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IMC 2025: Sessions

Session 219: Faith-Full Learning, II: Faith-Full Learning in the City

Monday 7 July 2025, 14:15-15:45

Sponsor:Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Saint Louis University, Missouri / Medieval & Renaissance Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha
Organisers:Martina Saltamacchia, Department of History, University of Nebraska Omaha
Damian Smith, Department of History, Saint Louis University, Missouri
Moderator/Chair:Jessalynn Bird, Department of Humanistic Studies, Saint Mary's College, Indiana
Paper 219-aPhysicians Informed by Faith: Alonso Chirino and the Role of the Physician in Late Medieval Castile
(Language: English)
Courtney Knight, Department of History, Saint Louis University, Missouri
Index terms: Education, Medicine, Religious Life, Teaching the Middle Ages
Paper 219-bFaith in Practice: Trade and Devotion in the Life of the Milanese Merchant Marco Carelli
(Language: English)
Martina Saltamacchia, Department of History, University of Nebraska Omaha
Index terms: Economics - Trade, Education, Religious Life, Social History
Paper 219-cFaith and the Learned Law: Ramon de Penyafort and the Practical Use of a University Education
(Language: English)
Damian Smith, Department of History, Saint Louis University, Missouri
Index terms: Canon Law, Ecclesiastical History, Education, Religious Life
Abstract

In the medieval world, faith was not just a matter of personal belief or abstract ideal—it was a fundamental part of life that influenced how people learned, worked, and made decisions. This session, echoing Bonaventure’s claim that faith illuminates all things, explores how religious practices and beliefs shaped the everyday lives of people from all walks of life. For merchants and scholars, lawyers and doctors, faith informed how individuals approached their daily tasks and responsibilities.

Far from being confined within monasteries and churches, faith-full learning played a role in guiding the ethics of trade, the schedule of university students, and the practice of physicians. By considering how deeply woven faith was into the fabric of daily life and the practical knowledge of people, this session aims to broaden our understanding of what medieval learning encompassed. Through a series of case studies, the session contributes to the IMC 2025 theme, Worlds of Learning, by shedding light on the essential role of faith-full learning in medieval intellectual and practical pursuits.