Court and City in the Medieval Low Countries

Course goals

• Student will gain knowledge of and insight into the most important aspects and developments of the later Middle Ages, with an emphasis on royal and noble courts as well as the role of towns. This will clarify the social dynamics of the period as well as the developments in art, architecture, music and literature of the period.
• Students will be introduced to different research traditions from different disciplinary viewpoints.
• After completion of the course students will be able to find, investigate and employ a variety of primary sources.

Content

This third course of the minor Middle Ages is interdisciplinary and explores the dynamic relationship between courts and urban centers in the late Middle Ages. It centers its lens on the Burgundian Low Countries between circa 1200 and 1600 in reference to the broader European context. After an introduction to key concepts and methods, the course proceeds through a series of thematic case-studies classes that examine how political power, artistic production, literary culture, and musical life were shaped through the interaction of court and city.

Students will engage with a wide range of sources—including artworks, manuscripts, literary texts, and music—while being introduced to different disciplinary approaches and research traditions. By combining perspectives from multiple disciplines, the course encourages students to think critically about medieval society and to develop skills in working with diverse primary sources. The course is taught by faculty from art history, history, literature, and music, offering students a richly integrated perspective on late medieval culture and society.

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

Additional information

This is the third course of the minor The Middle Ages.

Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final and may still be modified until the 3rd Wednesday in September.