Getting to the the MSCU... Part 2

Getting to know... Madeleine

My name is Madeleine Gubbels and I will be entering my fifth and final year at UVic this September. I am the Vice President for the Medieval Studies Course Union.

My interest in Medieval Studies began somewhat in eighth grade Socials, but remained latent until I took Hist 236 in my first year of university. I liked the intellectual challenge the field offered me, as well as its comprehensiveness, so after three years of academic wandering I finally settled on my major.

I love the history found in the Middle Ages. It is fascinating and rich in material. Taking Medieval Studies has not been simply an education in history, but an education in culture. I have learned about art, architecture, philosophy, law, classical antiquity, music, literature, languages, manuscripts and calligraphy, agriculture, war and conquests, religion and theology, society, and daily medieval life during my studies of the Middle Ages. Meeting the great (and lesser) minds and hearts of the medieval centuries, albeit at times anonymous, is thrilling.

My main areas of interest in Medieval Studies are the history of the preservation and transmission of knowledge, monastic and mendicant history, hagiography, and the development of Christianity. I am interested in doing further research in both the history of the Sacraments and the role of women in medieval society.

My favourite course at UVic has been Hist 380D: Individual, Family, and Community in Medieval Society. It is being offered this year again, and I highly recommend it. It is an excellent course in social history that examines especially marriage, the family, and the role of women and children.