Medieval Books in the Schools

Our free in-class program can be tailored to students from kindergarten to high school and is open to students across the Twin Cities metro area. The program is also appropriate for libraries and summer camps. Program facilitators, dressed as medieval pilgrims or scribes, begin the lesson with an age-appropriate presentation on the Middle Ages and the materials and processes involved in making a book. Students have the opportunity to examine and touch a parchment page from a medieval manuscript and interact with other materials used in book and pigment creation.

Students are provided with their own medieval booklet, which they learn to bind. Depending on the age of the students, other activities may include illuminating capital letters, creating a story for a bestiary, writing with quills, and viewing facsimile medieval manuscripts.

Virtual Medieval Books in the Schools builds on the success of our in-person program to create digital resources for classes that are beyond the scope of our in-person outreach. The full program resources, including videos, printable activity booklets, and lesson plans, are available on the Virtual Medieval Books in the Schools website. 

The core series includes six videos:

1. What Are the Middle Ages?

2. What is a Book?

3. Preparing Your Parchment

4. Ink, Paints, and Pigments

5. Medieval Books and Their Communities

6. Guided Book Binding Activity.

The Medieval Books in the Schools program was initiated by Susan Noakes in 2005-06 during her tenure as the Director of the Center for Medieval Studies. Medieval Studies doctoral candidate Elizabeth Bowser, a certified and experienced middle school teacher, worked with Noakes and partners in local schools and organizations to develop the initial lesson plans. Many graduate and undergraduate students have supported the program over the years.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to continue our in-person program for students and began to develop a plan for a virtual curriculum. Doctoral candidates Alex Korte (Spanish) and Ben Obernolte (French) initiated this project, which was refined and finalized by Maggie Heeschen (English) and Hannah Wiepke (Art History) with the guidance of Michelle Hamilton (Medieval Studies Trustee and CPS Director) and Lydia Garver (CPS Associate Director). In 2024, this work was supported by a Centennial Grant from the Medieval Academy of America.

Our current activity booklet features illustrations by local artist and medieval art historian Jennifer Awes-Freeman. Other key partners for this program include the curators of the James Ford Bell Library and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, and the members of the LATIS video team.

Your donations help us to maintain and expand this outreach program. Each class visit costs between $200 and $250 dollars in staffing and materials. Recent donations to the program have also included two facsimile manuscripts and a vellum page from a medieval Bible written in a beautiful and minute hand (which astounds students who have just attempted to write with quill pens).

Financial donations for this program can be directed to our Medieval Studies Fund. If you are interested in donating other materials, please contact CPS Associate Director, Lydia Garver at [email protected].