Program in Medieval Studies
Friday, October 23, 2026
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Think you know a lot about the Middle Ages?! Can you defeat our team of graduate student experts?! Test your knowledge with fellow undergrads and grads at our Medieval Trivia + Pizza gathering! Bring yourself, some friends, and prepare for a battle of wits! The winner will receive a gift card for Bookshop.org.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
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Join us for a performance workshop centered on two of the plays composed by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (c. 935-973). This experimental staging exercise --featuring new English translations of the Latin texts -- is part of Silas Kampwerth's research for his senior honors thesis. Refreshments will be served!
Monday, November 2, 2026
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In this lunchtime seminar with Prof. Shane Bobryck, we will discuss a pre-circulated work-in-progress related to his recent book, *The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages (2024)*. Lunch will be provided. If you are interested in attending, please contact symes@illinois.edu by Friday, October 23.
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Despite demographic and urban decline in post-Roman Europe, the need to assemble groups of people remained strong: gatherings enabled the exchange information, attracting large numbers was a proof of legitimacy, and rulers envisioned themselves as heirs to crowd-filled ancient Rome. How can the history of the crowd a inform us about the early medieval world?
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
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"Edifying tales" were stories that flourished in Byzantium from the 4th to the 10th centuries, but which have never been studied as a fascinating literary and historical genre. This lecture explores their surprising, thrilling plots and their eventual survival, not only in Greek, but in Georgian, Armenian, Syriac, Latin, and Slavonic translations.
Wednesday, December 9, 2026
Friday, February 26, 2027
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This conference will bring together scholars working across disciplines to explore how movement, exchange, and place-making shaped the medieval Asian world.
Saturday, February 27, 2027
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This conference will bring together scholars working across disciplines to explore how movement, exchange, and place-making shaped the medieval Asian world.
Thursday, April 29, 2027
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Join us to celebrate the year's work undertaken by undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in Medieval Studies! Refreshments served, all welcome.
