History Happy Hour (Zoom)   

**Unless otherwise specified, to be eligible for a free class during our Open House, you may only register for a class with an instructor you have not taken before.** Exception: This class is open to everyone, regardless of whether you've taken classes with the instructor before. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

The festive topic of brewing and beer in the Middle Ages has an unexpected source: the monasteries. In this lecture, we will look at the medieval process of brewing, the social aspects of beer, and the adroit monks and nuns who took charge of an unlikely industry--even to this very day. For students who would like to pre-purchase and sample some medieval-style beers, here is a list of the brews that fall into the categories discussed in this lecture.

Dr. Christine Axen will be teaching the following classes this fall:

• HHH: History’s Graffiti (ZOOM), Wed, 9/30
• HHH:  Death by Medieval Oddity, Wed, 10/28
• HHH: Tarot–Games & Fortunes from the Renaissance to Today, Wed, 11/18
• HHH: Fake or Fortune? Relic-Related Miracles, Forgeries, and Thefts, Wed, 12/16

Although historians enjoy a world of beautifully curated manuscripts, sometimes the “garbage” of the past tells us more about the people who lived then. This lecture will explore discovered graffiti from the ancient and medieval past to get a glimpse of daily life as it was recorded on public walls, outhouses, and even church balconies. Join us as we track these unofficial recorders of history through humorous, lewd, and enigmatic graffiti markings.

From a lord’s horse tripping over a pig to a pope choking on a fly, medieval deaths often make it into the manuscript record because of sheer weirdness. This lecture will examine some of the remarkable accounts of medieval people encountering their ends in curious and shocking ways. How did these odd deaths occur, how were they interpreted by contemporaries, and what do they mean for our understanding of medieval history? Just in time for Halloween, join us as we explore some of the stranger ways that medieval people shuffled off this mortal coil.

Originally invented as a card game, the tarot deck has long since transformed into an allegorical, otherworldly way of reading and interpreting circumstances and souls. Join us as we learn some games, explore central arcana figures like the Fool and the High Priestess, and adore the beauty of the earliest surviving hand-painted cards from the courts of Renaissance Italy!

We’ve looked at the lavish containers that held the relic bones of medieval saints, but this lecture will explore the ideas behind these holy objects. From reformer John Calvin’s quip that the Virgin Mary lactated more than a cow since since so much of her “authentic” holy breast milk survived, to the dream appearance of one saint asking to be stolen from her current shrine, to the repurposing of executed criminals’ remains to bring renown to a local church, medieval relics captivate and challenge our conception of the holy in the Middle Ages. Join us as we admire the stunning gilded and gem-encrusted containers that enclose relics, and learn the equally fascinating stories behind manifested miracles, occasionally dubious origins, and mysterious heists.