An inquiry into a period of Europe's past in which beliefs, attitudes and institutions, moulded in the previous centuries, were consolidated into shapes that mark modern European (and North American) culture. The outlines of the modern state and of the modern family are examined. It is also an examination of late medieval civilization for indications of decline and rebirth. The course looks for signs of struggle between forces of tradition and of innovation, and between idealism and material or corporeal realities.