Sarah B. Lynch
Associate Professor of Classical and Medieval Studies and History
About
Drop-in Sessions Winter 2025
Mondays & Wednesdays, 9.30am-11.50am (Pettengill 102/Zoom)
Tuesdays, 12pm-1pm (PLC, Ladd Library)
Or by appointment
My area of expertise is the social and cultural history of the Middle Ages. In particular, I examine these topics through the lens of medieval education, tracing the lived experiences of teachers and pupils and the impact of education on society. I focus on elementary and intermediate instruction and institutions as these have been neglected by scholars and are seen as unconnected to the larger intellectual and cultural trends and achievements of the Middle Ages. I have published widely on the subject, including two books: Elementary and Grammar Education in Late Medieval France: Lyon, 1285鈥1530 (Amsterdam University Press, 2017) and Medieval Pedagogical Writings: An Epitome (Kismet Press, 2018).
My current research project is on the medieval year and how seasonal festivals and rituals helped create, maintain, and remake communities in western Europe (loosely defined) between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.
At 乐播传媒, I offer introductory classes on the Middle Ages, as well as classes on medieval education, magic and the supernatural in the Middle Ages, and the medieval year.
Education
PhD, University of Leeds (2014)
MPhil, Trinity College Dublin (2005)
BA (Hons), University College Dublin (2003)
Selected Publications
鈥淭ogether Through a Labyrinth: Reenacting a Sacred Ball Game in the Medieval Studies Classroom,鈥 The Once and Future Classroom: Resources for Teaching the Middle Ages 18, no. 2 (Fall, 2024): 1鈥14.
鈥淓ducation and Work鈥. In A Cultural History of Youth in the Middle Ages. A Cultural History of Youth, Volume 2, edited by Daniel T. Kline. Bloomsbury, 2023.
鈥淢arking Time, Making Community in Medieval Schools.鈥 History of Education Quarterly 61, no. 2 (May 2021): 158鈥180.
(With Mark Lewis Tizzoni.) 鈥淭eachers and Teaching.鈥 In A Cultural History of Education in the Medieval Age. A Cultural History of Education, Volume 2, edited by Jo Ann H. Moran Cruz. Bloomsbury, 2021.
Medieval Pedagogical Writings: An Epitome. Kismet Press, 2018.
Elementary and Grammar Education in Lyon, 1285-1530. =Amsterdam University Press, 2017.
鈥淩ich Master, Poor Master: The Economic Standing of School Teachers in Late Medieval France.鈥 In Approaches to Poverty in Medieval Europe: Complexities, Contradictions, Transformations, c. 1100-1500, edited by Sharon Farmer.聽 Brepols, 2015.
鈥淧upils and Sources in Late Medieval Lyon.鈥 Espacio, Tiempo y Educaci贸n 2, no. 2 (2015): 289鈥311.
Current Courses
Fall Semester 2026
Medieval Worlds
Far from being an 鈥渆normous hiccup鈥 in human progress, the medieval centuries (c. 300-1500) marked the emergence and development of new cultures and identities in and beyond the Mediterranean. These powerful medieval cultures鈥擨slamic, 鈥淏yzantine,鈥 and Western European鈥攃ontinue to shape o…
Medieval Disasters
The Middle Ages (c. 400鈥揷. 1500) is often associated with disasters and the idea that famine, flood, plague, and other natural calamities stalked through the period. While such events were, in truth, the exception rather than the norm, this seminar introduces students to a range of natural disaste…