Welcome to the 14th Century Society website!
We are an interdisciplinary and multinational group of professional scholars whose research interests focus on the European fourteenth century, a period of history most tactfully described as an "age of adversity." Such an assessment, however, does not tell the whole story. While it is reasonably well known that the fourteenth century brought plague, warfare, famine, schism, and lousy weather to Europe, the same time period also produced some of our greatest authors, artists, musicians, mystics, philosophers, and theologians. It set the stage for the technologies and ideas which would shape the modern era. It was, in short, incredibly important. Not that we're biased or anything.
The 14th Century Society was founded for the purposes of fostering scholarship on this period and providing opportunities for dialogue between fourteenth-century specialists in fields including art history, history, music, language and literature studies, philosophy, and religious studies. We sponsor sessions annually at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and (starting in 2004) at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds, England.
We are not re-enactors, and cannot offer help with anyone's homework, but we do have a modest selection of recommendations for those searching the Web for accurate information about the fourteenth century.Still here? Check out our latest news, our officers and bylaws, or our list of ongoing and previously sponsored sessions. Perhaps you'd even like to consider joining us!
Disclaimers: The images on this page come from a fifteenth-century manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles (written between c. 1370 and 1410); the manuscript (BNF fr 2646) is owned by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the original scans were part of its exhibit on The Age of Charles V. The horn-player in the "14th Century Society" logo comes from a model-book from Napoli (c. 1370-1380), now in New York at the Pierpont Morgan Library (MS 86). All opinions expressed herein are those of the 14th Century Society and its members, not those of the colleges and universities with which they are affiliated, and not those of our online host. Please do not reproduce without permission. If you encounter any technical problems while viewing this site, please let us know.
