--- title: Medieval History description: Medieval History covers the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. Learners will examine feudalism, the influence of the Church, the Crusades, and the cultural and political developments of Europe and Afro-Eurasia. category: humanities subcategory: history difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/medieval-history --- # Medieval History Medieval History covers the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. Learners will examine feudalism, the influence of the Church, the Crusades, and the cultural and political developments of Europe and Afro-Eurasia. ## Available Resources 1 Books • 2 Courses • 4 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Mapping Gothic France An interactive digital humanities project from Columbia University and Vassar College mapping over 200 Gothic cathedrals in 12th- and 13th-century France, combining high-resolution photography, 360-degree views, and scholarly narrative on architecture and history. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://mcid.mcah.columbia.edu/mapping-gothic **Tags:** medieval-history, gothic-architecture, digital-humanities, interactive-map ### 2. The ORB: Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies A peer-reviewed academic reference site written by medieval scholars, offering encyclopedia essays, full online textbooks, primary source translations, and teaching materials covering medieval history, culture, and religion for students and instructors. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://the-orb.arlima.net/ **Tags:** medieval-history, primary-sources, reference, academic ### 3. fordham.edu/halsall Fordham's Internet Medieval Sourcebook (HALSALL) is a free online collection of primary source texts for medieval history, featuring translated and original documents with introductions and notes organized by region and era. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://fordham.edu/halsall **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, history ### 4. medievalists.net Medievalists.net is a hub for medieval history, offering news, features, and scholarly articles on the Middle Ages, including archaeology, culture, and literature. It also provides book reviews, interviews, and event updates for researchers and enthusiasts. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://medievalists.net **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, history ## Courses ### 1. Magic in the Middle Ages Magical thought has always attracted human imagination. In this course we will introduce you to the Middle Ages through a wide conception of magic. Students will have an approach to medieval culture, beliefs and practices from the perspective of History and History of Science. Popular magic, as well as learned magic (alchemy, geomancy and necromancy) will be addressed. Moreover, we will also deal with how eastern practices and texts influenced western culture. In July 2016, the course will contain a brand-new module devoted to astrology. Magic in the Middle Ages offers a captivating overview of medieval society and promotes reflection about certain stereotypes associated with this period. At the end of the course, the students: a) will have overcome the usual prejudices about the Middle Ages, b) will be able to analyze historical documentation from the Middle Ages and recognize the most common patterns of juridical documents regarding witchcraft, and c) will be capable of distinguishing between popular magic and the magic of the learned people; will have a notion of which spiritual practices were allowed in medieval Europe and which ones were related to the devil, and will be aware of the link between a cultural product and the society that produced it. This course is taught in English, although subtitles in English, Catalan and Spanish will also be provided. COURSE SYLLABUS Week 1. Introduction to medieval magic (Pau Castell). Week 2. Magic & Heresy (Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel). Week 3. From Magic to Witchcraft (Pau Castell). Week 4. Magic in Islam (Godefroid de Callataÿ and Sébastien Moureau). Week 5. Astrology & Geomancy (Theo Loinaz, Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel, Godefroid de Callataÿ and Blanca Villuendas). © Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany Magic in the Middle Ages by Gemma Pellissa Prades (coord.), Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel and Joana Palau Mumany is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/magic-middle-ages **Tags:** medieval-history, witchcraft, online-course, coursera ### 2. Medieval Art En este curso nos sumergiremos en la fascinante historia de la Edad Media, desafiando la noción tradicional de una "Edad Oscura", recorriendo la riqueza cultural y artística que floreció en este período. Además, desentrañaremos los misterios de este importante período histórico y descubriremos cómo su legado perdura hasta nuestros días. Comenzaremos explorando cómo el cristianismo construyó el pensamiento medieval y dio forma al arte simbólico que aún resuena en nuestra sociedad actual. En la siguiente etapa de nuestro viaje, nos adentraremos en la Temprana Edad Media, explorando el arte paleocristiano y las influencias de los pueblos bárbaros en la cultura europea. Desde las pinturas en las catacumbas hasta los relieves de los sarcófagos, cada obra de arte nos cuenta una historia única sobre la convergencia de culturas y la evolución del arte en un período de transformación. Mientras tanto en Oriente, recorreremos el momento de oro del Imperio Bizantino con la imponente Santa Sofía. Pero nuestro viaje no se detiene ahí. Avanzaremos hacia la Alta Edad Media, donde el arte del Imperio Carolingio nos develará que hubo renacimientos antes del Renacimiento. Veremos también el surgimiento del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico con un arte que se presenta como un antecedente del Románico, un estilo internacional que nos cautivará con su enfoque en la peregrinación y el mundo monástico. Examinaremos la iconografía del Juicio Final y nos sumergiremos en el fascinante mundo de los manuscritos iluminados. Finalmente, indagaremos en el arte de la Baja Edad Media y la llegada del arte gótico, explorando las majestuosas catedrales y los vitrales que aún hoy nos maravillan con su belleza y esplendor. A medida que exploramos las diferencias entre el arte románico y gótico, también reflexionaremos sobre cómo estas formas de expresión artística reflejan las preocupaciones y aspiraciones de una sociedad en evolución. Este curso no solo es un viaje a través del tiempo, sino también una exploración de la belleza, la creatividad y la inspiración que el arte medieval tiene para ofrecer. El objetivo es que, al finalizar el recorrido, puedas tener una conciencia clara de las complejas relaciones entre el arte medieval y la sociedad de la época. Además, serás capaz de comprender y construir significados a partir de la iconografía, aspectos estilísticos y culturales de las obras de arte medieval. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Duration:** 4 semanas de estudio: 4/5 horas semanales | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/arte-medieval **Tags:** courses, arts-design, art-history ## Podcasts ### 1. Black Death **Author:** Leviathan Audio Productions The Black Death is remembered as one of the most devastating catastrophes in human history – a pandemic that swept across continents and killed millions. But where did it come from? How did it travel so quickly through towns and countryside? And did people at the time understand just how terrifying the illness would be? In this three-part series , Emily Briffett and historian Thomas Asbridge – author of The Black Death: A Global History, published by Allen Lane – trace the origins and spread of the deadly disease. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/the-black-death-podcast-series/ **Tags:** medieval-history, black-death, podcast, plague ### 2. The Medieval Podcast **Author:** Danièle Cybulskie Interview podcast from Medievalists.net in which host Danièle Cybulskie talks with historians about the Middle Ages, from Byzantium and the Vikings to warfare, religion, medicine and daily life. Listeners gain an accessible grounding in current scholarship on the medieval world. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-medieval-podcast **Tags:** medieval-history, middle-ages, byzantium, vikings, medieval-daily-life ### 3. The Golden Age of Islam **Author:** David DiMeo Chronological history podcast by David DiMeo, a Harvard-trained Arabic professor at Western Kentucky University, tracing the early Muslim community, the caliphates, and their cultural, intellectual and scientific achievements. Listeners gain a narrative grasp of medieval Islamic civilisation and its relations with the West. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://dimeo123.podbean.com **Tags:** islamic-history, islamic-golden-age, caliphates, medieval-history, islamic-civilization ## Books ### 1. A Distant Mirror **Author:** Barbara Tuchman Barbara Tuchman's narrative history uses the life of a French nobleman to reconstruct daily life, war, plague, and religious upheaval in 14th-century Europe, helping readers understand the calamities that shaped the late medieval world. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345349571?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, history --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/medieval-history