and methods in different fields, and to develop an individual program from a vast array of courses. The program can be tailored to each student’s abilities and needs through individual consultation, work in small classes, and careful supervision of the senior essay.