The Center for Medieval and Byzantine Studies at Catholic University offers a meeting point and active scholarly community for researchers and students of the medieval period. It involves faculty members from various schools and departments, offers interdisciplinary programs both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and organizes and co-sponsors a variety of events, from public lectures and symposia to museum field trips and Medieval Day.
The purpose of the program is to promote the study of the medieval world and its cultures, to introduce students to various fields of the discipline and their methodologies, and to provide a solid basis for advanced research into the medieval period. In addition to exploring the historical and cultural developments within the traditional boundaries of medieval Europe from ca. A.D. 300 to 1500, our students have opportunities to study Near Eastern Christianity, the Islamic world, Byzantium, and Judaism.
MBS News and Announcements
Academic Year 2024-25 Upcoming Events:
Welcome Reception
Annual fall event co-sponsored by MBS, ECS and the Department of Greek and Latin
Thursday, September 12, 2024, 4:00 PM EST.
Aquinas Rooftop Terrace
All are welcome to attend. Buffet-styled event. Please RSVP in advance.
Boethius, Aquinas, and Bonaventure lecture series
In commemoration of the triple anniversary of the deaths of Boethius (d. 524), Aquinas (d. 1274), and Bonaventure (d. 1274), there will be a lecture series this year at The Catholic University of America. All lectures in Aquinas Hall Auditorium at 2:00 p.m.
- Megan Murton (Catholic) – September 27, 2024
Consolation, Hope, and Prayer: Reading Boethius in Late-Medieval England - Christopher Cullen (Fordham) – October 25, 2024
TBA - Thomas Ward (Baylor) – November 8, 2024
Baptizing the Stoics: Boethius on Images of the Good - Angela Knobel (Dallas) – November 22, 2024
Putting on Virtue: Moral Growth in Aquinas’s Scripture Commentaries - Jean Porter (Notre Dame) – December 6, 2024
The Nature of Normativity and the Normativity of Nature: Aquinas and Contemporary Moral Philosophy on Reasons for Moral Action - Kevin Hughes (Villanova) – February 7, 2025 TBA
- Stephen Brock (Chicago) – February 28, 2025
Boethius in Thomas Aquinas’s Ontology and Theology of Accidents - Laure Solignac (Institut Catholique) – March 21, 2025
TBA
The series is jointly sponsored by the School of Philosophy, the School of Theology and Religious Studies, the Institute for Human Ecology, the Philosophy Graduate Student Association, and the School of Theology and Religious Studies Students’ Association.
Medievel Society Lecture
Designing Gothic Cathedrals, Dr. Gunnar Lucko (The Catholic University of America)
October 9th at 7 pm Pryzbyla Center room 323
Choral Ensemble Performance
Renaissance and Baroque polyphony choral ensemble Porphyrion perform music for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, including Vexilla regis prodeunt by Victoria and Crux fidelis by Gabrieli, on Saturday, October 12 at 6:30 pm, in St. Vincent de Paul Chapel at CUA.
Medieval Riddle Fest 2024
4 November 2024 5:00 - 6:30pm Pryzbyla Center Great Room B
Additional News:
The Digital Guide to Medieval D.C. has officially launched. Check it out here!