The contributions in this volume seek to highlight the atypical features of the Hanse, and place them in a wider context of common roots, influences and parallel developments.

Family, Work, and Household presents the social and occupational life of a late medieval Iberian town in rich, unprecedented detail. The book combines a diachronic study of two regionally prominent families—one knightly and one mercantile—with a detailed cross-sectional urban study of household and…

Utrecht University is hiring an assistant professor Medieval English Literature. Candidates are invited to apply before April 6, 2024.

Leiden’s Institute for History has an exceptionally strong expertise in premodern European history in its global context, with specialists whose interests cover virtually the whole continent.

Minims are letters that are made up of short, vertical pen strokes, such as 'm', 'i', 'n' and 'u'. In Gothic script, there is often little distinction between letters composed of minims. Assistant professor of medieval literature Krista Murchison has written an article in History Today on the hidden…

The Survey of Literature is published twice a year (February and August).

The center studies the many ways in which issues of law and justice are dealt with in art and literature with a focus on liminal issues and cases. These are issues and cases where law comes to the limits of what it is capable of dealing with and art and literature explore the implications of what is…

This book contains the first three Leiden-Aramco Lectures on Arabic Language and Culture delivered by Petra Sijpesteijn, James E. Montgomery and Geert Jan van Gelder.

This project investigates how the first generation of Dutch printed books (the incunabula, 1473-1501) affected late medieval spirituality, religious practice and visual culture in the Low Countries.

Are you thinking about studying Arts, Literature and Media? Learn more and watch the introduction video and the programme presentation.

Leiden’s Institute for History has an exceptionally strong expertise in premodern European history in its global context, with specialists whose interests cover virtually the whole continent. We have a strong track record in leading larger research teams and work together with colleagues across Europe…

This project will study the cultural meaning of the mythological figure of Orestes within the ancient Greek imagination, as it emerges from various literary sources from the archaic and classical periods.

Historicising Art and Literature is one of the six research themes of the LUCAS Modern and Contemporary cluster.

This MA programme offers an excellent qualification in Italian literature and culture on an advanced level through lectures and seminars led by specialists in the field.

On 1 September 2022 Afke van Ewijk successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Develop your knowledge of French and Francophone literary works and genres with the Master’s programme in French Literature and Culture at Leiden University.

The master’s programme in German Literature and Culture at Leiden University offers the largest number of German-language master’s courses in the Netherlands and covers the fields of literary and cultural studies from the Middle Ages to the present.

In early medieval England, there was an interest in the history of the Roman Empire and kings adopted such imperial titles as 'imperator' or 'basileus'. How can we explain this interest and what functions did imperial ideas and the reception of the classical world serve in early medieval England?

On the 25th of October, Suze Anja Verkade successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Suze Anja on this achievement!

Terms used by literary critics in characterizing the style of novels are often impressionistic (‘baroque’, ‘austere’, ‘vivid’, ‘cerebral’ etc.). Foundations for such evaluations are usually not provided. A scientific way of studying and explaining style is lacking in present day Dutch Studies. Suzanne…

An exploration across thirteen essays by critics, translators and creative writers on the modern-day afterlives of Old English, delving into how it has been transplanted and recreated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Alumnus Peter Burger – along with his colleague Alexander Pleijter – is the face of fact-checking in the Netherlands. ‘My degree led straight to this.’

On November 8, the annual Medieval Studies Day will take place, organized by the Flemish Medievalist Association, in cooperation with the Henri Pirenne Institute Ghent. This year’s theme is Pe(s)ts to Parchment: Multidisciplinary Research on Animals in the Middle Ages. On the evening of 7 November,…

This research aims to address the connection between Sufism and modern Arabic Literature (specifically, Palestinian literature).

In Leiden University’s master’s programme Literature in Society. Europe and Beyond you will develop your knowledge of the interactive relationship between literature and society, focusing on key political and social issues from a transnational perspective.

Neo-Baroque construction and deconstruction of the concepts of paradise in fiction.

Engin Kiliç defended his thesis on 11 june 2015

The ethics of ghosts, spectres, and mediums in postcolonial literature

The master in Cultural Analysis: Literature and Theory at Leiden University studies contemporary literature and culture (art, cinema, pop music) from a theoretical, critical perspective, with special emphases on approaches developed in cultural and literary studies, feminist theory, phenomenology and…

The available tools for academic literature search return a list of ranked documents, which might not be ideal for some tasks. To facilitate these tasks, I am creating a visual representation of the academic search space where the user can browse academic topics.

African oral literatures, new media and technologies: challenges for research and documentation

An investigation into how racial stereotypes were created and used in the European Middle Ages.

Are you thinking about studying French Literature and Culture? Learn more and watch the introduction video and the programme presentation.

Are you thinking about studying Italian Literature and Culture? Learn more and watch the introduction video and the programme presentation.

Are you thinking about studying Cultural Analysis: Literature and Theory? Learn more and watch the introduction video and the programme presentation.

Are you thinking about studying German Literature and Culture? Learn more and watch the introduction video and the programme presentation.

Are you thinking about studying English Literature and Culture? Learn more and watch the introduction video and the programme presentation.

Interview for National Public Radio sparks media frenzy.

This book is a celebration of the work of Professor Frans Theuws and was published in conjunction with the symposium held at the University of Leiden on June 29, 2018.

Did early farmers deliberately use animal manure on their fields?

This dissertation examines how Benedictine monks at the Abbey of Fécamp designed, produced, and read books over the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Haneen Omari defended her thesis on 29 October 2019

Anyone who thinks that #MeToo is a new phenomenon, can think again. Subjects such as sexual intimidation, female self-defence and subjection to male desires can be found as early as in Medieval Islamic literature. Senior lecturer Asghar Seyed-Gohrab explains further on the Leiden Medievalists Blog,…