The Medieval Academy Blog

Leeds International Medieval Congress, 7-10 July 2014

This session will reassess our knowledge of the N-Town Manuscript, British Library MS Cotton Vespasian D.8, in its literary, historical, and political contexts.  The manuscript and its plays have experienced a resurgence of scholarly interest in recent years, in the forms of new teaching editions, monographs, and several articles.  All of this scholarship explores the diversity of style, genre, audience, authorship, and religious controversies addressed by plays that are rooted in the context of late-medieval lay piety, and in a manuscript compiled in the Early Modern Period.  The session welcomes proposals from numerous critical perspectives and methodologies, focusing on individual plays, the manuscript, or the cultures of which they were a part.

Please send proposals via attachment to Dr. Frank Napolitano (fnapolitano@radford.edu), Radford University, by 23 September.

For the official IMC Call for Papers, visit http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2014_call.html.

International Conference
The Ten Commandments in medieval and early modern culture
Ghent University, Belgium
April 10-11, 2014

Key note speakers:
Robert J. Bast (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
Lesley Smith (University of Oxford)

Call for Papers

The Department of Literature at Ghent University is pleased to announce that it will host an international conference on the Ten Commandments in medieval and early modern culture on April 10-11, 2014. We kindly invite paper proposals exploring this theme from any field of medieval and early modern studies. Selected papers will be published in a volume to be included in the peer-reviewed series Intersections. Interdisciplinary Studies in Early Modern Culture (Brill Publishers).

The rise to prominence of the Ten Commandments dates back to the 12^th century. In that period exegetes such as Hugh of Saint Victor emphasized the importance of the Decalogue as a list of moral principles. A century later the Ten Commandments permeated scholastic learning as well as catechetical teaching. They became a useful instrument for the examination of conscience in preparation for the mandatory annual confession introduced by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). By the second half of the 15^th century, the Commandments were omnipresent in religious culture. Their diverse textual  and visual manifestations were found in a variety of media, from manuscripts and printed books, to wall paintings and wooden panels. The prominence of the Decalogue continued amongst the Protestants, albeit with a different emphasis than in Catholic teaching.

The heterogeneity of the preserved Decalogue material inspires numerous research questions, many of which are vital and yet largely unexplored. It also poses methodological challenges to scholars who seek to explore and understand the role of the Ten Commandments within a broader context of medieval and early modern culture. Bearing this in mind, we would like to invite papers that elaborate on various aspects of textual – both Latin and vernacular – and visual manifestations of the Decalogue in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. It is particularly important that the proposed papers put emphasis on the broader cultural context in which the Decalogue functioned, as well as on the methodological and theoretical aspects of the discussed piece of research. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• The relationship (or lack of it) between scholastic and vernacular writings on the Ten Commandments. Recent research has shown that some vernacular writings on the Ten Commandments contain elaborate theological content. Which themes found their way from academic to vernacular theology? Were there independent developments within the vernacular writings on the Decalogue? In which milieus were the ‘learned’ vernacular treatises written and what was their audience?
• The Ten Commandments in various textual genres. The typological diversity of writings on the Decalogue is astonishing. These Old Testament tenets were explored in scholastic summae, catechetical mirrors and sermons, put into simple rhymes, combined with images and even interwoven into stage plays. How did different genres treat the Commandments? Was there any genre-specific emphasis on certain aspects of the exegesis of the Decalogue?
• The Ten Commandments in visual arts. The act of breaking or obeying the precepts was depicted in diverse media. Did the iconography and/or function of the Ten Commandments scenes change depending on the medium? Did the Reformation and Counter-Reformation affect the iconography of the Decalogue-scenes?
• The Decalogue in medieval and early modern popular culture. The Ten Commandments, like other tenets, penetrated popular (religious) culture. How did the abundantly preserved Decalogue rhymes, some of which could in fact be sung, and cheap prints containing a combination of text and image function? Who used them?
• The Ten Commandments in early modern theology. The Decalogue played a vital role in Protestant theology. Did the reformers postulate any major shifts in the interpretation of the Old Testament precepts? If so, did it cause any reaction by the catholic theologians?

Papers should be given in English and should be 20-25 minutes long. Please submit an abstract (max. 300 words) accompanied by a brief CV before October 1, 2013 by e-mail to Marta Bigus (marta.bigus@ugent.be). Successful applicants will be notified by November 1, 2013.

We look forward to receiving your abstracts, and to a productive meeting on April 10-11, 2014. We hope that you will support our efforts by notifying your colleagues and students about the conference. You are most welcome to contact the organisers for further details. For more information, please visit our website: www.tencommandments.ugent.be.

Ex Arabico in Latinum: Studies in Mediterranean Translation Movements
49th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 8-11, 2014
Organizer: Anthony Minnema
Chair: Thomas Burman

Arabic-to-Latin translation movements are underrepresented at conferences of medieval studies since researchers often stride a line between Europe and the Middle East while not fitting completely into either category. However, the demand increases for research on the exchange of ideas across the Mediterranean world. In order to create a forum at ICMS for this research, this session welcomes papers on a variety of topics related to translation from Arabic to Latin (and vice versa) during the Middle Ages, including but not limited to translators, methods and theories of translation, patrons, manuscripts, circulation, readers, and the use of translated material by Latin and Arabic scholars. The disciplinary focus is open to translation of works of philosophy, religion, science, medicine, and poetry. Please submit a 300-word abstract to the panel organizer, Anthony Minnema (aminnema@utk.edu), by September 15, 2013.

In the wake of crisis in Europe, bits and pieces of the past are being resurrected as a means of understanding the present and imagining the future.   Historical figures are re-evaluated and held out as models, once-dismissed ideologies reappear as possibilities or as bogeymen, myths and symbols from the past crop up in new productions, and old political and economic institutions are revived as alternatives for action. But resurrections are not simply about nostalgia, and they aren’t just a restoration of the past in unchanged form. Resurrections necessitate fundamental transformations: inserting old things into new contexts, changing their natures, and assigning them new meanings and values.

Thus, for its 21st International Conference of Europeanists, the Council for European Studies (CES) invites sessions and papers that relate to the theme of “resurrections.” What elements of Europe’s past, and present, are amenable to reanimation? How do they work in contemporary debate, and how is their relevance to the present disputed? What is the process through which they are revived and how are they changed as they are brought back to life or combined with new elements?

The Council also welcomes proposals for panels, roundtables, book discussions and individual papers on the study of Europe broadly defined and encourages submissions from the widest range of disciplines.  In particular, CES welcomes panels that combine disciplines, nationalities, and generations. Proposals must be submitted between August 15, 2013 and October 1, 2013.

For more information, visit the website.

Call for Papers

49th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI

May 8-11, 2014

A Casa de Avis: Legacies from Portugal (session of papers)

Portuguese studies are under-represented in the Medieval studies community as a whole. Its literature in particular has been ignored as the subject of many publications and investigations within the area of European Medieval studies. This is very disheartening considering Portugal’s close historical ties to the histories of Spain and Great Britain which are very popular areas of study. There are many works which have been disseminated to other literatures to and from the Portuguese language that have been studied within other literary traditions without emphasis on the Portuguese contribution. These texts have influenced many authors who have been highly regarded in the literatures of other languages. Although these works are fundamental in understanding the transmission of works, translation conventions, socio-political and cultural relations between the crowns of Western Europe, dissemination of ideas and literary conventions, among other things, they have unfortunately been neglected.

In order to shine a light on this wonderfully rich culture, literature and history, this session proposes to present papers related to the members of the Portuguese royal family belonging to the Casa de Avis (Avis Dynasty). Various of whose members were very influential to and influenced by some of the most creative Ancient & Medieval literary minds (like Aristotle & Boccaccio), participating in circles which have celebrated authors (such as Juan de Mena & the Marquis of Santillana). They have also associated with controversial historical figures such as Ferdinand of Castile, Juan II and Alvaro de Luna.

We invite scholars to submit papers examining prominent figures of the Casa de Avis (i.e. King João I, King Duarte I, Dom Pedro Duque de Coimbra and Don Pedro Condestable de Portugal) or their works from any disciplinary approach on diverse topics such as, but not limited to, science, medicine, comparative literature, music, philosophy, culture, politics, art, religion, etc.

Email abstracts of 300-500 words in MS Word or .pdf with the participant information form (http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#PIF) to Kellye Hawkins kdhawkins@gmail.com & Alla Babushkinaalla.babushkina@mail.utoronto.ca by September 15, 2013 or earlier.