L'Agenda des Médiévistes

Iconotropy is a Greek word which literally means “image turning.” William J. Hamblin (2007) defines the term as “the accidental or deliberate misinterpretation by one culture of the images or myths of another one, especially so as to bring them into accord with those of the first culture.” In fact, iconotropy is commonly the result of the way cultures have dealt with images from foreign or earlier cultures. Numerous accounts from classical antiquity and the Middle Ages detail how cult images were involved in such processes of misinterpretation, both symbolically and materially. Pagan cultures for example deliberately misrepresented ancient ritual icons and incorporated new meanings to the mythical substratum, thus modifying the myth’s original meanings and bringing about a profound change to existing religious paradigms. Iconotropy is a fundamental concept in religious history, particularly of contexts in which religious changes, often turbulent, took place. At the same time, the iconotropic process of appropriating cult images brought with it changes in the materiality of those images.

The earliest approach to the concept was in Robert Graves’s The Greek Myths (1955), where Graves justified his own ideas about the origins of many Greek myths, claiming that classical Greek culture had essentially misinterpreted images from the Bronze Age. In some cases, Graves conjectured a process of iconotropy by which a hypothetical cult image of the matriarchal period had been misinterpreted by Greek culture. More broadly, since the 1970s, cultural anthropologist Leopold Kretzenbacher published a large number of meticulous studies on European religious iconography. In these critical studies, Kretzenbacher focused on reinterpretations of both religious and secular images whose original meaning was lost, forgotten or even ignored on purpose. In Kretzenbacher’s view, iconotropy refers to the conversion of religious iconography from one mode of spiritual organization to another. Apart from Graves’s and Hamblin, scholars have paid only attention to a concept that is fundamental for the articulation of an integrative discourse on the visual culture and anthropology of the ancient and medieval cult image.

The conference hopes to generate new research questions and creative synergies by initiating conversation and the exchange of ideas among scholars in the arts and humanities. We invite researchers from ancient and medieval periods to propose contributions engaging questions on themes such as:
– Changes in the symbolism and materiality of the religious image
– Iconotropy and rituality
– Reinterpretation of non-Western cult images
– Mythology and cult image in Antiquity
– Symbolic and material appropriation of pagan images in the Middle Ages

General information :
The workshop will take place in April 4 and 5 of 2019 at the School of Philosophy and Letters of the Autonomous University of Madrid and the National Museum of Archaeology. Keynote speakers: Prof. Michele Bacci (Universität Freiburg); Prof. Cecilie Brøns (Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhague); Prof. Adolfo Domínguez Monedero (UAM); Prof. Alejandro García Avilés (Universidad de Murcia). Participants accepted will presente papers up to a maximum length of twenty minutes.

Deadlines
– January 15, 2019: submition of paper proposals (including title, abstract of 300 words maximum and brief CV)
– February 15, 2019: announcement of accepted proposals
– July 31, 2019: submition of articles for publication

Address for submitions and contact
Paper proposals, questions and articles should be sent to:
icam.uam[at]gmail.com.

Organizers
Jorge Tomás García (UAM) Sandra Sáenz-López Pérez (UAM)
Secretary: David Vendrell Cabanillas (UAM)

Lieu de la manifestation : Autonomous University of Madrid and the National Museum of Archaeology
Organisation : Autonomous University of Madrid
Contact : icam.uam[at]gmail.com

Source : Compitum

Ort : Mainz
Veranstaltungsort : Landesmuseum Mainz
Veranstalter : Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz
Datum : 31.03.2019

Kontakt :
Nadine Hoffmann
Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Erthaler Hof, Schillerstraße 44, 55116 Mainz
nadine.hoffmann@gdke.rlp.de

Während des Hochmittelalters wurden aus bischöflichen Zentren kraftvolle Stadtkommunen. Handwerker, Händler und Kaufleute entwickelten neue Formen der gesellschaftlichen und politischen Organisation. Viele Städte am Rhein erhielten Freiheitsprivilegien durch Kaiser, Könige und ihre bischöflichen Herren. Die jüdischen Gemeinden spielten bei diesem Prozess eine herausragende Rolle. In Speyer, Worms und Mainz entwickelten sich in ganz Europa angesehene Talmudschulen. Unter dem Namen „SchUM“ (Schpira, Warmaisa und Magenza) genossen die drei Gemeinden im aschkenasischen Judentum hohe Autorität in religiös-kultischen und rechtlichen Fragen. Sie errichteten hier Synagogen und Mikwen, die für Mittel- und Osteuropa typenbildend wurden.

Welche Rollen, Rollenbilder und welche soziale Stellung hatten die jüdischen und christlichen Frauen in den sich entwickelnden neuen Formen der gesellschaftlichen und politischen Organisation in den Städten am Rhein? Unterschied sich ihr Status je nach kulturellem und religiösem Kontext? Wie wurden ihre Rollen zum Ausdruck gebracht und wer brachte diese zum Ausdruck? Diese Fragen sollen im Rahmen der interdisziplinären Tagung näher beleuchtet werden. Ziel der Tagung ist, die Rolle und Stellung der jüdischen und christlichen Frauen in der Gesellschaft der mittelalterlichen Städte am Rhein mit Hinblick auf sozialhistorische, kulturelle sowie religiöse Aspekte und Kontexte, mögliche Alleinstellungsmerkmale und/oder Wechselwirkungen herauszuarbeiten und Forschungsdesiderate aufzuzeigen.

Die Tagung bildet einen Brückenschlag zwischen dem aktuell erarbeiteten UNESCO-Welterbeantrag „SchUM-Stätten Speyer, Worms und Mainz“ und der Landesausstellung „Von Karl dem Großen bis Friedrich Barbarossa. Die Kaiser und die Säulen der Macht“, die im September 2020 im Landesmuseum Mainz eröffnet wird.

Entsprechend sind Beiträge unter anderem zu folgenden Themenkomplexen besonders willkommen:

– Die Rollen von Frauen in den mittelalterlichen Städten am Rhein
– Die Rolle der Frau in den sich neu ausbildenden Formen der gesellschaftlichen und politischen Organisation
– Vergleichende Untersuchungen zur Rolle und Stellung der Frau in den jeweiligen kulturellen Kontexten
– Religiöse Rollenbilder und Erfahrungswelten jüdischer und christlicher Frauen
– Das Selbstverständnis jüdischer und christlicher Frauen im Mittelalter
– Alltags- und Geschäftsleben
– (Selbst-)Darstellungen der Frauen in zeitgenössischen Quellen
– Ausdruck des Rollenverständnisses in der Kunst, Architektur und Literatur
– Vermittlung der Geschlechterrollen in Ausstellungen

Wir bitten um Abstracts für Vorträge mit einer Redezeit von 20 Minuten.
Tagungssprachen sind Deutsch und Englisch. Eine Übernahme der Reise- und Übernachtungskosten wird angestrebt. Zudem ist die Herausgabe eines Tagungsbandes geplant.

Tagungsdatum 04.-05.11.2019

Bitte senden Sie Ihre Abstracts sowie eine Kurzvita bis zum 31.03.2019 an:

Nadine Hoffmann
nadine.hoffmann@gdke.rlp.de

Wir freuen uns auf Ihren Beitrag!

Source : H-Soz-Kult

This time, the Power of the Bishop team are joining with the Episcopus Society for the 2019 conference, exploring the theme of Episcopal Patronage from Late Antiquity to c.1500. We want to put together thematic panels that compare and contrast uses, abuses and outcomes of bishops as patrons across time and geographical boundaries.

We are looking for papers that explore, but are not limited to:

* Art and architecture
* Music and Liturgy
* Manuscripts and Literary Culture
* Saint Cults and Pilgrimage Routes
* Education and Social Advancement
* Socio-political networks, the advancement of families and individuals
* When episcopal patronage goes wrong – the failures and abuses of episcopal patronage and its results

Abstracts should be no more than 500 words.

This year we are accepting abstracts in English, Italian and French.

**If selected then papers and book chapters must be in English**

Email abstracts to: powerofthebishop (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line ABSTRACT POB4 by no later than 01 February 2019.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pob-4-the-medieval-bishop-as-patron-tickets-53543735755

About Us

The Bishop was a powerful figure in the Middle Ages, and we have explored several facets of episcopal power in our conference series and accompanying edited volumes. Episcopal Power and Local Society, based on the theme of our first conference in 2013, was published by Brepols in 2017. The second volume in the series, Episcopal Personalities, is currently in production with Brepols. The third volume, based on our 2017 conference The Medieval Bishop as Diplomat, is currently being prepared.

We hope to publish selected papers from this conference as fully developed book chapters with an estimated 18-24 month turnaround from the date of the conference. This volume will also be submitted to Brepols for their Church History series, and will undergo peer review. The organising team are also the co-editors of the volumes with Prof Em. Peter Coss and this year we are joined by Assoc Prof Evan Gatti.

All volumes with Brepols undergo peer review.

About the Venue

Sarum College, 19 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2EE

For the first time we are moving the conference from its home at Cardiff University to the Cathedral Close at Salisbury where we can see Episcopal Patronage in action!

Sarum College has reserved 40 rooms of various types (singles, twins, doubles) on site for delegates and speakers quoting “Power of the Bishop Conference 30-31 May”. These rooms start at around £43 per night for their basic single rooms and can be booked directly with the College on a first-come-first-served basis. Contact them on (+44)1722 424800 or visit their website http://www.sarum.ac.uk for their email address and more information including accessibility requirements.

AV equipment is available in the ground floor lecture room where the conference will be held.

Catering (tea and coffee breaks and lunch) will also be on site in Sarum College. Please let us know about dietary requirements when you register.

There are several other hotels and B&Bs in the city, including the White Hart, the Red Lion, and the King’s Head Inn.