Roman Syria Mosaic depicting a rooster, AD 450–550 Gift of Professor and Mrs. Meyer Abrams Cornell University Johnson Museum of Art — Although many mosaics enriched the floors of Roman buildings, much like carpets, they were sometimes placed on walls as well. This mosaic is believed to have originated in an early Christian church in Homs, Syria. In Christian iconography, roosters symbolize Christ’s resurrection because they are the first to greet the dawn.

Studies spanning more than a millennium of languages and cultures

Medieval Studies Program

The Program in Medieval Studies combines the best aspects of an interdisciplinary program with the focused training required for academic careers in a variety of traditional disciplines. The program’s faculty members are drawn from nearly every humanities department at Cornell, offering expertise in disciplines and area studies spanning more than a millennium of languages and cultures—from Old and Middle English literature to Byzantine monuments, from Icelandic sagas to Andalusian architecture, from medieval Latin literature and philosophy to Islamic legal history.

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Medieval Studies News

Zachary Thomas publishes translated edition in the Thomistic Ressourcement Series

10/27/2023

Thomas' edition and translation of Fr. Franck Quoëx's "Liturgical Theology in Thomas Aquinas: Sacrifice and Salvation History" has been published as part of the Thomistic Ressourcement Series (The Catholic University of America Press, 2023).

James John, medieval historian, dies at 95

10/31/2023

A specialist in the study of Latin manuscripts and the history of universities, John was a part of the Cornell community for more than 50 years, teaching medieval intellectual history, historiography and paleography – the study of historical writing systems and manuscripts.

Medieval Studies and COLLIS Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture present a lecture with Michael Alan Anderson (Eastman School of Music) (USC)

10/18/2023

Michael Alan Anderson (Eastman School of Music) will be presenting on, "Sounding the Saints in Books of Hours," at 5:15 PM on Monday, October 30 (AD White House and Zoom)