The Medieval Academy Blog

Call for Papers – Listing the World before the Age of Print

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Chris

We all have lists of things to do. We also have playlists, shopping lists and lists of pros and cons (not to mention lists of publications). Whether we make them on paper or with an app, lists are central to our lives. They help us make sense of the world around us, keep track of the order of things and sometimes create a whole new order altogether. Lists were just as central to the lives and experiences of medieval people. If anything, the practice of enumeration was even more common in the Middle Ages, when lists fulfilled functions which are now served by other tools sitting at the intersection of written and visual culture, such as maps and databases. Some of the most famous medieval sources were produced in the form of lists: annals and inventories, for example, but also land surveys and catalogues of saints.

Anthropologists have long emphasised the power of lists. As one of the most enduring devices for human thought and communication, lists are seen as key instruments for both cognitive and social transformation. Literary scholars have taken this suggestion to heart. They have demonstrated that the study of lists can tell us much about the evolution of genres and conventions, and about how writers questioned established categories and worldviews. More recently, a large project run by French scholars has also put lists on the agenda of medieval historians and shown that list-making is a promising angle to study many facets of our period: from the development of more sophisticated ways of organising society to the emergence of new modes of thinking about the relations between the individual and society itself.

This series of panels hopes to push this agenda further. We are especially interested in the agency of lists as both material objects and cultural artefacts – in their ability to create new relationships, not just transcribing existing ones, and formulate new knowledge rather than simply compile it. In essence, we propose to consider list-making not just as

a system for describing the world, but as a way to actively change it. Examples might include the use and manipulation of lists in supporting political claims and ambitions, challenging existing hierarchies and social orders, flattening diversity and marginalising groups, influencing people’s views and opinions, and both shaping and recording crises.

If you would like to get involved, please get in touch by emailing both organisers with a 200-word abstract and a short bio by 31 August 2023.

Luca Zenobi, University of Edinburgh (luca.zenobi@ed.ac.uk)
Benedict Wiedemann, University of Cambridge (bw423@cam.ac.uk)

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Call for Transcribers! The Saint Dunstan Transcription Challenge, July 21-August 4

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Chris

The Saint Dunstan Transcription Challenge is a two week digital event taking place July 21- August 4, 2023. The life of Saint Dunstan is part of The South English Legendaries (SEL), a thirteenth-century collection of saints’ legends and biblical histories written in Middle English. Found in 77 different witnesses, and with over 140 different legends, there are over 2000 unique circulating texts associated with the collection; By participating in the Saint Dunstan Transcription Challenge, you can directly impact our understanding of the South English Legendaries.

Participants will dedicate 4-5 hours in transcription with team-mates over the two-week event; editor-captains will invest slightly more time. Come join the community of digital transcribers, improve your manuscript skills, and learn more about the life of Saint Dunstan and the South English Legendaries! Visit the Saint Dunstan Challenge website for more information, and click here to register!

For questions or concerns, write to Dr. Tristan Taylor at selvariorum@gmail.com,

The Saint Dunstan Challenge is part of the Transcription Challenge Framework (TCF).

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Call for Papers – Seventeenth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law (ICMCL) Canterbury, UK, 7-13 July 2024

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Chris

The 17^th International Congress of Medieval Canon Law, co-sponsored by ICMAC (Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Consociatio/International Society of Medieval Canon Law) will be based at the University of Kent campus in Canterbury, UK, between Sunday, 7 July, and Saturday, 13 July 2024. These congresses take place every four years on alternate sides of the Atlantic and constitute the leading academic conferences in the field of medieval canon law. Traditionally they have drawn scholars from many countries, including not only medievalists and lawyers, but also those who study related fields, such as Western jurisprudence and legal norms, Roman law, ecclesiastical and papal history, theology and biblical exegesis, manuscript studies, and the history of culture, society, and ideas.

ICMAC, the congress organisers Prof. Barbara Bombi FBA, Dr Edward Roberts, and Prof. Peter Clarke and congress programming committee invite proposals for individual 20-minute papers and for sessions (of 3 x 20-minute papers or 4 x 15-minute papers) on any aspect of medieval canon law, including, but not limited to, the following themes:

Texts and Jurisprudence
Influence of the ius commune on the Western Legal Tradition and International Law
Canon Law and Local Ecclesiastical History
Canon Law, Theology, and Pastoral Care
Medieval Law in Comparative Perspective

Proposals should be submitted as Word attachments via email to the congress address (icmcl2024@gmail.com) no later than 15 December 2023.

An individual paper proposal should comprise: paper title and language of presentation; a brief abstract (100-150 words); the speaker’s details (name; academic status; institutional affiliation; email address).

A session proposal should comprise the above for each paper proposed, together with: the details (as for speakers above) of the session organiser and session chair; the session title; a brief rationale (50-100 words) for the session, i.e., how the papers are related.

Proposals are welcomed from those at all stages of their academic career, including PhD students and post-doctoral researchers, as well as independent scholars. Papers may be delivered in these languages: English; French; German; Italian; or Spanish. Scholars not presenting in English are encouraged to use PowerPoint presentations and/or provide written English summaries of their papers.

Regular sessions will not feature papers on text-editing projects (but can include papers on manuscript studies). Updates on such projects will be showcased in a poster session during the Congress. Scholars who wish to present on such projects may submit two proposals if they desire, one for the poster session and another for a regular session.

The organisers would especially welcome proposals on the theme ‘Bridging the Divide’, focusing on Canterbury as a place of significance in the history of Western Christianity and medieval canon law before and after the Protestant Reformation and as the centre of the global Anglican communion. Contributions to this theme might cover such topics as:

Canterbury’s role in the compilation and diffusion of medieval canon law in the English Church
Canon law and local jurisdictions: application of canon law in the archbishops’ and other local church courts
Canon law and secular law: the impact of the Becket crisis on medieval canon law (especially after the Constitutions of Clarendon in 1164) and its long-term legacy
Global Anglicanism: the continuing influence of medieval canon law in the Anglican communion and other post-Reformation churches

Although the chronological focus of the Congress is typically c. 500 – c. 1500, we would also welcome contributions from early modernists to this theme, which is designed to bridge the all too separate study of pre- and post-Reformation Christianity and explore continuities and synergies in the history of canon law over the longue durée. Historians of early modern Catholicism are also invited to offer papers exploring continuities of pre-Tridentine canon law in Europe and the New World, including among English Catholics.

In addition, we would welcome contributions to the strand ‘Canon law and governance’, which will explore how the study of medieval canon law can help inform current public policy debates, notably on the role of international law, electoral systems, constitutional reform, and representative government. The strand will thus focus on these four topics:

Canon law and international law: the transnational influence of medieval canon law on the emergence of national legal systems
Constitutionalism and canon law: the interaction of medieval canon law and secular law in the development of governing institutions
Communities and canon law: the role of medieval canon law in the emergence and definition of groups and communities, such as women and clergy
Elections and consent: the influence of medieval canon law on the role of elections and consent in government

Papers on other aspects of medieval canon law and governance, such as human rights, are also welcome. The purpose of this strand is to show the continuing relevance of medieval canon law to political issues and appeal to a broader public audience. Invited speakers in this special strand include: