About the Institute

The Institute for Medieval Studies brings together medievalists across the University of Leeds and beyond to form a community of scholars working on the societies and cultures of the European Middle Ages. Their range spans Europe, from Iceland to Africa and the Near East, and from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance, and they include historians, literary scholars, linguists and art historians.

The Leeds MA Programme in Medieval Studies provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the advanced study of medieval culture, with a strong emphasis on medieval languages and on research skills.

For PhD research and MA teaching, notable strengths include: liturgy and music; medieval warfare, crusades, tournaments and arms and armour; cultural history of the post-Roman period; Anglo-Saxon art, history and culture; mission, monasticism, ecclesiastical history; European languages and their literatures, including medieval romances, Arthurian legend and Dante; gender studies; history of medicine and of everyday life; book art; art history and critical theory. Geographical areas of expertise cover: England from the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to the later Middle Ages; Iberia, Italy, Africa and the Latin East; France, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic region.

Students at Leeds benefit from the University Library, one of the largest research libraries in the UK, and from many other libraries and archives in and around Leeds. The nearby archive and library of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society also have large medieval holdings.

The Institute is home to the International Medieval Congress, Europe's largest annual gathering of medievalists, and the International Medieval Bibliography, the world's leading interdisciplinary bibliography of the Middle Ages. Together, these unique enterprises enable you to gain practical as well as academic experience, while links with publishers, museums, and research projects provide opportunities for internships and work experience. Collaboration with the Royal Armouries enriches teaching and research on chivalry, arms, armour, tournaments and medieval warfare. For students and lovers of landscape and architecture, Yorkshire’s matchless countryside, medieval castles, churches, and abbeys are near to hand.