From splendid gold-plated liturgical vessels to women bleaching their hair with crushed bees, ideas of medieval beauty run the gamut between familiar and foreign.  Join us as we discuss medieval aesthetics, notions of divine beauty, and the techniques medieval people used to achieve what their society deemed most lovely.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

For students who want to register for all four May History Happy Hour classes at the same time for a combined discounted rate. Series includes:

Medieval Relics - Wednesday, May 5

The Sisters of St Catherine - Wednesday, May 12

Love Stories of the Middle Ages - Wednesday, May 19

On the Road as a Medieval Pilgrim - Wednesday, May 26

To register for individual classes of the series, please click on the class titles above.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

The revered body parts of medieval saints decorated altars across the medieval world.  Encased in luxurious reliquary boxes of gilt and enamel, these remnants of the holy were mystical, interceding, and above all, powerful.  This lecture will highlight some amazing surviving reliquaries and discuss the reasons why medieval people looked to the saints for spiritual aid.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

Based on Dr. Axen's own doctoral research and book in progress, this lecture will explore both the known and unknown information about the tiny Southern French convent dedicated to St Catherine, and both the pitfalls and wonderful highs of doing archival research in pursuit of a cloistered group of medieval women.  

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

From Abelard & Heloise, to Tristan & Isolde, to the first recorded use of 'Valentine' as a term of endearment, this lecture will explore love stories that blossomed in the Middle Ages.  Although some ended famously badly, the concept of medieval love continues to inform our own understanding of it, right down to our ring fingers and our romcoms.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

Wearing the signature floppy hat and the satchel known as a 'scrip,' medieval pilgrims put themselves in danger as well as spiritual gains when they went gallivanting on medieval roads to holy sites.  Wanderlust, prayers for healing, and giving thanks all prompted these individuals to leave their comfort zones for adventure.  This lecture will explore the nitty-gritty how-tos of pilgrimage as well as the most famous sites to kneel before relics.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

What do the “Night Before Christmas,” Oreos, and cowboys in New York City have in common? Learn that and much more in this virtual tour through the history of Chelsea, including a look at the former National Biscuit Company building (now Chelsea Market), the funky Hotel Chelsea, and the General Theological Seminary (the world’s oldest Episcopal seminary). Join Ginny Poleman as she shares the stories of this revitalized area of restaurants, high-end shops, art galleries and mid-19th century brownstones.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.

Long before the shopping mall and Amazon, the idea of ‘window shopping’ was a recreational pastime for the women of the 1890s—strolling down Fifth Avenue, needing to lift their dresses to step over the horse excrement in the road. Take a virtual walk up Fifth Avenue, and then to Herald Square, and imagine women with corsets and umbrellas being entertained as they shopped department stores with names long gone, like Siegel-Cooper, and some still hanging on, like Macy’s.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting. Click here for a tutorial on how to join a Zoom meeting.