Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: THE ART OF DEATH IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Department: Art History

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores the visual and material culture of death in Medieval Europe. From burying ships beneath the ground to gilding the bones of deceased saints, medieval people went to great lengths to memorialize the dead. Represented in manuscripts, wall-painting, sculpture, and more, death pervaded the visual landscape of the Middle Ages. With threats of illness, war, invasion, and violence looming large throughout Europe in the period between 500 and 1500 CE, beliefs, superstitions, and fears around death governed medieval life. This course explores how those beliefs and fears became the basis of a rich, at times luxurious visual culture. From lavish textiles that adorned the recently deceased to elegant marble plaques affixed to tombs, the dead were often recipients of precious works of art. We will consider objects such as these, as well as representations of death itself. This is a discussion-based seminar in which we will investigate medieval attitudes around death, burial, and memorialization; students will conduct their own research on objects related to death in the Middle Ages. Students will develop the conceptual tools to analyze visual and material culture in historical context and through the lens of death.