Renowned Scholar Will Discuss the ‘Martial Arts of Medieval Knights’ April 10

Jeffrey L. Forgeng, associate professor of history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and curator at the Higgins Armory Museum, will present the Carol P. Dorian ’79 Memorial Lecture in Art History 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 in the Williams Center for the Arts, room 108.

The lecture entitled “Martial Arts of the Medieval Knight,” is being presented in conjunction with the Amour d’Armor: Fear, Fantasy, and Fashion in the New Age exhibit. Amour d’Armor, which runs through Sunday, May 13 in the Williams Center gallery, explores recent “armor,” from the fantastic to the practical, in a collection of objects that reveal our obsession with protection.

Forgeng’s chief area of research is the cultural history of violence in the Middle Ages and Early Modern era. His lecture focuses particularly on early martial arts treatises from Germany.

According to Forgeng, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, Germany produced a vast amount of texts describing a variety of weapons forms. These were far from simple “how-to” manuals, and displayed a complex interaction of practicality, intellect, and imagination. They presented a way of envisioning personal combat as much as a way of executing it, he says.

Forgeng has published numerous books and articles on the history of weapons and violence including: Joachim Meyer’s The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570 (2006); The Medieval Swordsman’s Art: An Edition and Translation of Royal Armouries (2003); Francis Willughby’s Treatise on Games (2003); and Robin Hood: The Shaping of the Legend (1998). He has also made appearances as an expert on the History Channel’s History vs. Hollywood and Modern Marvels programs and PBS.

Forgeng received a Ph.D. and M.A. in medieval studies from the University of Toronto and a B.A. in Tudor and Stuart history from Brown University.

Previous Dorian lectures:

• Richard Kendall, world-renowned Degas scholar and curator: “Painting without God: Degas, Darwin, and Impressionism”
• Robert Bagley, professor of art and archaeology at Princeton University: “An Underground Palace in Ancient China: The Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng”
• Dora C.Y. Ching, Chinese art and archeology scholar: “Variations on Lines and Dots: Writing and Painting in Chinese Art”
• Katherine E. Martin, director of Scholten Japanese Art, New York: overview of Japanese woodblock prints
• Marcia B. Hall, professor of art history at Temple University: “Michelangelo’s Painting for the Sistine Altar Wall”