Medieval and Early Modern European History

Specialisation of: History
Degree: Master of Arts in History
Mode of Study: Full-time, Part-time
Duration: 1 year (full-time); 1,5 year (part-time)
Start date: September, February
Language of instruction: English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 66034
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The MA specialisation in Medieval and Early Modern European History focuses on the momentous cultural and political transformations that characterised the period between 1300-1700. The course allows you to specialise in the history of the Low Countries, which in this period was one of Europe’s major commercial, cultural and political hubs. Yet you can also explore the history of other parts of Europe, especially the Habsburg world.

Unlike most other Dutch history departments, Leiden offers expertise in British, Iberian and Central European history as well as in the political and cultural history of the Netherlands. You are encouraged to think comparatively about the transformations in politics, culture and religion of this era.

The staff runs larger research programs on issues like feuds and factions, the Burgundian nobility, war memories and identity formation. Many of the courses relate to the research interests of the academic staff. The courses allow you to engage closely with current scholarly debates and offer you a chance to scrutinize new ideas as they are being developed.

Excellent library and archival resources in Leiden and The Hague offer you quick and efficient access to many primary sources and secondary studies. The courses offer research training, as well as a chance to study current historical debates, so as to prepare you for the writing of an independently researched MA thesis.

How did Dutch sound?

Michiel de Vaan

Dr. Michiel de Vaan explains how Dutch would have sounded 500, 1,000 and 1,500 years ago in the TV-show Man over woord.

Prof. Henk te Velde

Henk te Velde

“Historians in Leiden use the riches of the University in order to give their students a good education.”

“Over a period of a few years, a whole new generation of professors has been appointed at the History Department in Leiden; the department is bustling with energy in a friendly and professional atmosphere. All sections of the department have their own attractions and strengths.

Our strong section of Ancient History, for instance, benefits from the presence in Leiden of the largest department of Classics in the Netherlands; Medieval History has a strong tradition of research in the later Middle Ages and is now joining forces with the specialists in the early modern period, who have a strong and promising research team working on public and private memory of the Dutch Revolt.

Historians of European expansion and globalisation are working together with specialists on non-European culture and history in other parts of the Faculty of Humanities, which has always been famous for its expertise in this field. They also co-operate with the specialists of the history of migration, which has rapidly developed into one of the new strengths of the department. One of the professors working in this area is based at the Campus The Hague of Leiden University.

In my own field of study, the history of political culture, we are working together with colleagues studying politics in such fields as political science and constitutional law. This combination also makes it easier to work together with government agencies, who are just around the corner, in The Hague. For classes on the history of political debate I myself benefit from the expertise of the colleagues of the Dutch department.

This again is just one example of the many ways historians in Leiden use the riches of Leiden University in order to give their students a good education and an exciting period of study.”