The next medieval reading group meeting will take place on Tuesday 21 May, 5.15pm, at the Centre for British Studies, Mohrenstr. 60, 10117 Berlin (U-Bahn Mohrenstrasse or Stadmitte). The meeting will last from 5.15 till about 6.45pm; refreshments will be provided.

The passage selected for the next meeting is María Rosa Menocal,The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians created a culture of tolerance in medieval Spain (New York, 2002), pp. 15-49 (ch. ‘A brief history of a first-rate place’).

This book was something of a best-seller, and now features on almost all reading lists on Islamic history in European and American universities. We will use the book to continue our ongoing discussion of the myths of the Dark Ages, and we will doubtless want to discuss the very fashionable notion of ‘convivencia’ in al-Andalus. Thank you to Ignacio Sánchez for selecting an accessible and stimulating extract on medieval Islamic history.

Please read the text prior to the meeting. If you have difficulties accessing the text, please email Erik Spindler.

All persons with an interest in the Middle Ages are welcome to attend.