NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It’s established that in medieval times spices were such a valued commodity that the business of importing them was the most profitable and dynamic element in European trade.
Less clear is why spices were so valued. Could adding a little kick to dinner really have been enough to lead to the Italian dominance of trade and the motivation (along with gold and silver) for overseas exploration and colonization?
The 2006 Harry C. Howard Jr. Lecture will feature former Vanderbilt University professor Paul Freedman speaking on “The Allure of Spices in Medieval Europe.”
The lecture, at 4:10 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, in Room 126 of Wilson Hall, is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt.
Freedman, the Chester D. Tripp Professor of History at Yale University, taught at Vanderbilt from 1979 to 1997 and was director of the Warren Center from 1993 to 1997. He was awarded the Nordhaus Teaching Prize in 1989.
“We are honored to have our former colleague Paul Freedman present this year’s Howard Lecture,” said Mona C. Frederick, executive director of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. She noted Freedman was the center’s director when the Howard Lecture was created in 1994.
The Harry C. Howard Jr. Lecture Series was established through the endowment of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Nash Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. George D. Renfro, all of Asheville, N.C. The lectureship honors Vanderbilt alumnus Harry C. Howard Jr., who graduated in 1951. The lecture brings an outstanding scholar to campus each year to deliver a lecture on a significant topic in the humanities.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu