The Institute for Medieval Studies is holding a series of lectures to generate interest in a period of history which is all too often It is hoped that these lectures will rectify some of the misconceptions that to this day about the long and eventful span of time between the crowning of Charlemagne and the Renaissance.
It is true that Europe was ravaged by the plague in the latter part of the fourteenth century, while the terrors of the Inquisition cast a grim shadow over the continent. Living for the majority of people were appalling by modern standards, and life expectancy was low. The peasants suffered under a brutal feudal system and the of learning was open only to the clergy and the small minority who were literate.
However, these admittedly negative aspects of medieval life cannot be properly evaluated unless they are viewed in the broader The Middle Ages saw the construction of the magnificent cathedrals that grace so many European cities and the of a middle class. Many institutions we think of as modern were a(n) part of medieval life. Progress was being made in science and technology, and artists were forging styles that had a powerful and influence on subsequent centuries.