• Course beings on October 8, 2026

  • Live sessions with the instructor from 1:00 to 2:30pm Eastern U.S. time each week

  • All sessions are recorded and available to view for up to 2 weeks after the last live session

Week 1

Religion in the Early Middle Ages

This session explores what religion meant in the early European Middle Ages. Besides the Christian faith, other beliefs persevere across different social groups. Even within the early Christian Church we encounter different variants, like Arianism and Pelagianism.

Week 2

Converts and Saints

We next address the specific religious and social developments of the conversion processes of different countries and groups in Europe, their similarities and differences. We also explore the importance of the Cult of Saints in the early Church and the impact hagiography had all across the medieval period.

Week 3

Religion in the Late Middle Ages

As missions succeed and feudalism settles in Europe, the propaganda of the Christian Church seems to succeed. But this is not without crisis and propaganda. The schism within the Church will lead to two supporting factions of papal candidates. Art and architecture will be utilized to lead the people. The role of guilds, medieval religious festivities, and social practices beyond the norms of morality tell us stories from different perspectives.

Week 4

Heresy

During the European Middle Ages there are several heresies that will be actively persecuted. From the Bogomils to the Cathars, the Lollards and the Hussites, the root of perceived evil sparks due to sociopolitical conflicts, the remnants of paganism still stalking the edges of Europe, and the impact of the Black Death. In this session we explore all these alternative cults and their repercussions on faith and the faithful.

Week 5

Case Study – Reformation

For our last session we start in 1517, the year when Martin Luther makes his case for deep changes in the Church. But these are the direct results of the medieval tensions of the previous decades and centuries. In this case study we will explore the sociopolitical, cultural, and religious backdrop leading to these changes through the lens of the new medieval wave of humanists, philosophers and more.

  • Continued access to the course materials is available for 2 weeks from the last course session

Meet your Instructor

Lillian Cespedes Gonzalez

Dr. Lillian Cespedes Gonzalez is a medievalist with a PhD from the University of Winchester, specializing in culture and identity within the subject of medievalism and popular culture. She is a cultural scholar and historian with an interdisciplinary and international approach. While her PhD focused on Norse women and their representation in popular culture, she has always had a keen interest in the way humans see the world: mythology, religion, art and literature are the things she enjoys most. Her academic publications include many works on the Norse, comic book studies and cultural identity. She is also an active blogger and podcaster and currently runs her own tour guiding and cultural education company as a public historian, where she gets to bring history to life every day for anyone who will listen.