History of the Institute for Medieval Studies

History of the Institute for Medieval Studies

Ims our research

A hub of excellence since 1967

The University of Leeds has been an international hub of excellence for Medieval Studies since the creation in 1967 of the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies (GCMS). The predecessor to the Institute for Medieval Studies (IMS), the GCMS was one of the first centres in the world dedicated to the study of the Middle Ages; it is believed to be the oldest interdisciplinary centre in the University.

Concurrently, the International Medieval Bibliography (IMB) was launched at Leeds by Professor Peter Sawyer, the pre-eminent Anglo-Saxon historian. The first IMB catalogue used a card system with three reference points; today, the IMB includes over 500,000 records and over 120,000 index terms across digital and print formats.

Every year since 1994, in the first week of July, the University of Leeds hosts the International Medieval Congress (IMC), the world’s largest gathering of medievalists. The main aim of the Congress is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussion of all aspects of the Middle Ages (300-1500). In 2018, the IMC celebrated its 25th Congress - with nearly 3000 delegates attending.

These pages will give you an insight into the history of Medieval Studies at Leeds - and a glimpse of what the future holds.

Our 50th anniversary

In 2017-18 we celebrated our 50th anniversary with a series of events and an exhibition on the formation of the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies all the way to the latest ERASMUS+ collaboration with the Centre d’études supérieures de civilisation médiévale at the University of Poitiers.

The exhibition is now online: read more about the history of the Institute for Medieval Studies, the International Medieval Congress, and the International Medieval Bibliography.

Future of Medieval Studies

Our Future of Medieval Studies project is engaging with the wider academic community to facilitate discussions as to where our field is going, and how we should influence this to expand the diversity and inclusivity of Medieval Studies. Focusing on the UK Higher Education landscape, we are bringing together students, staff, and interested parties to talk about issues and provide a space to work towards solutions.

This project is exploring:

  • how people experienced diversity in the Middle Ages
  • how diversity is investigated in Medieval Studies
  • how we can, as a community, support those from different backgrounds to join our field

Using a mixture of on-campus events and virtual discussions, we welcome the input of anyone interested in the future of our field.