The artistic achievements of the Middle Ages (for this course, the ninth to fourteenth centuries) vividly express the religious beliefs and aspirations of the period.  In the context of religion and art as a universal cultural phenomenon of “Medievalism,” this course will address a series of trans-cultural questions about the development of human values.  Slide-illustrated lectures, class discussions, and student presentations will be used to explore the “medieval synthesis” both in terms of particular cultures (German, French, Italian, British) as well as in an integrated sense.  The relationship between Christianity and Judaism and Christianity and Islam will also be discussed.