L'Agenda des Médiévistes

The Church and War. Between the Early and Late Middle Ages, to be held at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Institute of the History and International Relations, Bydgoszcz: June 26th-27th, 2015.

Aims of the conference:
The proposed theme of the conference – the Church and the war – has long been the subject of scientific debate, especially among scholars concerned about the crusade movement and military orders. They notice the role of the Church and Christianity in the shaping of specific religious climate, which led, in the eleventh century, to unprecedented military effort directed against Muslims, and later on also against the pagan peoples living in East-Central and Northern Europe. However, there is no lack of specific research issues in this field, which have not been sufficiently highlighted by the scholars and analyzed in a wider problematic context. The geographical distribution of the intensity of studies also presents unevenly. Western part of the continent, with the widespread crusade ideology, pro-peace activities of the Church, pax and tregua Dei, as well as developed military competencies of bishops and abbots is much more strongly represented in the medieval studies than the region east of the Elbe. On the other hand, focus on the papal crusade prerogatives makes undervalued the role of the local churches in shaping of regional theaters of war or religious attitudes of chivalry. Still many aspects of military rituals and religious imagery associated with the war seems to be poorly recognized, whereas the military activity of clergy is too often analyzed unilaterally and separately from religious functions. The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum to discuss these issues in relation to the period ca. 850-ca. 1350.

Language of the conference – mostly Polish, papers in English are welcome
Registration deadline: We expect abstracts about 250 words in length before March 1, 2015.
Conference fee: 200 EUR
(the fee included three nights in the hotel***, two dinners, one gala dinner and publication of paper)

For detailed information (in Polish), see the conference website:
http://kosciolawojna.jimdo.com

Additional informations:
Number of presentations: about 20 in two days
Time of the presentation: 20 minutes

Contact with the organizers:
kosciolawojna@gmail.com

Preferred topics of papers are:

– direct and indirect participation of the clergy in warfare
– Church armed clientele and fortified settlement in the light of written sources
– the use of weapons and armies by the clergy
– military service of the bishops to the rulers in the context of the servitium regis model
– bishops as defenders of the fatherland (defensio patriae) and the Church (defensio ecclesiae)
– clergy as war counselors and experts in military affairs
– military chaplains and their duties
– religious military rites or rituals
– imploring the favor of God by the clergy during battles
– saints as helpers in battles (Schlachtenhelfers) and other miraculous phenomena during battles
– crosses, relics and ecclesiastical banners as arma victricia / signa victoriae
– military liturgical equipment: portable altars, tents-capellae, carroccios
– war / battle as judicium Dei
– rituals of purification of the soul before and after battles
– the ritual of benediction of knights, soldiers and military equipment
– the Church and the Christian ethics of war
– the Church as an originator or enhancer of armed conflicts
– ecclesiastical idea of the social order as a concept legitimizing the use of violence
– crusade against the « evil Christians »
– categories of wars in the notion of the Church (bellum justum, bellum sacrum, bellum civile)
– references to the war and military campaigns in liturgical sources
– theological concepts of war and peace
– the preaching of the Crusades
– military aspect of the mission to the pagans
– war in canon law
– portray of war in medieval hagiography and ecclesiastical historiography
– religious motifs on the armor
– military connotations of clerical ministry and monastic identity (Deo Militare, arma spiritualis, etc.)
– war seen through the biblical history

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.

1) 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.

2) 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?

3) 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.

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.

Source de l’information : The Medieval Academy Blog

Oxford
10th-12th September 2015
CFP Deadline: 1st March 2015

From the modest group of St Dominic and his sixteen followers, the Dominican Order grew rapidly in the first century of its existence, establishing itself across Europe as a learned Order of Preachers. This interdisciplinary conference will seek to explore the influences of the Dominican Order on all aspects of medieval life. The conference theme of ‘influence’ can be interpreted in its broadest sense, encompassing the large-scale influences of the Order and the legacy of its prominent figures, or can be examined on the personal level, such as the impact that the Order had on those that came into contact with it, both within and outside the Order.

Papers might address topics such as:

• how the Dominican Order influenced other religious orders and medieval life more generally (papers may consider this influence with regard to art, architecture, universities and education, book-making, theology, liturgy, legislation, or other relevant disciplines);
• influential Dominicans, such as St Dominic, Humbert of Romans and Thomas Aquinas, and their legacy to the Dominican Order or the use of their teachings outside of the Order;
• preaching and other means by which Dominicans sought to influence the local populations they encountered;
• controversies resulting from Dominican influence (e.g., in the universities, in ecclesiastical government, etc.);
• Dominican education and the training of novices: the shaping of the Dominican religious life.

The conference will be held at Lincoln College, Oxford and Blackfriars, Oxford from Thursday 10th to Saturday 12th September 2015. This conference is interdisciplinary and open to scholars working in any field of medieval studies. Papers of 20 minutes are welcomed, although other formats may be considered. Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words, and include with it your paper title, name and affiliation (if any), contact email, AV requirements, and a short biography (this has no bearing on the evaluation; it is simply for distribution to chairs). All abstracts should be submitted by 1st March 2015. All enquiries and proposals should be sent to Eleanor Giraud: eleanor.giraud@lincoln.ox.ac.uk

Source de l’information :  Medieval Art Research