The Mediterranean basin has long been a zone of cultural, economic, and artistic encounter and exchange. This was particularly true in the Middle Ages (c. 500-1500 CE), as the three great religious traditions of Late Antiquity (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) battled, bartered with, and borrowed from one another in a variety of political and cultural contexts. Focusing on the centuries from 1200 to 1500, Trading Places: Byzantium and the Mediterranean World in the Later Middle Ages will explore the Mediterranean world as a “trading place” between Byzantine, Islamic, Jewish, and Western societies.

The symposium includes a keynote lecture by David Abulafia (Cambridge University), three multidisciplinary panels addressing the economic, artistic, and material contours of medieval cultural exchange, a medieval coins and seals workshop, and a concert featuring Natasha Roule, Holy Cross St. Romanos the Melodist Byzantine Choir, and the Voice of the Turtle.

All events are free and open to the public.

Please visit the conference website for a full description of events and to RSVP.

Organizers
Eurydice Georganteli, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University; Brandie Ratliff, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture, Hellenic College Holy Cross; Nicholas Watson, Department of English and Committee on Medieval Studies, Harvard University; Sean Gilsdorf, Committee on Medieval Studies, Harvard University

Sponsors
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection; European Commission, Research & Innovation, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions; Harvard Art Museums; Harvard University Department of History of Art + Architecture; Harvard University Provostial Fund for the Arts and Humanities; Harvard University Standing Committee on Medieval Studies; Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross