HIST4304LL Topic Studies in Pre-Modern World History: The Art and Architecture of Medieval Europe: An Introduction

In this course, we will study the artistic achievements of medieval Europe as expressions of the socio-cultural contexts that conditioned their creation. The Middle Ages in Europe (c. 500–1500) spanned a millennium of vast artistic diversity, from the preservation and development of the classical heritage in the Eastern Roman Empire to the ornamental imagery of the Germanic peoples and the Vikings in northern Europe, the great building projects of the Holy German Empire, the French and English Gothic cathedrals, the emergence of new forms of depicting reality in Italian 14th c. painting – and much more.

The course will provide a broad survey of European medieval art, but no art historical epoch can be studied in isolation. Hence, the art and architecture of medieval Europe will be examined in the context of contemporary historical and artistic developments occurring beyond the Christian sphere. We will also critically reflect on the classifications and categorizations that form the foundation of art history as an academic discipline.

Each week, we will focus on a particular period and theme through a lecture and class discussion. You will then explore related issues in conversation with other students in tutorial sessions. By the end of the course, you will have gained an insight into the history of art and architecture in medieval Europe and you will have developed an understanding of how the tradition of art historical scholarship has structured the way in which the study of medieval Western art is conceptualized in relation to visual cultures worldwide.

Learning goals

This course has four main goals:

1. To provide you with a basic knowledge of the chronology and stylistic-epochal structure used in the study of European medieval art history.
2. To introduce you to key monuments of the European Middle Ages and teach you how to describe and analyse works of art, both pictorial and architectural.
3. To give you an understanding of the art and architecture of medieval Europe as reflecting the socio-cultural conditions of the time.
4. To encourage you to consider the art of medieval Europe in relation to artistic cultures in other parts of the world in the same period.

Week 1 (Sept. 2, 2025): Introduction.

• Theme: Medieval art history as a field of study – chronology and concepts.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Introduction (22 pp.)

– Bonnie Cheng. “A Camel’s Pace: A Cautionary Global.” In Reassessing the Global Turn in Medieval Art History (Amsterdam, 2018), 11–34. (24 pp.)

– Lena Liepe. “On the Epistemology of Images.” In History and Images. Toward a New Iconology (Turnhout: 2003), 415–430 (16 pp.).

Week 2 (Sept. 9, 2025): The roots of medieval art.

• Theme: Dura-Europus – cultic spaces of three religions.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 1: “The Roots of Medieval Art” (27 pp.)

– Felix Pirson. “Style and Message on the Column of Marcus Aurelius.” In Papers of the British School at Rome 64 (1996), 139–179. (41 pp)

Week 3 (Sept. 16, 2025): Fourth and Fifth Centuries: Early Christian art.

• Theme: Basics of Christian belief.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 2: “Fourth and Fifth Centuries” (24 pp.)

– Linda Woodhead. Christianity. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2004). Ch. 1: “Jesus, the God-Man”; Ch 2: “The Signs and Symbols of Christianity” (40 pp.)

Week 4 (Sept. 23, 2025): Sixth to Mid-Seventh Century: The flowering of the Byzantine Empire. The emergence of Islam. The Migration Period.

• Theme: Byzantine mosaics.

– Bassett, Sarah E. “Style and Meaning in the Imperial Panels at San Vitale.” In Artibus et Historiae 29/57 (2008), 49–57. (8 pp.)

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 3: “Sixth to Mid-Seventh Century” (24 pp.)

– Judith Herrin. “The Ravenna Mosaics.” In Idem, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire (Princeton 2007), 61–69 (9 pp.)

Week 5 (Sept. 30, 2025): Mid-Seventh to Eighth Century: The Great Mosques. Monastic art in Egypt and the British Isles.

• Theme: Forbidden images.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 4: “Mid-Seventh to Eighth Century” (20 pp.)

– Judith Herrin. “Iconoclasm and Icon Veneration.” In Idem, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire (Princeton 2007), 105–118. (9 pp.)

– J. Alison Rosenblitt. “The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Aesthetics of Anglo-Saxon Art.” In Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 13 (2005), 105–117 (13 pp.)

Week 6 (October 14, 2025): Late Eighth Century to ca. 960. The Carolingian Renaissance. Northern Art. Byzantium and the Islamic world, continued developments.

• Theme: Learning and art as instruments of power.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 5: “Late Eighth Century to ca. 960” (26 pp.)

– Elisabeth Rosenbaum: “The Evangelist Portraits of the Ada School and Their Models.” In The Art Bulletin 38/2 (1956), 81–90. (10 pp.)

Week 7 (October 21, 2025): Ca. 960 to ca. 1070: North, south, east and west – diversity of artistic expressions.

• Theme: The church and the mosque as sacred spaces.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 6: “Ca. 960 to ca. 1070” (30 pp.)

– Lena Liepe. “The Long Life of the Mezquita-Catedral in Córdoba.” In Festschrift for Professor Elina Räsänen, University of Helsinki. (Helsinki 2026). (8 pp.)

– Roger Joseph. “The semiotics of the Islamic mosque.” In Arab Studies Quarterly 3:3 (1981), 285–295. (11 pp.)

Week 8 (October 28, 2025): Ca. 1070 to ca. 1170: Art and architecture in the age of pilgrimage and crusades.

• Theme: The ‘Romanesque’.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 7: “Ca. 1070 to ca. 1170” (38 pp.)

Week 9 (November 4, 2025): Ca. 1170 to ca. 1250: Townlife, universities and commerce – art in a new era.

• Theme: The ‘Gothic’.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 8: “Ca. 1170 to ca. 1250” (31 pp.)

– “Gervase of Canterbury: The New Architecture”. Gothic Art 1140–c. 1450: Sources and Documents. (Toronto, Buffalo, London 1987) (10 pp.).

Week 10 (November 11, 2025): Ca. 1250 to ca. 1340: Art and architecture as mirrors of an expanding world.

• Theme: The art of book painting.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 9: “Ca. 1250 to ca. 1340” (37 pp.)

– Michael Camille. “New Visions of Nature.” In Idem, Gothic Art. Glorious Visions (New York 1996), 133–161. (29 pp.)

Week 11 (November 18, 2025): Ca. 1340 to ca. 1450: The Presence of the Sacred. Art and Commemoration

• Theme: Moving images – sculptures as liturgical props.

– Jill Caskey, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World (New York 2022), Ch. 10: “Ca. 1340 to ca. 1450” (36 pp.)

– Ulla Haastrup. “Medieval Props in the Liturgical Drama.” In Hafnia. Copenhagen Papers in the History of Art 11 (1987), 133–170. (38 pp.)

Week 12 (November 25, 2025): Medieval art globally

• Theme: The human body.

– Julian Bell. Mirror of the World. A New History of Art (London, 2010), Ch. 4: “Medieval Worlds” (50 pp.)

• Theme: Pictorial space.

– Julian Bell. Mirror of the World. A New History of Art (London, 2010), Ch. 5: “Doorways and Windows” (46 pp.)

Assessment

Your performance in the course will be assessed on the cumulative basis of different types of assignments (described more in detail below) and you attendance. There will not be an exam or quiz component. The weighing of the different factors is as follows:

            Final Essay                                      40%

            Midterm Essay                               20%

            Reading Summaries (x 10)           20 %

            Participation                                   20 %

Your final letter grade will be determined by your overall course precentage. You will not be graded on a curve. Grades will be assigned according to the following set thresholds:

A 90%                                         C+ 65%

A- 85%                                        C 60%

B+ 80%                                      C- 55%

B 75%                                          D 50%

B- 70%                                        F <50%

Grade Descriptions

A                   Exceptional: Exceeds expectations. Demonstrates impressive knowledge, clarity, analytical ability, and a firm grasp                                          of course material.

A-                 Strong: Has most of the qualities of A-grade work but has some minor areas for improvement.

B (+/-)        Good: Shows a solid understanding of course material. Has some flaws in writing or argumentation and may contain                                       minor errors or misunderstandings.

C (+/-)         Satisfactory: Demonstrates an acceptable level of knowledge but suffers from lack of clarity, misunderstandings,                                             historical  errors, or weak argumentation.

D                  Unsatisfactory: Achieves the minimum passing grade but fails to meet most expectations of knowledge and                                                       argumentation.

F                   Fail: Does not meet basic expectations of knowledge, understanding, and/or timeliness in submission.

Assignments

Course Readings

All students are required to buy the course’s main reference textbook:

• Caskey, Jill, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World. Cornell University Press 2022. 
• The book can be ordered via Amazon 

Each week you will be assigned approximately 40–70 pages of reading.

After each lecture, you will complete the readings assigned for that week and then write a short summary (approx. 250–500 words) that you will submit in hard copy at the end of the next week’s lecture (e.g. you submit the summary of Week 4’s readings in Week 5’s lecture, etc.). This is a reading comprehension exercise that will help to develop your skills in analysing and explaining texts. It will also help you remember the readings during tutorial discussions.

You should describe the content of the readings (what they are about) and, when relevant, the authors’ central arguments. You can find a short how-to guide on Blackboard. I will only ask you to write summaries for ten out of the twelve weeks of readings. This means that you can skip two reading summaries of your choice.

Essays

I will ask you to write two essays during the course: a midterm essay (1,500–2,000 words) due on Oct. 21 and a final essay (2,000–2,500 words) due on Dec. 2. I will assign the topic of the mid-term essay in week 4. For the final essay, I will provide you with a selection of four topics at the end of the lecture in week 9. You will choose one of the four topics to write about. Both essays will require you to reflect on the main themes of the course by describing and analysing specific examples of medieval art and architecture from the medieval West and related civilisations.

You should submit your essays before 11:59 PM on the specified dates by uploading them to the Blackboard course website along with a signed declaration of academic honesty from VeriGuide (which you can find at https://academic2.veriguide.org/portalcuhk/). If possible, please upload your essays in MSWord .docx format (the VeriGuide receipt can be uploaded in .pdf format).

For the tutorials, students are expected to lead the discussions to encourage class participation. Tutorials will be held on the following weeks: 

Week 4 (Sept. 26) 2:30PM to 4:15PM

Week 7 (Oct. 24) 2:30PM to 4:15PM

Week 10 (Nov. 14) 2:30PM to 4:15PM

Week 12 (Nov. 28) 2:30PM to 4:15PM

Details will be discussed in class. 

Course readings

• Bassett, Sarah E. “Style and Meaning in the Imperial Panels at San Vitale.” Artibus et Historiae 29/57 (2008), 49–57. (8 pp.) JStor: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20067180
• Bell, Julian. Mirror of the World. A New History of Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2010. Ch. 4, 5. (96 pp.)
• Camille, Michael. “New Visions of Nature.” Idem, Gothic Art. Glorious Visions. New York: Prentice Hall 1996: 133–161. (29 pp.)
• Caskey, Jill, Adam S. Cohen, Linda Safran. Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages. Exploring a Connected World. Cornell University Press 2022, Introduction and Ch. 1–.10 (277 pp.) – ISBN: 9781501702822.
• Cheng, Bonnie. “A Camel’s Pace: A Cautionary Global.” Reassessing the Global Turn in Medieval Art History. The Medieval Globe 3. Christina Normore (ed.). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018: 11–34. (24 pp.)
• “Gervase of Canterbury: The New Architecture”. Gothic Art 1140–c. 1450: Sources and Documents. Teresa G. Frisch (ed.). Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press 1987: 14–23. (10 pp.)
• Haastrup, Ulla. “Medieval Props in the Liturgical Drama”. Hafnia. Copenhagen Papers in the History of Art 11 (1987): 133–170. (38 pp.)
• Herrin, Judith. “The Ravenna Mosaics.” Idem, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2007: 61–69. (9 pp.) – JStor: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv6zdbvf.11
• Herrin, Judith. “Iconoclasm and Icon Veneration.” Idem, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2007: 105–118. (14 pp.) – JStor: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv6zdbvf.15
• Joseph, Roger. “The semiotics of the Islamic mosque.” Arab Studies Quarterly 3:3 (1981), 285–295. (11 pp. – JStor: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41857571
• Liepe, Lena. “On the Epistemology of Images.” History and Images. Toward a New Iconology. Axel Bolvig, Phillip Lindley (eds.). Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe. Turnhout: Brepols 2003: 415–430. (16 pp.)
• Liepe, Lena. “The Long Life of the Mezquita-Catedral in Córdoba.” Festschrift for Professor Elina Räsänen, University of Helsinki. Taidehistoriallisia tutkimuksia – Studies in Art History. Helsinki 2026. (Forthcoming). (8 pp.)
• Pirson, Felix. “Style and Message on the Column of Marcus Aurelius.” Papers of the British School at Rome 64 (1996), 139–179. (41 pp.) JStor: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40310934
• Rosenbaum, Elisabeth: “The Evangelist Portraits of the Ada School and Their Models.” The Art Bulletin 38/2 (1956), 81–90. (10 pp.) – JStor: https://doi.org/10.2307/3047643
• Rosenblitt, J. Alison. “The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Aesthetics of Anglo-Saxon Art.” Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 13 (2005), 105–117. (13 pp.) – JStor: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1w0df0s.12
• Woodhead, Linda. Christianity. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2004. Ch. 1, 2 (40 pp.)

Extensions and Lateness Penalties

Scheduling conflicts and unforeseen circumstances can sometimes make it difficult to meet deadlines. If you are unable to submit your work on time, please contact me as soon as possible and I will be happy to grant you an extension if you have a legitimate reason to require one.

If you fail to submit work on time and I have not granted you an extension, you will incur a daily lateness penalty of 1 percentage point. For example, if you submit your final essay (worth 40%) 3 days after the deadline, you will lose 3 of the 40% available for that assignment; if you submit it 5 days late, you will lose 5 of the 40%, etc. I will not accept any further submissions after 7 days have passed unless I have granted special permission.

Attendance and Absences

You are expected to attend all lectures and tutorial sessions. For every class that you miss without my approval, 1% will be deducted from your final course grade. If you have a valid reason for being absent from a seminar or tutorial (such as a doctor’s appointment, a family emergency, or similar), please contact me as soon as possible to ask for permission.

Plagiarism and Academic Ethics

Studying at the university level requires a high standard of professionalism and honesty in your academic work and personal conduct. This falls under the broad category of academic ethics, a matter that the History Department at CUHK takes very seriously. I expect you all to behave in an honest and respectful manner in class and in your assignments. Unethical behaviour, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. You can find more information on university policy at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

Use of Generative A.I.
In the past year, so-called ‘generative A.I.’ tools such as ChatGPT, Sage, Claude, and others have become extremely popular. You may be tempted to use these to help complete your course assignments. Do not give in to this temptation. A.I.-written essays are not as good as you might think and they are very easy to detect. If you submit A.I.-written work under your own name, then I will treat it as a case of suspected plagiarism, with all the consequences that go with it (see ‘Plagiarism and Academic Ethics’ above).

Grade Appeals
You can find information on the grade appeals process here: http://www.res.cuhk.edu.hk/en-gb/general-information/procedures-for-dealing-with-student-complaints.

I deal with grade appeals on a case-by-case basis. If there has been a technical error or some other important oversight (I try to avoid this, but it can happen occasionally), then I will be happy to correct your grade. Otherwise, you should be aware that grading is entirely at my discretion; I do not accept appeals just because a student disagrees with their grade.

Open-Door Hours

I am normally in my office on Tuesdays 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Feel free to drop in. If you would like to talk to me but can’t make it to my open-door hours, just send me an e-mail and we can set up an appointment at a more convenient time.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.