This course surveys the history of Christianity from the fifth through the fifteenth centuries. Known as the Middle Ages, this period witnessed the Christianization of Europe and the development of a distinctive Western Christian culture. A profusion of novel forms of religious life, the emergence of universities, and an array of new styles of art, music, and literature took shape against a backdrop of schism between the Eastern and Western churches, corruption, and religious violence against heretics, Jews, and Muslims. This course will combine discussions of primary source material with secondary readings that situate theological developments and devotional culture alongside demographic and institutional change in this period. Students will explore how medieval history has shaped current practices and institutions, critically re-examine their assumptions about this formative period, and apply the perspective gained to present-day pastoral concerns.