The Medieval Academy Blog

As the Medieval Academy marks its centenary, today’s members may be interested in learning about their counterparts a hundred years ago. The names of most of the first members and some information about them can now be found on the Academy’s website. Here is a brief report by the compiler of the list of first members, Jacqueline Brown: “The results of my research into the first members of the Medieval Academy are mixed. I wasn’t able to find all of the 761 people who had joined the Academy by the end of its first year, but I did come close: 656. Many of the names are still familiar ones to medievalists: the paleographer E. A. Lowe, the Chaucerian scholar John Matthews Manly, the art historian Arthur Kingsley Porter, the economic historian Eileen Power, the historian of science Lynn Thorndike, to cite only a very few. In its early days the Academy also attracted non-academics, among them the artists Charles Connick (stained glass), I. Kirchmayer (woodcarving), Vincent Tack (painting), and Charles Maginnis (architecture); the art collectors Henry Walters, founder of the Walters Art Museum, and Raymond Pitcairn, founder of Glencairn Museum, were members, as were the rare book dealers Lathrop C. Harper and W. M. Voynich. Some early members looked back on the Middle Ages as the best of times (see James J. Walsh, author of The Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries); others disagreed (see almost anything written by G. G. Coulton). Today’s members may be surprised, as I was, to find two dukes among our predecessors (Alexander, Grand Duke of Russia; the duke of Berwick and Alba), while two other early members (H. W. L. Dana and John Brooks Wheelwright) were left-wing activists, and another (Margaret Schlauch) fled the US during McCarthyism. In a category by himself is Bernard Fuller, an Illinois priest when he joined the Academy who faked his death a year later and started a new life as a professor of German at Amherst College. Some of the first members remain total mysteries to me, Joseph M. Wallace of the Wallace Studio in Brooklyn, for example, about whom I know only his name and address. The fragmentary information I found about others, Childéric Hill of Leicestershire, for example, left me wanting to know more about them. I hope today’s members will find their predecessors interesting. My project isn’t finished—there are still 105 first-year members to identify—and I would be grateful for corrections, additions, and leads to new sources.”

Robert L. Kindrick–CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies: The Medieval Academy of America’s Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) invites nominations for its annual service prize. The Robert L. Kindrick–CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies recognizes Academy members who have provided leadership in developing, organizing, promoting, and sponsoring medieval studies through their administrative work—work that is critical to the health of medieval studies, but that often goes unrecognized by the profession at large. This award of $1000 is presented at the Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy. The annual deadline for nominations is 15 November; please note that three nominators are required, all of whom should have first-hand knowledge of the nominee’s contributions to Medieval Studies. For more information, please visit the CARA Service Award web page.

CARA Award for Excellence in Teaching: The Medieval Academy’s Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) invites nominations for its annual teaching prize, which recognizes outstanding pedagogical achievement by Medieval Academy members. This can include:

• teaching inspiring courses at the undergraduate or graduate levels;

• creating innovative teaching materials (including textbooks);

• developing courses and curricula;

• scholarship of teaching and learning (including presentations at conferences as well as publications)

• support for K-12 pedagogy and curricula;

• community-oriented or publicly-directed educational initiatives.

Normally, one prize is given for undergraduate and one prize for graduate teaching, each in the amount of $1000. These will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy. The annual deadline for nominations is 15 November. For more information, please visit the CARA Teaching Award web page.

2026 Baldwin Fellowship
Deadline 15 November
Birgit Baldwin Fellowship

The Birgit Baldwin Fellowship in French Medieval History provides a grant of $20,000 to support a graduate student in a North American university who is researching and writing a significant dissertation for the Ph.D. on any subject in French medieval history that can be realized only by sustained research in the archives and libraries of France. The fellowship helps defray research and living expenses for the equivalent of an academic year of study. It may be renewed for a second year upon demonstration of satisfactory progress.

Applications must be submitted by 15 November 2025 for funding beginning in September 2026. Please note that applicants must be members in good standing at the time of application. Click here for more information and to apply.

We are very pleased to announce our new partnership with the American Trust for the British Library! MAA grantwinners who need to conduct research at the British Library will now be eligible for an additional $2,500 Fellowship from ATBL to support that research. When you apply for an MAA grant, you may check a box indicating your interest in being considered for this supplementary Fellowship, should your MAA application be funded. We are extremely grateful to the ATBL for supporting our members in such a generous way!

Self-Nominate for MAA Committee Service:
Nomination forms due Dec. 1

Volunteer committee service is critically important to our mission, and we welcome your expertise and efforts. Even if you have already checked the relevant box on your MAA Member Profile page or you self-nominated for service last year, please confirm your specific area of interest and provide additional information by filling out this form to self-nominate for committee service in the upcoming cycle. You may also nominate a colleague.

See our FAQ page for information about how Committee members are selected. Committee members seated in the upcoming cycle will begin their three-year term of service in March 2025.

Click here for more information and to submit a nomination.

Thank you for your interest!