Grant Expands Medieval Program

The Barker Center’s Thompson Room was abuzz with excitement on Wednesday, as Goelet Professor of Medieval History Michael McCormick approached the podium to introduce the inaugural lecture in a series on migration and medieval culture.

For the 50 audience members, the lecture, which focused on the collaboration of a physicist and an archaeologist, was more than a speech. It signaled a renewed commitment to medieval studies at Harvard.

Two years ago, McCormick was awarded $1.5 million as part of a grant from the Mellon Foundation in New York. Each year, the Mellon Foundation gives five humanities scholars the Distinguished Achievement Award to pursue research over a period of three years.

McCormick asked for a two-year deferment and has since been planning a series of interdisciplinary projects—including researching isotopes and teeth, making old Latin texts accessible, and starting a summer internship program—which he will begin to execute this year.

Wednesday’s lecture—led by Thomas Calligaro, the head physicist of the world-renowned Louvre Museum, and Peter Perin, the director of the French Musee d’Archeologie Nationale—focused on the duo’s discoveries of a link between India and France in the 6th century.

Calligaro and Perin said that by using a fusion of physics and history, they were able to determine that garnets with which a French queen was laid to rest had Indian origins. The garnets were set in cloisonne, and French garnets rarely are set that way. Perin traced its origins and Calligaro employed particle induced x-ray emission, or PIXE, a technique that accelerates particles, to discern the elements in the different garnets by their movement. Because garnets of different elements are found in different locations, the researchers were able to conclude that they, indeed, were of Indian origin.

In addition to the lecture series, McCormick said he has other plans to bolster medieval studies over the next few years.

“This lecture is only a part of the unfolding three-year program sponsored by the Mellon Foundation’s mega award,” McCormick said. “The other things the grant will fund include launching a program to study isotopes and DNA of my Roman and medieval skeletons....I’m also trying to convince the University to help me create an undergraduate internship in medieval archaeology in Oxford, starting next summer.”

McCormick said he wants to make research into medieval life an interdisciplinary project. Speaking of a project involving the study of ancient Roman teeth, McCormick said, “We’re planning on bringing together historians, economists, archaeologists, natural scientists, and bone specialists.”

He said they plan on studying the ancient Romans’ diet, health, DNA, and the diseases they may have suffered.

John J. Herrmann, Jr., curator of classical art, emeritus, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, wrote in an e-mail that he admired McCormick’s enthusiasm and innovation in the field.

“His efforts to focus on concrete life problems of the period and to bring scientific techniques to bear on these studies also offers a new source of attraction,” Herrmann wrote.

Darryl J. Campbell ’06, one student already working with McCormick, said he is focusing on the Computative Philology Initiative, for which he helps scan old Latin texts and makes them legible. Campbell said his group hopes to compile Latin texts that are not available to the public and build a library that would be freely accessible to all.

“I’ve certainly started to see the value of multi-disciplinary approaches to complicated topics, and I hope that this will continue to be emphasized in the department,” said Campbell.

This semester, Harvard has brought in Germany’s top medieval archaeologist, Joachim Henning, as a visiting professor in history to teach the first-ever undergraduate course in medieval archaeology at Harvard—History 1140, “History of Medieval Archaeology.” Another visiting professor, Alan R. Cooper of Colgate University, is teaching History 1101, “Medieval Europe,” this semester.

Maureen E. Boyle ’08, who is in Henning’s class, said this is an ideal time to study medieval history.

“It’s the best time to be a medieval history concentrator here because of all the Mellon Grant is allowing us to do,” she said. “I think the Mellon Grant is helping us exercise the interdisciplinary characteristics of history, especially medieval history. They’re connecting all the different disciplines of history and are making it such an enriching experience.”

Lea Professor of Medieval History, emeritus, Thomas N. Bisson wrote in an e-mail on Wednesday that Harvard has come a long way since his day, when the discipline was confined to a small room in Widener Library.

“In North America this is now THE place to work in medieval archaeology, one of the most challenging frontiers in all of medieval studies,” Bisson wrote. “The Faculty of Arts and Sciences virtually passed over Medieval Studies in the ‘nineties; we badly need a space larger than Widener 708.”

Bisson added that he hoped McCormick’s “scholarly success and leadership will move Harvard to establish, as well as to be, a center of medieval studies in keeping with our international standing.”

In addition to the lecture series, McCormick said he has other plans to bolster medieval studies over the next few years.

“This lecture is only a part of the unfolding three-year program sponsored by the Mellon Foundation’s mega award,” McCormick said. “The other things the grant will fund include launching a program to study isotopes and DNA of my Roman and medieval skeletons....I’m also trying to convince the University to help me create an undergraduate internship in medieval archaeology in Oxford, starting next summer.”

McCormick said he wants to make research into medieval life an interdisciplinary project. Speaking of a project involving the study of ancient Roman teeth, McCormick said, “We’re planning on bringing together historians, economists, archaeologists, natural scientists, and bone specialists.”

He said they plan on studying the ancient Romans’ diet, health, DNA, and the diseases they may have suffered.

John J. Herrmann, Jr., curator of classical art, emeritus, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, wrote in an e-mail that he admired McCormick’s enthusiasm and innovation in the field.

“His efforts to focus on concrete life problems of the period and to bring scientific techniques to bear on these studies also offers a new source of attraction,” Herrmann wrote.

Darryl J. Campbell ’06, one student already working with McCormick, said he is focusing on the Computative Philology Initiative, for which he helps scan old Latin texts and makes them legible. Campbell said his group hopes to compile Latin texts that are not available to the public and build a library that would be freely accessible to all.

“I’ve certainly started to see the value of multi-disciplinary approaches to complicated topics, and I hope that this will continue to be emphasized in the department,” Campbell said.

This semester, Harvard has brought in Germany’s top medieval archaeologist, Joachim Henning, as a visiting professor in history to teach the first-ever undergraduate course in medieval archaeology at Harvard—History 1140, “History of Medieval Archaeology.” Another visiting professor, Alan R. Cooper of Colgate University, is teaching History 1101, “Medieval Europe” this semester.

Maureen E. Boyle ’08, who is in Henning’s class, said this is an ideal time to study medieval history.

“It’s the best time to be a medieval history concentrator here because of all the Mellon Grant is allowing us to do,” she said. “I think the Mellon Grant is helping us exercise the interdisciplinary characteristics of history, especially medieval history. They’re connecting all the different disciplines of history and are making it such an enriching experience.”

Lea Professor of Medieval History, emeritus, Thomas N. Bisson wrote in an e-mail on Wednesday that Harvard has come a long way since his day, when the discipline was confined to a small room in Widener Library.

“In North America this is now THE place to work in medieval archaeology, one of the most challenging frontiers in all of medieval studies,” Bisson wrote. “The Faculty of Arts and Sciences virtually passed over Medieval Studies in the ‘nineties; we badly need a space larger than Widener 708.”

Bisson added that he hoped McCormick’s “scholarly success and leadership will move Harvard to establish, as well as to be, a center of medieval studies in keeping with our international standing.”