The Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies (IEMYR) is a multidisciplinary research institute dedicated to promoting the study of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Created in 2008 (decree 119/2008 of May 27) from the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies of the ULL, it is made up of professors and researchers from the University of La Laguna whose field of teaching and research corresponds to the field of said studies.
Currently, the IEMyR has 13 areas of knowledge represented: Medieval History, Art History, Archaeology, Legal History, French Philology, English Philology, Greek Philology, Latin Philology, Romance Philology, Spanish Philology, Spanish Literature, Arabic Philology, and History of Science. It also includes the participation of staff from the University Library.
The activities of the IEMyR encompass the fields of teaching, research, and university outreach. Developed throughout the year, two of these activities are held regularly: the IEMyR Seminar and the Medieval Studies Course.
The IEMyR Seminars are held annually and have taken place every spring since 1991, making them one of the few events of their kind in Spain to have been held uninterrupted for over 30 years. Each seminar focuses on a specific theme, which is addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective by national and international specialists. From their respective fields of research, participants present the current state of research and future possibilities for exploring the proposed topic. The seminars are part of the professional development program for faculty members of the Vice-Rectorate for Research at the University of La Laguna and are also open to doctoral students. Since 1993, the seminar papers have been published in the Cemyr Journal.
At the same time, the Medieval Studies Courses are held annually during the first semester of the academic year and are designed to be accessible to university students and the general public. The various departments of the Institute participate in these courses, each addressing a specific topic from their respective perspectives. The IEMyR encompasses a large number of interdisciplinary groups that develop research projects of national scope. There are numerous collaborative projects among members of different departments within the Institute. The cross-disciplinary nature of these groups has facilitated the creation of many projects, some developed within the framework of Digital Humanities. In addition to the various activities, publications, and research projects, the IEMyR promoted the creation of the Master's Degree in European Medieval Studies: The Genesis of Europe, a Cultural Perspective, which ran from 2015 to 2018.