L'Agenda des Médiévistes

In the summer of 2020, one of several dozen protests organised throughout the world in response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis (USA) culminated in the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston being dumped into the water of Bristol Harbour (England). The ripples were felt across the globe. In the ensuing days, weeks and months, scores of other monuments depicting historical figures were variously defaced, toppled, removed from view, or placed under new scrutiny. Many of these had played prominent roles in the slave trade and/or in European colonialism. Some of these monuments were of medieval figures, while others were evocative—to varying degrees of credibility—of the (faux-)chivalric codes and rose-tinted regalia of the medieval past. Of course, to medievalists, the convergence of civic and civil statuary with protest and activism was nothing new. In fact—from the damnatio memoriae of later Roman Emperors to Saints Florus and Laurus smashing statues in Kosovo; Byzantine Eikonomachía; Aniconism in medieval Islam; the Huichang Persecution of Buddhist images; the Ghaznavid plundering of Mathura and Somnath; the Khmer intolerance of Jayavarman monuments in Angkor; the Strigólnik stripping of Pskov and Novgorod; and the First and Second Suppression Acts of the 1530s—many of its roots actually lie in the medieval world. What use then, or advantage, might the study of the Middle Ages hold in evaluating these modern political struggles? This workshop will address precisely this question.

The workshop has three aims. Firstly, it will explore examples of statues, monuments and related forms of public sculpture which speak to the ongoing making and unmaking of medieval figures, images and histories: what we term ‘Monumental Medievalism’. Secondly, in addition to considering the ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of monuments’ original production, it will interrogate the varied and often contested meanings that monuments later acquired over time. Of special interest, moreover, will be papers that address not only the use but the misuse of the Middle Ages, in connection to questions of local identity, gender, sexuality, race, religion and/or marginalisation. Thirdly, it will take the measure of nostalgia for the Middle Ages in the twenty-first century, asking questions of appropriation, anachronism, authenticity, nationalism and reflecting upon the possibilities and pitfalls of conscripting medieval images to serve as contemporary cultural conduits.

The topics of papers may include, but are not limited to:

– The intersection of statuary invoking the Middle Ages with protest and awareness/activism in popular or political thought
– The global and/or post-colonial Middle Ages and monumental evocations of the medieval world in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe
– The creation, alteration or removal of statues of medieval figures in any context
– The use of medieval figures, tropes and traditions in memorials to frame post-medieval history
– The commemoration of medieval figures by, inter alia, national, civic and civil communities
– The role of monuments in debates over the legacy of divisive or contested medieval figures and histories

Scholars at all career stages, regardless of disciplinary background or affiliation status, are invited to submit a (max) 300-word abstract for their proposed paper, along with a short biography, by 1 July 2022. Scholars invited to present at the workshop will be contacted soon after. Papers should be 25-30 minutes long. Attendance will be free. This event is supported by Swansea University’s Research Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMO) and by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies In British Art.

KEY DETAILS
Format: Online, via Zoom
Dates: 5-6 October 2022; sessions will run c. 1pm–6pm GMT
Organisers: Euan McCartney Robson and Simon John
Contact email: monumentalmedievalism@gmail.com

Source : Medieval Art Research

The Oxford Transnational and Global History Seminar is inviting submissions for a postgraduate conference, Saturday 25 June, 2022. The conference will be held in person by the Oxford History Faculty.

We welcome submissions on the theme ‘Encounters and Exchanges in a Global Past.’ We will explore the ways in which encounters and exchanges were experienced in the near and distant past. Despite the recent proliferation of frameworks for understanding contact and the exchange of goods, ideas and biota that accompanied it, contact is rarely considered from a truly global perspective that spans millennia, continents and disciplines.

We welcome interdisciplinary submissions relating to exchanges across time and space. We are particularly interested in submissions on the infrastructure that underlay encounters and exchanges, such as technology and ideology; multi-scalar interaction; the role of translation in contact; the environmental history of encounters and exchanges.

Sessions will consist of 20-minute papers with time for questions and discussion. Interested postgraduates should send a 400-word abstract and brief biography to oxfordtghs@gmail.com. The deadline to submit is 1st May 2022.

Source : Medieval Art Research

Une solide compréhension de la littérature française des XII^e et XIII^e siècles doit passer par la connaissance de sa matérialité. Cette traduction mise à jour par l’auteur de son livre fondamental publié en 2002 s’adresse tant aux chercheurs qu’aux étudiants à la recherche d’un ouvrage de référence riche et précis.

Table des matières : ici

Informations pratiques :

Keith Busby, Codex et Contexte. Lire la littérature médiévale française dans les manuscrits, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2022 (Recherches littéraires médiévales, n° 33). 904 p. ISBN : 978-2-406-12210-4. Prix : 49 euros.

Source : Classiques Garnier

Cambridge University Library (CUL) holds one of the largest collections of fragments of medieval manuscripts in the UK, comprising approximately 1,750 items arranged into over 80 separate sub-collections. Many of the fragments originate from the rebinding or repair of medieval handwritten or early printed books at CUL and are therefore integral to gaining the fullest understanding of the material histories of many items in the historic collections of one of the country’s leading research libraries. The fragments comprise texts in Latin and a wide range of European vernacular languages, and the remnants of illuminated and decorated manuscripts, liturgical and musical books, and other texts. They range in date from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Mostly gathered during the 19th and early 20th centuries, these collections illustrate the development at its earliest stages of the modern collection, preservation and study of this category of manuscripts. However, only a small proportion of the collection has been the subject of published research and very little information is publicly available about its contents.

Cambridge University Library is looking to recruit a Fragmentarium Research Associate, who will have the opportunity to shed new light on this collection. This post is funded by a grant from Fragmentarium, the ‘Laboratory of Medieval Manuscript Fragments’ based at the University of Fribourg, which is supported by the Zeno Karl Schindler Foundation. CUL has also secured supplementary funding for this post from the Aurelius Charitable Trust.

The Fragmentarium Research Associate will be responsible for producing detailed catalogue descriptions of the fragments in TEI format using the XML editor Oxygen and following in-house guidelines drawn up in collaboration with the Bodleian Library (https://msdesc.github.io/consolidated-tei-schema/msdesc.html), and preparing them for publication on the Cambridge Digital Library alongside high-resolution digital images (https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/). You will also be responsible for disseminating the results of your work via CUL’s Special Collections blog (https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/), social media channels and other outreach initiatives. You will also be supported in attending a relevant conference (for which funding is available) as well as pursuing initiatives to introduce medieval manuscript fragments into special collections-based teaching at CUL. As part of the appointment, you must submit a written report to Fragmentarium, for publication in their in-house online journal, Fragmentology (https://fragmentology.ms/).

Applicants should hold a post-graduate qualification in a relevant field, preferably a doctorate, and have a proven ability to read and catalogue manuscripts in Latin and medieval vernacular languages. Knowledge of palaeography and codicology, and manuscript and bibliographical research skills, are essential. Applicants must also have experience of cataloguing or describing medieval manuscripts.

Applicants must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills and IT skills, and be able to manage their workload independently, work under pressure and meet tight deadlines. Experience in using TEI to create catalogue records would be an advantage, though training in TEI and XML will be provided. Experience of designing and delivering special collections-based teaching is desirable.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 years in the first instance.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.

We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our institution.

Click the ‘Apply’ button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please email Dr Suzanne Paul, Keeper of Rare Books and Early Manuscripts, 01223 333149, e-mail: sp510@cam.ac.uk.

The closing date for applications is Sunday 8 May 2022.

Interviews are planned to held on Friday 27 May 2022.

Please quote reference VE30760 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Source : University of Cambridge