At the end of April the Institute of English Studies hosted a vibrant and immersive “Medieval Week,” offering students and visitors a unique journey into the world of the English Middle Ages through lectures, workshops, music, and interactive exhibitions.
The event welcomed two distinguished international scholars: Jan Čermák of Charles University in Prague — renowned as the Czech translator of Beowulf — and Alpo Honkapohja from Tallinn University. In a series of public lectures and workshops, the guests explored a wide range of fascinating topics, including the evolution of abbreviations from the late Middle Ages to the present day, the transformation of literary genres from epic to romance, as well as the linguistic and translational challenges of Old English poetry and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The workshop seminars were further enriched by a live medieval music performance by Emese Tóth Gyöngyvér, who played and sang accompanied by the psaltery, offering audiences an authentic glimpse into the soundscape of the medieval world.
Beyond the academic programs, visitors could also experience the Middle Ages firsthand through an interactive exhibition created by professors teaching medieval-related subjects on the second floor of the Dózsa György út building. The exhibition invited participants to:
- listen to medieval music and Old and Middle English texts through QR codes,
- identify medieval herbs and spices by scent,
- vote for the worst medieval profession,
- guess the purpose of mysterious medieval objects,
- color the famous “killer bunnies” inspired by Monty Python,
- play traditional medieval board games such as Nine Men’s Morris and Hnefatafl,
- and even try writing with a quill in a recreated medieval scriptorium.
