The Medieval Academy Blog

Cartularies in Medieval Europe: Texts and Contexts
International Conference
Lisbon, Torre do Tombo – Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa
11^th-12^th June 2015

Over the last two decades, cartularies have been seen as an object of study in themselves, not only for the wealth of information they provide or for the problems of authenticity, but as organized ‘deposits’ of memory and of control of property. This meeting aims at creating an opportunity for all those involved in Medieval cartularies to discuss concrete experiences of studying and editing European cartularies from the 12th-13th centuries. Without dismissing a global overview of this phenomenon, we aim at approaching the topic through specific case studies and by taking into account the different ways in which medieval institutions built their own memory. Therefore, it is also essential to pay attention to non-diplomatic texts copied in or written in close relation to the cartularies (e.g. hagiography or historiography), and to the codices in terms of paleography, codicology and decoration.

Researchers from different areas of knowledge are invited to present papers on topics focusing on the following themes:

1. Memory, archives and cartularies: models and aims in the organization of corpora.
2. From the archive to the codex: the selection, organization and use / re-use of documents;
3. Cartularies and non-diplomatic texts: hagiography, historiography, annals.
4. Visual Culture: decorations, seals and signa.
5. Analyzing and editing: experiences, projects, databases.

The conference will be organized in plenary sessions with keynote speakers and parallel sessions with papers.

• Working languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, French and Italian.
• Papers presentations: 20 minutes.

The conference will be organized in plenary sessions with keynote speakers and parallel sessions with papers.

• Working languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, French and Italian.
• Papers presentations: 20 minutes

We welcome:

• individual proposals for a 20-minute paper (ca. 500 words);
• joint proposals for thematic panels consisting of 3 papers (ca. 350 words per paper).

Please include the following information with your proposal:

• the full title of your paper / of your panel and respective papers;
• an abstract (ca. 500 words per paper), eventually with a short list of

bibliographical references;

• a short bio blurb (ca. 200 words).

Please note that:

• All paper proposals will be peer-reviewed;
• Deadline for proposals: February 28, 2015;
• Proposals should be submitted by e-mail in MS Word or PDF format to medievalcartularies@letras.ulisboa.pt, with the subject header: Abstract proposal.

Registration

• Registration for paper presentation speakers: 80 Euros (two lunches included).
• Registration without paper presentation (entitled to conference materials and certificate of attendance): 15 Euros.
• Student fee: 10 Euros.
• All speakers are responsible for their own travel arrangements and accommodation; relevant information about hotels will be provided later.
• Accepted speakers should pay the registration fee after notification of acceptance. Deadlines and methods of payment will be given later.

The Vatican Film Library invites paper submissions or session proposals for the 42nd Saint Louis Conference on Manuscript Studies, to be held at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO, 16–17 October 2015. The conference is organized annually by the Vatican Film Library and its journal, Manuscripta, and is the longest running conference in North America devoted exclusively to medieval and Renaissance manuscript studies. The two-day program each year offers sessions on a variety of themes relating to medieval book production, distribution, reception, and transmission in such areas as paleography, codicology, illumination, textual transmission, library history, cataloguing, and more.

Guest Speaker for 2015:

Stella Panayotova, Keeper, Department of Manuscripts and Printed Books, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Papers or session proposals should address the material aspects of late antique, medieval, or Renaissance manuscripts. Submissions may address an original topic or a session theme already proposed. Papers are 20 minutes in length and a full session normally consists of three papers. If you are interested in organizing one of these sessions, or wish to suggest a paper or session of your own, please contact us as soon as possible.

PROPOSED SESSIONS

Submissions are welcome for any of the following sessions already proposed.

• Old Book, New Book: Refurbished Manuscripts in the Middle Ages

Even when they were tailored to the taste of specific patrons, it was understood that manuscripts would outlast their owners: they were future family heirlooms, to be circulated in networks of gift exchange, inheritance, and resale. In what ways did the patrons and producers of manuscripts anticipate the inevitable change of hands? Under what circumstances did new owners expand or alter legacy manuscripts, and how did they respond to the taste of previous owners? This session calls for papers that examine the social, political, and intellectual import of secondhand medieval books.

• Gravity vs. Levity

“Man is a rational, moral animal, capable of laughter.” (Notker Labeo, d. 1022).

While this may be considered a truism by some, the question of the role played by humor in medieval manuscripts remains somewhat indistinct. Is a joke in a manuscript ever just a joke? Subversive, witty, parodic, didactic, and broadly entertaining imagery is the focus of this session.  What role did humor play in society and how is that displayed in a concrete fashion within the pages of books?

• A Good Read: The Production of Vernacular Texts in Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Italy and their Public

While there is a great deal of documentary evidence for the production and readership of vernacular texts in Italy in the fifteenth century, we know relatively little about their thirteenth- and fourteenth-century patronage and the process of their production. Nonetheless, a considerable number of prose and verse manuscripts written in French, Franco-Italian, or Franco-Venetian survives, often resplendently illustrated and obviously produced for wealthy patrons. See the Fordham University website created to explore this topic: http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/medieval_studies/french_of_italy/index.asp

This panel seeks papers that consider the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century production and circulation of these manuscripts in Italy, discuss their patrons and readers; and examine the organization of their production by individuals or workshops based in urban, court, or private milieus. At this time university textbooks were being produced under university supervision for quality control; what evidence can we find for the regulation of quality in this manuscript genre?

Please send a title and an abstract of not more than 200 words to Susan L’Engle (lengles@slu.edu) by 1 March 2015. Those whose proposals are accepted are reminded that registration fees and travel and accommodation expenses for the conference are the responsibility of speakers and/or their institutions.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline for Abstracts: 30 January 2015

Keynote Speakers: Emma Dillon (King’s College, London), Carol Symes (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), and Boris Bove (Université Paris VIII).

The International Medieval Society, Paris (IMS-Paris) invites abstracts and session proposals for our 2015 symposium on the theme of cities in Medieval France.  After the decline of late-antique cities in the course of the fifth and sixth centuries, a revival of cities began in the course of the eleventh century.  This phenomenon, which profoundly transformed the dynamics of the West to our day, is a field of research that has been enriched in pace with archeological discoveries and by new technologies that offer original perspectives and approaches.  This symposium will approach new lines of investigation that will deepen our knowledge of medieval cities (11th – 15th centuries) not only in their cartographic and monumental dimensions, but also political and cultural ones.

The question of the construction of urban space could be explored in a variety of ways:

– Through its material dimensions, consisting of different forms of cityscapes, its urbanism, and its architecture.

– Through uses of space and their performative function.  For instance, the role of rituals and urban processions, how music and theater contribute to the establishment of urban space in its practical use and representations.

We also wish to explore urban culture, which consists of material, intellectual, or spiritual culture, including:

– The role of writing in the development of a literate, mercantile culture, and new modes of government
– The daily lives of city dwellers:  their lifestyles and patterns of consumption, their culinary tastes, etc.
– The development of practices related to the rise of intellectual institutions (schools, universities, patronage, mendicants, etc.)

Finally, we wish to explore the question of visual representations of the city and in the city, notably:
– The ways in which cities were represented in the Middle Ages, and how medieval cities are represented now
– Models for cities and the role of imaginary cities in the construction of urban spaces

Proposals should focus on France between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, but do not need to be exclusively limited to this period and geographical area.  We encourage proposals and papers from all areas of medieval studies, such as anthropology, archeology, history, economic and social history, art history, gender studies, literary studies, musicology, philosophy, etc.

Proposals of 300 words or less (in English or French) for a 20-minute paper should be e-mailed to communications.ims.paris@gmail.com no later than 30 January 2015. Each should be accompanied by full contact information, a CV, and a list of audiovisual equipment you require.

Please be aware that the IMS-Paris submissions review process is highly competitive and is carried out on a strictly blind basis. The selection committee will notify applicants of its decision by e-mail by February 26th 2014.

Titles of accepted papers will be made available on the IMS-Paris web site. Authors of accepted papers will be responsible for their own travel costs and conference registration fee (35 euros, reduced for students, free for IMS- Paris members).

The IMS-Paris is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (French/English) organization that fosters exchanges between French and foreign scholars. For the past ten years, the IMS has served as a center for medievalists who travel to France to conduct research, work, or study. For more information about the IMS-Paris and the program of last year’s symposium, please visit our website:  www.ims-paris.org.