Deciphering Secrets The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe

Perhaps no other relic of the European Middle Ages captures our imagination more than illuminated medieval manuscripts, or those documents decorated with images and colored pigments. Serving as windows unto a lost world of kings, ladies, faith, war, and culture, they communicate complex visual and textual narratives of Europe’s collective cultural heritage and patrimony. In this fashion, illuminated manuscripts are dynamic messages from our communal past that are still relevant today in fields like graphic design and typography.In this seven-week course, students will explore the material creation, content, and historical context of illuminated medieval European manuscripts. Students will acquire an introductory knowledge of their distinguishing characteristics, their cataloguing and periodization (when they were created), the methods utilized to produce them, and their historical context and value.

Student achievement will be assessed using not only traditional multiple-choice quizzes, but more importantly will be evaluated based on individual student projects. In their final projects students will either (1) produce a board of commented images about medieval manuscripts or (2) prepare a physical manuscript using medieval methods. The best of these peer-evaluated projects will be posted on the Deciphering Secrets website, which is our collective citizen scholarship web presence that encourages and supports our global citizen scholars appreciation and contributions to transcription of medieval manuscripts.

Finally, we wish to highlight that this course is an exciting international collaboration between the University of Colorado (USA) and Universidad Complutense Madrid (Spain).

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Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
COURSE INTRODUCTION. INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL WORLD AND MANUSCRIPT STUDIES
Week 2
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN KINGDOMS (PART 1) AND WRITING SUPPORTS AND BOOK FORMATS
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN KINGDOMS (PART 1) AND WRITING SUPPORTS AND BOOK FORMATS: Lesson Choices
Week 3
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN KINGDOMS (PART 2) AND THE WRITING CASE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CODEX
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN KINGDOMS (PART 2) AND THE WRITING CASE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CODEX: Lesson Choices
Week 4
A GLIMPSE OF SPAIN’S KING ALFONSO X “THE WISE” AND PREPARING THE PAGE FOR WRITING
A GLIMPSE OF SPAIN’S KING ALFONSO X “THE WISE” AND PREPARING THE PAGE FOR WRITING: Lesson Choices
Week 5
PALEOGRAPHY AND A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY AND WRITING THE CODEX
PALEOGRAPHY AND A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY AND WRITING THE CODEX: Lesson Choices
Week 6
EXPLORING THE GLOBAL MIDDLE AGES AND ONLINE COLLECTIONS AND CODEX DECORATION
EXPLORING THE GLOBAL MIDDLE AGES AND ONLINE COLLECTIONS AND CODEX DECORATION: Lesson Choices
Week 7
BOOKBINDING AND COURSE COMPLETION
BOOKBINDING AND COURSE COMPLETION: Lesson Choices

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Reviews

The course content is beautiful - I enjoyed the part focusing on the manuscripts more but the historical concept part was also interesting. The only suggestion could be focusing less on Spain.

Really enjoyed it bbut t a k e s to o l o n g to get certificate

Fantastic class. Learned a lot. Great info for anyone interested in art, history, or books. Love that there were two types of assignments. Good mix of reading and video.

This is a very good course.

I have learned a lot in a few weeks.