29 September 2003 – 14 June 2004
It is generally known that the monasteries were the centres of learning in the early Middle Ages and that it was in the monastic libraries and scriptoria that vital texts were preserved and copied. What are less well understood are the roles played by the monastic and mendicant Orders in shaping thought and art in the Middle Ages, not only within the Church but across the wider spectrum of European learning and arts. This lecture series will examine the impact of some of the major Orders on the society of their time and the ways in which they may have contributed to modern attitudes.