# Medieval World

**Source**: https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/medieval-world
**Parent**: https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/hl90s

History & Literature’s Medieval World field gives students the opportunity to study the cultural, religious, and political development of Latin, Slavic, and Byzantine Europe, and their relationships with the Islamicate world, including Islamic Africa and the Near and Middle East. Students in this field thus have the opportunity to explore, from a wide variety of disciplinary and geographical perspectives, the fascinating complex of civilizations and religions (most notably Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) that shared the space stretching from Barcelona to Baghdad, from Marseilles to Muscovy, and from Trier to Timbuktu.

In addition to the requirements for all concentrators (5 tutorials and 1 course that satisfies the language requirement), students in the Medieval World field complete the following requirements:

- 2 courses on the history of the Medieval world;
- 2 courses on texts, images, and/or sound;
- 2 courses on science, philosophy, and/or religion;
- 1 HL90 on a premodern topic or an intro course on the Medieval period;
- 1 elective, including courses exploring the reception of the Medieval in the Modern World.

Browse our list of [Courses that Count for the Medieval World](/CTC-medieval-world), and use the [Medieval World Field Worksheet](/file_url/1095) to begin plotting your course of study in the Medieval World.

Questions about the Early Modern World field should be directed to Assistant Directors of Studies.

## Diana Myers '21

**Field worksheet:**\
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**Sophomore essay topic:** St. Ethelberga and the celebration of virgin martyr feast days\
**Junior essay topic:** Catholic liturgy and the Maternity of St. Anne\
**Senior thesis title:** Mater Matris Domini: Holy Motherhood and the Cult of St. Anne

## Abby Westover '17

**Field worksheet:**

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**Junior essay topic:** The symbolic importance of female hair in Medieval French romance\
**Senior thesis title:** Hair and Female Agency in the European Middle Ages