Art History Relics & Reliquaries 5/12/22

Relics and Reliquaries in the Western Middle Ages

In the mid-fourth century, an event occurred that would forever change the trajectory of Christian devotion and discourse: Saintly remains were exhumed from a grave in the Greek city of Antioch and transferred to Constantinople for worship. From that moment on, the cult of relics and the fantastical containers that enshrouded them, their reliquaries, would form an integral part of the religious, sociopolitical and economic environment from which they came. In this threepart course, art history enthusiast Andie Fialkoff chronologically maps the history of the medieval cult of relics from its inception in late antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. Join Fialkoff as she escorts you on this grand journey back in time. In session one, discover late antiquity and the early Middle Ages to understand the genesis of the cult of relics. In the second session, explore how relics and their reliquaries inspired religious debate and fostered economic prosperity during the high Middle Ages. And finally, in session three, investigate the late Middle Ages and the age of artistic experimentation. “Each lecture focuses on a diverse range of objects and uses recent scholarship in the fields of art history, anthropology and sociology to understand how they functioned within their given temporal and geographic surroundings,” Fialkoff says. “It truly is a captivating period of time.”

Three Zoom sessions

Thur., May 12, 19, 26, 2022, 6:30–8:30 pm MT ENRICH 0602 / $105

Andie Fialkoff studies late medieval art and armor with particular attention to Franco-German material culture. She’s working toward a dual master’s degree from Columbia University and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art history, with honors, from the University of Chicago. What Our Students Are Saying For the Love of Learning!

Professor is erudite and yet has the ability to explain the nuances in very comprehensible manner. He presented material at an appropriate level of sophistication for an Enrichment Program audience.

Art and history well integrated. Good additional reading.

The instructor is so easy to follow and always makes it interesting.

The excellence of the lecturer.

I found the course to be engaging and highly interactive (especially given that it was conducted via videoconference).

I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions because of the academic research she presented.

Instructor made the course interactive and was very eloquent and well-versed.

It was pretty casually structured, and I enjoyed the class interaction, which is not so normal in on-line classes. I felt that both instructors were interesting and open to class participation, not just lecturing.

Instructor had much firsthand knowledge of the subject and presented it in an entertaining fashion.

Knowledge of instructor and ability to “pull the threads together.”

The instructors were so much fun!

Unfamiliar time period and very engaging instructor. She made a confusing history clear and interesting.

Instructor was quite enthusiastic about her topic.

Both instructors are highly knowledgeable on the subjects and are skilled presenters.

I liked the instructor’s openness and welcoming attitude.