Sacred Places

What Gave London, Paris, and Florence Their Allure?

A Mini-Course Offered by the NU Emeriti Organization and EPL

Some places are famously known as sacred. Rome had deep religious significance even before Christianity, and Constantinople was founded as a new Rome. Canterbury and Santiago de Compostela are notable pilgrimage sites. But even cities and towns that we may not think of so readily as sacred—Prague, Bruges, Nuremberg, London, Paris, Florence, and many others—were also at some point in their development wrapped in a mantle of holiness.

This mini-course will be taught by Prof. emer. Richard Kieckhefer of Northwestern University. Prof. Kieckhefer holds joint appointments in the Religion and History Department. His research focuses on late medieval religious culture, including mystical theology, magic, witchcraft, and church architecture in relationship to parish religion. He is the author of the standard text on medieval magic, Magic in the Middle Ages, first published in 1989 and re-issued last year in a revised and expanded edition from Cambridge University Press. 

The course will be offered both in person at Evanston Public Library and virtually via Zoom. Register now for this course and you will be notified when the Zoom link is available. 

This is the twelfth mini-course offered as a partnership between Evanston Public Library and the Northwestern Emeriti Organization. This program received the AROHE Innovation Award in 2021 for its exemplary contribution to community relations. 

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