Events
Events 2025-2026
Thursday, September 11, 2025: A Mary Albertson Lecture in Medieval Studies will be given by Professor Rowan Dorin, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Stanford University and core faculty of Stanford's Taube Center for Jewish Studies, at 4:15pm in Singer Hall 033: Mass Expulsion in Medieval Europe: Toward a Comparative and Connected History. A reception will follow the lecture.
Wednesday, October 8, 2025. We will watch this filmic adaptation of the fourteenth century alliterative story, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." This chivalric romance forms one facet of the myriad stories of King Arthur and the legendary knights of the round table. LPAC 101 Cinema 7-10:30pm
Wednesday, November 5, 2025. Join members of the medieval studies program for a discussion and hand-on experience with medieval cooking. We will explore flavors and cooking techniques used in the Middle Ages, while discussing the networks and cultural exchanges that resulted in a diverse flavor palette. After our cooking session, we'll sit down to enjoy the fruits of our labor together! 5:30-9 pm in Sproul 205 (IC Kitchen). Sign up at Medieval Studies cooking night registration.
Events 2024-2025
Monday, March 3, 2025: A Mary Albertson Lecture in Medieval Studies will be given by Professor Elizabeth Archibald, Emeritus Professor of English Studies at Durham University on March 3rd from 4:00 - 6:00pm in Scheuer Room, Kohlberg Hall: Why King Arthur Still Matters Today. All are welcome.
Friday, April 12, 2024: The Mary Albertson Lecture in Medieval Studies will be given by Dr. Francesco Marco Aresu, Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, on April 12th from 10:30-11:20am in Trotter 301: Dante's Comedy as Illustrated Book: From Illuminated Manuscripts to Pop Art. All are welcome.
Events 2023-2024
Friday, April 7, 2023: Dr. Caroline Batten '14, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, will present "Whole, Holy, Healthy: Reading Old English Charms" in the Scheuer Room, Kohlberg Hall at 11:30 am. This lecture introduces a group of magical spells in verse (the so-called 'metrical charms') written down in English manuscripts in the tenth and eleventh centuries, which purport to do everything from curing intractable fevers to easing childbirth to returning stolen cattle. We will examine what these texts have to tell us about bodies -- sick and healthy; normative and unruly; gendered, sexualized, othered -- in the medieval period and in our own time, and consider a new argument about the nature of their unusual and fascinating poetic style. Lunch will be served - please rsvp to medieval@swarthmore.edu if planning to attend.
Monday, February 27, 2023: The Mary Albertson Lecture in Medieval Studies was presented at 5:00pm in Science Center 199 Cunniff Hall. "Place, Memory, and Kingship in Medieval India: the pasts of King Bhoja as Lieux de Mémoire was presented by Dr. Daud Ali, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Chair of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
