Two veteran medieval scholars have created a fellowship at the Centre for Medieval Studies (CMS) that will help ensure the future of studies in the area.
Maureen and D’Arcy Boulton’s generous gift to the centre has enabled the Boultonian Graduate Fellowship in Medieval Studies, open to any graduate student in a medieval field.
“To continue the profession, there have to be graduate students,” says Maureen, now an associate fellow at the university’s Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. “We both had generous fellowships when we were studying for our doctorates, and it's what made our long careers as professors possible.”
Maureen and D’Arcy Boulton have been medievalists since they began their graduate studies in 1970. Maureen’s primary area of focus is French literature, while D’Arcy’s is in history. They share a profound desire to encourage future students to engage with the field.
“I would say that medieval culture is the foundation of our entire civilization,” says D’Arcy, who earned his bachelor of arts at U of T in 1969 as a member of Trinity College. “To understand how our institutions came to be what they are, you have to understand their deep history.”
To give back, the Boultons are establishing a fund to support the advancement of medieval studies. The University of Toronto and the CMS were natural choices for this important initiative.
“The University of Toronto is the principal centre in North America for medieval studies. It is highly respected in our field,” says D’Arcy.
“The students at the centre are really very well trained,” says Maureen. “It’s a very solid program.”
When the Boultons retired from their respective professorships at the University of Notre Dame, they moved to Toronto — a homecoming for D’Arcy, whose family history in the city dates to the 1790s, and an entirely new home for Maureen.
“I’ve never lived here before, but the university has given us a community that we would not have otherwise — an intellectual community, which is frankly wonderful,” says Maureen.
“I was always very attached to U of T,” says D’Arcy. “I am quite happy to be back and to identify with the university of my youth.”
D’Arcy is now an adjunct professor at Trinity College, his old college. Both Boultons are affiliated with the Pontifical Institute and, of course, the CMS.
In 1964, the CMS was founded to foster graduate education in medieval studies complementary to existing departments. Today, the centre offers a master’s and a doctoral degree to between 50 and 60 students every year.
There are a few distinct factors that make the CMS special and the premier centre for medieval studies in North America, says Elisa Brilli, the centre’s director.
The first factor is the extensive offerings in Latin, a fundamental language in any medieval scholar’s toolkit. The second is an interdisciplinary approach that includes eight different research areas. Third is the rigorous and boundary-pushing research taking place at the centre.
“Perhaps the last point, which is also evident from this amazing donation that is so important for our centre, is the community itself,” says Brilli.
Brilli says the Boultons fully endorsed the centre’s vision and approach to graduate education by opening up their fellowship rather than limiting it to their respective fields of interest.
“The effect of an opportunity like the Boultonian Fellowship is straightforward and immediate,” says Brilli. “It allows us to recruit the best students and enables the students to pursue the degree they want under the best possible conditions.”
For Maureen and D’Arcy Boulton, who have spent their entire adult lives as students or professors, there is nothing more important than education and no subject more dear than medieval studies.
“We hope our gift will support graduate students who would otherwise have had difficulties,” says D’Arcy. “That's really what it's all about.”
“They are certainly amazing scholars, and they proved it by thinking about what scholars should think about: students,” Brilli says. “I hope others will follow their example and consider supporting graduate education at the centre.”
Interested in creating transformative opportunities for students in the Centre for Medieval Studies? Contact Niamh Earls Hallworth, Associate Director, Advancement at niamh.earls@utoronto.ca or 416-978-4177.