L'Agenda des Médiévistes

Padua, 24-25 October 2024

The crucial importance of preaching in medieval Europe has long been acknowledged, not only for religious culture, but also for cultural, political and social history, art history and history of material culture. An interconnected pan-European phenomenon, to be effective preaching needed to be at the same time tailored to local tastes and conventions, shaping the message to the circumstances at hand. With the term “preaching” we understand the public performance of a speech believed to be divinely inspired and meant for religious and moral education. Most importantly, medieval preaching was not the static transfer of a text from preacher to audience: rather, it was an inherently dynamic and interactive activity, involving multiple actors through time and space, communicating religious knowledge within embodied and spatialized networks. The conference will focus on the multisensorial dimension of preaching, which goes beyond the content and style of the textual sermon, to include the personal appearance of the preacher, their voice and gestures (the “embodied” dimension), the material environment in which the preaching took place (the “embedded” dimension) and the use of “special effects” (such as sounds or fire) and objects as an integral part of the performance. 

The role played by the material environment in which the preaching took place has received little attention, and mostly with reference to memory (Carruthers 1998, Bolzoni 2002). It has been pointed out that some late medieval religious leaders (such as Bernardino of Siena) referred in their speeches to specific elements of the material environment in which they were preaching (for example, artworks), presumably to help keep awake the attention of the audience and to “anchor” the teaching to material elements which could be seen by individuals on a daily basis. However, much remains to be done to understand whether and to what extent the specific material environment affected the overall experience of preaching (open vs closed space, specific environments such as churches, saint’s tombs, graveyards, squares and so on). Preachers operated amidst a visual network of objects and spaces, against a background of paintings, sculptures, and other images present within the same space where they performed, giving opportunity for the sermon to connect, contrast, or compete for attention. This also raises the question to what extent preachers adapted their preaching to the particular environment and planned the setting in which the preaching had to take place. 

A further element that deserves to be considered is that, as an act of communication, preaching was not a one-way interaction: the audience, through their attitude, verbal and non-verbal reactions to the preaching played an active role which affected the experience both of the individuals gathered to listen and of the preacher. Based on this, we propose to approach preaching an interactive performance where multiple actors and multiple elements played a role. For this purpose, we will approach audiences using the notion of “socio-sensory environment”, and assuming the existence of specific sensoria depending on social, cultural and geographical factors. Preaching relied on the various senses to be properly understood and make a lasting impact: the oral and aural performance of the sermon took place within a visually accessible space, with the preacher using both voice and body (gestures, facial expressions) to convey a message. From the sermon text, listeners are often invited to fully employ their senses as well and to imagine themselves present at religiously significant moments: to see the scene before their eyes, to hear what was occurring, to smell, taste, and feel, their internal or imaginary senses giving rise for meditation and devotion. Meanwhile, the experiences of pleasant or unpleasant smells or feelings of cold, heat, or discomfort can also be investigated from a sensory perspective. 

With a primary focus on Western Europe from the 12^th to the 15^th century, this conference aims to explore preaching in an innovative and holistic way, by considering the multisensorial dimension of the transmission and reception of the word of God in whichever form, verbal or non-verbal. By emphasising the range of activities aimed at communicating religious knowledge and devotional practice, and the multisensorial nature of such activities, this conference will explore new aspects of the multifaceted experience of medieval preaching.

We welcome abstracts for 20-minute papers in English. Scholars may address the topic with a broad approach but always considering the role of all the senses in the performance and reception of preaching. Paper topics may include, but are by no means limited to:

• The role played by objects in the experience of preaching: for example objects and artworks used by preachers, devotional or practical items or other objects, such as hand warmers, used by the audience 
• Unconventional ways of preaching reliant on the senses, for example through music or theatrical performances
• The role played by the senses in the experience of preaching, including smell, taste, and the interior senses (such as thermoception or proprioception)
• The link between preaching and art or architecture, including when preaching outside of the church
• How preaching was experienced differently by different audiences, including audience responses and interactions during preaching
• Sermons or preaching that encompass discussions of physicality, embodiment, or materiality

Please send a title and abstract of no longer than 300 words, together with a short CV and personal data (max. 300 words), to the following emails: zuleika.murat@unipd.it; pieterhendrik.boonstra@unipd.it; micol.long@unipd.it

The language of the conference is English. 

Deadline: 05 April 2024. Notifications of acceptance will be given by 26 April 2024.

Selected papers will be invited for publication in a collective volume.

This conference is organised by the ERC research project SenSArt – The Sensuous Appeal of the Holy. Sensory Agency of Sacred Art and Somatised Spiritual Experiences in Medieval Europe (12th-15th century), Grant Agreement nr. 950248, PI Zuleika Murat, Università degli Studi di Padova (https://sensartproject.eu/).

Organising Committee: 

Zuleika Murat (Associate Professor, Università degli Studi di Padova)
Pieter Boonstra (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Università degli Studi di Padova) Micol Long (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Università degli Studi di Padova)

Au détour d’un exemple d’amplification, Geoffroi de Vinsauf indique à ses lecteurs les mots appropriés à l’expression du deuil (« Temporibus luctus his verbis exprime luctum », Poetria nova, v. 367). De fait, le décès d’un individu suscite diverses productions écrites, notamment poétiques, à l’instar des plaintes funèbres (planctus), des épitaphes et des titres de rouleaux mortuaires. De prime abord, le trait distinctif de la poésie funéraire est d’ordre thématique : la mort en fonde l’unité. Malgré leur proximité discursive, les poèmes funéraires se démarquent par des critères formels (poésie métrique, rythmique, ou performance orale) et matériels (codex, rotulus, pierre).

Dès l’époque carolingienne, la poésie funéraire connait un développement considérable. Les raisons de son succès au cours du premier Moyen Âge restent encore à éclaircir. Traditionnellement, l’historiographie marque une rupture au tournant des XII^e et XIII^e siècles, entre autres en raison de la production croissante des textes vernaculaires et de l’amorce du macabre, avec la figure d’Hélinand de Froidmont. L’ambition des journées est d’étudier les expressions poétiques du deuil à l’aune de leurs supports, de leur style et de leurs usages. Il s’agira de questionner la notion de poésie funéraire par l’étude de ses diverses manifestations poétiques, tout en s’interrogeant sur sa production et sa réception : quels sont les éléments précurseurs ? Qu’est-ce qui se maintient aux siècles suivants ? En quoi sied-il de parler plutôt d’une transformation ou plutôt d’une rupture nette ?

La matière de la poésie funéraire (Université de Poitiers, CESCM ; 26-27 septembre 2024)

Tout au long du Moyen Âge, le décès peut déclencher la composition poétique et l’acte d’écriture. L’enjeu de cette première journée sera de caractériser la matière qui convient à l’expression du deuil : comment définir la poésie funéraire aujourd’hui et envisager la porosité entre ses différentes manifestations (planctus, épitaphes, titres de rouleaux mortuaires) ? Dans quels contextes (manuscrits comme monumentaux) apparaissent les différentes expressions poétiques funéraires ? À quels besoins répondent-elles (commémoratifs, cathartiques, panégyriques et liturgiques) et à qui s’adressent-elles ?

À cette diversité des manifestations poétiques répond une diversité d’usages. Il conviendra aussi de s’interroger sur les liens qui peuvent être établis entre le poème funéraire et son support. Quels facteurs suggèrent ou imposent la forme du poème funéraire ? Quelles pratiques de lecture assigne-t-on aux divers supports ? Quelles traces d’oralité subsistent dans les témoins écrits et quel est le statut de la composition musicale dans la poésie funéraire ?

La mort d’un individu est l’élément commun à tout poème funéraire. Toutefois, cette poésie s’inscrit dans un réseau intertextuel et emprunte des topoï attestés dans d’autres productions littéraires : ainsi, l’expression de la douleur, la prière et la glorification. Dès lors, quels topoï sont récurrents dans les différentes manifestations du deuil ? Sont-ils en tout ou en partie conditionnés par leur support ? Dans quel réseau intertextuel s’inscrivent-ils ? Font-ils l’objet d’un traitement spécifique selon leur contexte ?

Style et mise en scène de la poésie funéraire (Université Catholique de Louvain ; 28-29 novembre 2024)

L’objectif de la deuxième journée consistera à s’interroger sur l’existence d’une esthétique propre à l’expression du deuil. Cette question sera d’abord abordée du point de vue stylistique. Existe-t-il un langage ou une poétique spécifique à la matière funéraire ? Quels outils et quelles méthodes peuvent-être mobilisés (études stylométriques, humanités numériques, etc.) ? Quelles sont les caractéristiques formelles des poèmes funéraires (figures de prédilection, variations lexicales, constructions syntaxiques, etc.) et sont-elles conditionnées par leur support ? À quel(s) type(s) de versification s’adonnent les poètes ?

Ensuite, il faudra étudier les représentations de la poésie funéraire et la manière de la mettre en scène. La distance entre le texte et son support théorique a déjà été soulevée par l’historiographie, en particulier pour les épitaphes. Si toutes les épitaphes n’ont pas été gravées, comment évoque-t-on leur matérialité dans le discours poétique ? Quels codes visuels et quelles caractéristiques graphiques reprennent les scribes pour faire penser à une épitaphe lapidaire ? Quelles sont les fonctions des jeux graphiques adventices, et font-ils partie intégrante de la poétique funéraire ?

Enfin, il sera nécessaire de mieux définir les rapports que l’auteur entretient avec la matière poétique funéraire. Quelles attitudes développe le poète devant les contraintes qu’implique son sujet – le décès ? Si les arts poétiques du Moyen Âge ne se sont que très peu préoccupés de la question du genre littéraire, existe-t-il néanmoins des traces d’une codification plus ou moins consciente ? En quoi les modèles didactiques, les pastiches et les caricatures permettent-ils de mieux évaluer les traces de cette codification ?

Informations pratiques

Les journées d’études se tiendront respectivement à Poitiers (France) le 26 et 27 septembre 2024 et à Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgique) le 28 et 29 novembre 2024. Les présentations de 40 minutes seront suivies de 20 minutes de questions. Des sessions seront prévues sous le format de table ronde : des jeunes chercheurs et chercheuses présenteront des études de cas en 20 minutes. Un format numérique permettra de suivre l’ensemble des journées à distance au besoin.

Propositions

Les propositions d’études de cas (maximum 500 mots) sont à envoyer à eleonore.venturelli@uclouvain.be pour le 1 mai 2024, en français ou en anglais. Le transport, le logement et les repas des intervenants et intervenantes des journées seront pris en charge. La langue de la communication sera choisie avec le comité organisateur. Une publication des actes est prévue.

Comité organisateur

Julien De Ridder (Aspirant fnrs, UCLouvain et Université de Genève), Damien Strzelecki (Ingénieur d’études au CESCM, Université de Poitiers) et Eléonore Venturelli (Aspirante fnrs, UCLouvain et Université de Poitiers)

Comité scientifique

Paul Bertrand (UCLouvain), Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (Université de Poitiers), Cécile Treffort (IUF, Université de Poitiers) et Wim Verbaal (Université de Gand)

Media, Style, and Uses of Funerary Poetry (9th-12th Cent.)

Through an example of amplification, Geoffrey of Vinsauf points to his readers the appropriate words to express mourning: (“Temporibus luctus his verbis exprime luctum”, Poetria nova, v. 367). Indeed, the passing of someone gives rise to a variety of written productions, especially poetic compositions: laments (planctus), epitaphs, and titles of mortuary rolls. At first sight, the distinctive feature of funerary poetry is thematic: death underpins its unity. Despite their discursive proximity, funerary poems distinguish themselves through the means of both formal (metrical, rhythmic poetry, or oral performance) and material criteria (codex, rotulus, stone).

From the Carolingian period onwards, funerary poetry experiences a major growth. The reasons for its success during the early Middle Ages are still unclear. Traditionally, historiography marks a breaking point at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. This is due in part to the increasing production of vernacular texts and the rise of the macabre, particularly with the figure of Helinand of Froidmont. The aim of these sessions is to study poetic expressions of mourning in the light of their medium, their style and their usage. Our purpose is to question the notion of funerary poetry through the study of its various poetic manifestations, while pondering its production and reception: what are the precursory elements? What remains the same over the course of the following centuries? Why is it more appropriate to talk about a transformation or a clear break?

The Material of Funerary Poetry (University of Poitiers, CESCM; September 26 and 27, 2024)

Throughout the Middle Ages, death could inspire poetic composition and the act of writing. The challenge of this first session will be to recognize and characterize the material considered appropriate in the expression of mourning: how can we define funerary poetry today and consider the porosity between its different manifestations (planctus, epitaphs, titles of mortuary rolls)? In what contexts (both manuscript and monumental) do the various expressions of funerary poetry appear? What needs do they meet (commemorative, cathartic, panegyric and liturgical) and for whom are they intended?

This diversity of poetic manifestations is matched by a diversity of uses. We will also look at the links that can be established between the funerary poem and its medium. What factors suggest or impose the form of the funerary poem? What reading practices are assigned to the various media? What traces of orality remain in the written testimonies, and what is the status of musical composition in funerary poetry?

The death of someone is the one common element in all funerary poems. However, this poetry is part of an intertextual network and borrows topoi attested in other literary productions, such as the expression of grief, prayer, and glorification. Which topoi are recurrent in the various manifestations of mourning? Are they wholly or partly conditioned by their medium? What intertextual network are they part of? Do they receive specific treatment depending on their context?

Style and Mise-en-scène of Funerary Poetry (Catholic University of Louvain; November 28 and 29, 2024)

The aim of the second session will be to examine the existence of an aesthetic specific to the expression of mourning. This question will first be addressed from a stylistic point of view. Is there a language or poetics that are specific to funerary subjects? What tools and methods can be mobilized (e.g. stylometric studies, digital humanities)? What are the formal characteristics of funerary poems (e.g. preferred figures, lexical variations, syntactic constructions), and are they conditioned by their medium? What type(s) of versification do poets use?

Then, we will study the representations of funerary poetry along with its staging. The distance between the text and its theoretical support has already been raised by historiography, especially with the case of epitaphs. If all the epitaphs were not engraved, how is their materiality evoked in poetic discourse? What visual codes and graphic features do scribes use to allude to a lapidary epitaph? What are the functions of the adventitious graphic plays, are they an integral part of funerary poetics?

Finally, we need to better define the author’s relationship with funeral poetry. What attitudes does the poet develop in the face of the constraints implied by his subject – death? Although the poetic arts of the Middle Ages paid very little attention to the question of literary genre, are there nonetheless traces of a more or less conscious codification? How can didactic models, pastiches and caricatures help us better assess the remains of this codification?

Practical information

The study days will be held respectively in Poitiers (France) on September 26 and 27, 2024, and in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) on November 28 and 29, 2024. The sessions consist in 40-minutes presentations and will be followed by a 20-minutes question and answer session. Round-table sessions will feature young researchers presenting case studies within 20 minutes. A digital format will allow to follow the entire event remotely, if required.

Proposals

Case study proposals (maximum 500 words) should be sent to eleonore.venturelli@uclouvain.be by May 1st, 2024, in English or French. Transportation, accommodation, and meals will be provided for the day’s speakers. The language of the paper will be chosen in consultation with the organizing committee. A publication of the acts is planned.

Organizing committee

Julien De Ridder (fnrs, UCLouvain and University of Geneva), Damien Strzelecki (CESCM, University of Poitiers) and Eléonore Venturelli (fnrs, UCLouvain and University of Poitiers)

Scientific committee

Paul Bertrand (UCLouvain), Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (University of Poitiers), Cécile Treffort (University of Poitiers, IUF), Wim Verbaal (Ghent University)