The Magic of the Middle Ages: Lessons from the Past

Please join the Downtown Library as Dr. Albrecht Classen presents on The Magic of the Middle Ages: Lessons from the Past.

Dr. Albrecht Classen is a university distinguished professor of German Studies at the University of Arizona – where he teaches and researches the European Middle Ages, the early modern age, and modern German-speaking lands, focusing on literature, the visual arts, politics, philosophy, and religion. He has published more than 90 scholarly books, such as on the forest in medieval literature (2015). He has given lectures all over the state of Arizona, the nation, and globally. Over the last 30 years, he has received numerous teaching, research, and service awards, and has been repeatedly nominated for the Dan Shilling Public Humanities Scholar Award.

The Middle Ages were not a dark ages, which is really just a modern myth. This presentation will highlight some of the glorious and mysterious aspects from that time, working with fascinating texts, images, music, architecture, magical arts, philosophy, and religion, as well as addressing problematic issues and conflicts. Some of those pertain to the relationship between Jews and Christians, the crusades, multilingualism, the issue of toleration/tolerance, and the quest for God, especially through mystical visions. The focus will also rest on the most glorious art works from that time period, such as illustrated manuscripts, which will be accompanied by samples of medieval music.