Syllogisms in Stone: Theophilus, Stephen, Abelard on the Walls of Notre-Dame de Paris

CMRS Distinguished Visiting Scholar Lecture

Gothic cathedrals were great engines of urban renewal in the High Middle Ages. The great religious works projects contributed to the revival of trades and to the new institutions of medieval towns. Not the least of these was the University of Paris, which grew out of the cathedral school of Notre-Dame in the second half of the twelfth century. Using three sculptural programs on the outer walls of Notre-Dame alongside the example of Abelard, we shall examine the ways in which stories carved in stone—the Miracle of Theophilus, the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, and scenes of student life—affirm the power of disputation, writing, and the book culture which flourished just up the street.

This lecture is by R. Howard Bloch, Sterling Professor of French at Yale University. Professor Bloch has written on a variety of topics in and around medieval literature and social history, legal, economic, familial, and political institutions, humor and the fabliaux, gender and the rise of Western romantic love and the history of the discipline of Medieval Studies. Bloch holds a medal from the Collège de France, is an officer in the Order of Arts and Letters, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Philosophical Society.

Funding for CMRS Distinguished Visiting Scholars is provided by the Humanities Division of the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences, and the Armand Hammer Endowment for the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of English.