Medieval History at the University of Hawaii at Manoa

Prof. Karen Louise Jolly

Department of History, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
2530 Dole St., Sakamaki A203
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 U.S.A.
voice: (808) 956-7673 email: kjolly@hawaii.edu

Lindisfarne Gospels Luke Carpet Page, Quilt Art by Ann Baum

History Department

Dr. Karen Jolly Vita


Welcome to Medieval European History at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

The Department of History currently offers four undergraduate upper division courses in medieval European history, all taught with a strong emphasis on Europe from a world historical and comparative approach. These courses usually carry a Focus designation of W (Writing Intensive), O (Oral Communications), or E (Ethics). Class time is less oriented toward lecture and more devoted to discussing and analyzing primary source materials.

History 335 and 336 survey the "medieval" era in Europe from circa 300 to 1500, breaking at around 1050. This sequence is offered every other year. Students may take either or both.

History 433, Medieval Cultures, is a topical course focusing on a cultural issue or cross-cultural subject in the medieval period from a world/comparative perspective.

History 434 examines the history of Christianities in a pre-modern world context. It is usually taught with an E (Contemporary Ethical Issues) focus designation. This course is offered every other year.

Graduate seminars in medieval history, designated History 611C, are offered on an as-needed basis. Graduate students interested in pre-modern world history or aspects of medieval studies are encouraged to contact Prof. Jolly for more information.


Research Project Links

Cuthbert cross Revealing Words: Northumbria in the Tenth Century blog.
Community of St. Cuthbert cover The Community of St. Cuthbert in the Late Tenth Century: The Chester-le-Street Additions to Durham Cathedral Library A.IV.19 (The Ohio State University Press Text, 2012). ScholarSpace open access to Durham A.IV.19, fols. 61r11-88v
Cross and Culture cover Sancta Crux/Halig Rod: The Cross in Anglo-Saxon England: A three-year collaborative project with Sarah Larratt Keefer and Catherine Karkov, exploring the cross as an object, gesture, and concept in pre-Conquest England.
Popular Religion cover Jolly, Karen Louise, Popular Religion in Late Saxon England: Elf Charms in Context (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996). Sample charms translated.
Tradition and Diversity Jolly, Karen Louise, ed., Tradition and Diversity: European Christianity in a World Context to 1500 (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997). UHM e-book
Witchcraft and Magic cover The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Modern Europe Volume 3: The Middle Ages, co-authored with Catharina Raudvere, and Edward Peters; series edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark. Athlone Press and University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.

Other Resources

updated 05/25/2020