Chariot-racing, tennis, football, archery, and jousting were just some of the sports enjoyed over the 1000 years (4th-15th centuries CE) known as the "Middle Ages." Kings and queens, monks and nuns, nobles and peasants engaged in these in order to gain athletic prowess, fame, status, wealth, love, sex, and fun. This course examines the powerful visual expressions of the sports and games developed, and encouraged or discouraged over the medieval era. We will look at athletic monuments, illustrated manuscripts, tapestries, and relatively unexpected objects such as mirrors and combs. Modern material such as films and TV excerpts shall also be used. Key issues explored are: the spectatorship of medieval sports; gender, class, and religion in sports; the role of fashion; and comparisons between the medieval and modern versions of the sports played.

The course has no pre-requisites.

Course materials: No purchases required; most materials available online and/or at the Fine Arts Library at Tappan Hall.

HISTART Concentration Distributions: Transhistorical, Europe, Middle East

Keywords: sports, tennis, archery, chess, fashion, stadiums

Course Requirements: 1 short paper, a mid-term, and a final exam.

Intended Audience: Undergraduates

Class Format: Two 80-minute lectures per week

Estimated Cost of Materials: 0