Department of History of the Middle Ages
Department Head: Professor S.P.Karpov, Correspondent Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The department incorporates the Centre for Byzantine History and the History of the Black Sea Region.
Candidates for the MA in West European and Byzantine History from the 5th to the 17th Centuries study the history of England, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Scandinavian countries. There is special focus on investigating contact zones between different ethnic, political and religious entities: Byzantine and Slavic, Byzantine and Moslem, Pyrennean and Arab, South-East European and Ottoman, West European and Slavic.
The main fields of research and specialization for students of the department are as follows:
Social and Economic History:
* Everyday Life and Material Culture
* Crafts and Trade
* Agrarian History
* Urban History
* Structures of Medieval EconomiesSocial and Political History:
* The Medieval State and the Stages of its Development
* History of State Institutions
* State and Law
* Social Structures
* Political Culture (Ceremonies, Etiquette, Forms of Political Communication, Political Mentality)
* People and Events
* International Relations and Diplomacy
* History of the Church and MonasticismAmong the areas of specialization for students of the department are Genealogy, Heraldry, Numismatics, Latin and Greek, Latin Paleography, Archival Studies. Specialized courses include a wide range of problems concerning various countries. Regional study courses are provided within seminars of specialization.