Month: September 2022

CFP: German Historical Institute Medieval History Seminar

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30/09/2022

14:15

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opportunities

The German Historical Institutes in London and Washington, D.C., are excited to
announce the thirteenth Medieval History Seminar, to be held in London from 5 to 7
October 2023. The seminar will bring together Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D.
recipients (2022/2023) in medieval history from American, Canadian, British, Irish, and
German universities for three days of scholarly discussion and collaboration. Participants
will have the opportunity to present their work to their peers and distinguished scholars
from both sides of the Atlantic.

Conveners for the 2023 seminar will be Fiona Griffiths
(Stanford University), Michael Grünbart (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster),
Jamie Kreiner (University of Georgia), Simon MacLean (University of St Andrews), Len
Scales (Durham University), and Dorothea Weltecke (Humboldt-Universität Berlin).


The Medieval History Seminar invites proposals from all areas and periods of medieval
history and is not limited to historians working on German history or German-speaking
regions of Europe. All methodological approaches are welcome. Applications from
neighbouring disciplines are welcome if the projects have a distinct historical focus.
The seminar is bi-lingual and papers and discussions will be conducted both in German
and English. Participants must have a good reading and listening comprehension of both
languages. Successful applicants must be prepared to submit a paper of approximately 5,000
words by August 15, 2023. They are also expected to prepare and present a commentary on
the papers of another session.


Travel and accommodation expenses of the participants will be covered.
Applications may be submitted in German or English and should include:

  • § a CV (including institutional affiliation, postal address, and e-mail)
  • § a description of the proposed paper (4–5 pages, double-spaced)
  • § one letter of recommendation


Please e-mail a single PDF-file with all application documents to: events@ghil.ac.uk
The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2023.


For further information, please contact Stephan Bruhn: s.bruhn@ghil.ac.uk
German Historical Institute 17 Bloomsbury Square
Tel. +44–(0)20–7309 2050 London WC1A 2NJ (UK)

Call for Papers: Memorial Symposium for Nigel F. Palmer

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29/09/2022

18:01

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Update: Registration for the Memorial Event is now open! Please register by 23 April 2023.

What: Literary, religious and manuscript cultures of the German-speaking lands: a symposium in memory of Nigel F. Palmer (1946-2022)

When: 19/20 May 2023

Where: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Taylor Institution Library, St Edmund Hall

To celebrate the life and scholarship of Nigel F. Palmer, Professor of German Medieval Literary and Linguistic Studies at the University of Oxford, we invite expressions of interest from those who wish to honour his memory with an academic contribution to speak at a symposium in Oxford that is to take place 19-20 May 2023. Presentations of twenty minutes’ length are sought. They should speak to an aspect of the wide spectrum of Nigel’s intellectual interests, which ranged extensively within the broad scope of the literary and religious history of the German- and Dutch-speaking lands, treating Latin alongside the vernaculars, the early printed book alongside the manuscript, and the court and the city alongside the monastery and the convent. His primary intellectual contributions were methodological rather than theoretical, and he brought together a study of the book as a material object with the philological and linguistic discipline of the Germanophone academic tradition.

The first session planned for the afternoon of Friday 19 May will take place consequently in the Weston Library, and will consider the manuscript cultures of the German-speaking lands; presentations may take a workshop format, and may – though need not – focus upon one or more manuscripts in the Bodleian collections. The second and third sessions will take place on Saturday 20 May in the Taylorian Library, and will consider the religious and literary history of the German-speaking lands in relation to the questions, issues and working methods central to Nigel’s published scholarship.

We would request expressions of interest, of not more than one full page, to be received by 11 November 2022, to be sent to Stephen Mossman. We ask in advance for the understanding of all who submit that we anticipate receiving many more expressions of interest than we can accommodate within the schedule. A reception will be held at St Edmund Hall on the Saturday afternoon, to which all are cordially invited and welcome, followed by a dinner in College. Those planning to attend are advised to reserve accommodation in good time, e.g. via universityrooms. We hope to secure funding to support early career researchers in attending the symposium, but anticipate that participants will need to cover their travel and accommodation expenses. Details of the symposium and registration will be available through the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages web-site in early 2023.

For the organising committee: Racha Kirakosian, Henrike Lähnemann, Stephen Mossman, Almut Suerbaum

Image: Nigel F. Palmer studying the facsimile of the Osterspiel von Muri on the gallery of the Taylor Institution Library. Photograph by Henrike Lähnemann

New Book by Oxford Medievalist

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28/09/2022

12:40

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OMS is delighted to announce a new publication by Byzantine scholar Dr Lucy Parker (Christ Church):



Symeon Stylites the Younger and Late Antique Antioch: From Hagiography to History

Oxford Studies in Byzantium



  • Offers the first detailed modern study of the cult of Symeon Stylites the Younger
  • Tackles barely-known texts including Symeon’s sermons and the Life of Martha, his mother
  • Offers a new perspective on the crises of the sixth-century Roman empire
  • Explores new ways of writing history on the basis of hagiography, a problematic body of source material
  • Rethinks the position of the holy man in late antiquity

Medieval Matters: Is It Nearly Term Yet?

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26/09/2022

14:54

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0th Week is approaching at a rate of knots, which means that this is the final announcement email before Medieval Matters resumes in full force! I’m excited to more formally welcome everyone back to Oxford and, of course, to unveil which manuscript will be gracing your inboxes every week, but for now, here are a few upcoming events, announcements, and three exciting job opportunities for graduate students:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • Medieval Booklet Submissions. Thank you very much to all who have sent these to me so far! For those of you who still have submissions pending, a gentle reminder that you must send them to me by October 1st if you wish to ensure that they are included in the booklet for its 0th week release. Also a gentle reminder that your submission should include, wherever possible, a time and location for your events / seminars.
  • Medieval Blog Submissions. If you have a new book release / media appearance / new research project funding, we would love to advertise it on our blog! The OMS blog is seen by medievalists in and outside of Oxford and is a great place to showcase the achievements of our medieval community.

SAVE THE DATE:

Monday 10th October:

  • Black History Month lecture at St John’s College: St Johns College Auditorium, 2pm. Professor Michael Gomez from New York University will be speaking about “West Africa’s Mansa Musa: An Enigma for the Apogee of the Age.”. Mansa Musa is arguably West Africa’s most famous luminary, representing the region’s most illustrious period. Revisiting the sources, however, challenges conventional and pervasive notions about him and his acclaimed pilgrimage, raising critical questions about the import of his reign for West Africa and beyond. All are welcome to attend.

Monday 31st October:

  • Medieval Studies and Astor Visiting Lecture: Lecture Theatre 2, English Faculty, 5.15pm Followed by drinks. Prof. Ardis Butterfield (Yale) will be speaking on ‘Do we mean lyric or song?’.

OPPORTUNITIES:

  • Graduate Students: OMS is hiring!: OMS is one of the largest forums in the world for interdisciplinary research on the Middle Ages, bringing together over 200 academics and a large body of graduate students. If you would like to be involved behind the scenes, we have three exciting (paid) opportunities to get involved! We are looking for 1) OMS Social Media Officer, 2) OMS Events Coordinator and 3) Graduate Convenor for the Medieval Mystery Cycle 2023. Though these are advertised as three separate posts, we welcome applications from students who would like to combine two or even all three posts. Please send expressions of interest to Co-Directors Henrike Lähnemann and Lesley Smith by 30 September 2022, 12noon, at medieval@torch.ox.ac.uk, including a one-page CV and a cover email explaining why you are interested in the job(s) and what experience you bring to it. For full details, see our blog post here.

Workshop ‘Cultures of Use and Reuse. Towards a Terminological and Methodological Framework of Reframing and Recycling’

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26/09/2022

14:12

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When:  3-6 April 2023
Where: Multiple Locations in Oxford, including the Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean and the archive of Balliol College
What: In recent years, various terms and concepts have emerged to analyse the phenomena of use and re-use of medieval objects. This workshop will work towards a common terminological and methodological framework, starting with two key approaches: recycling and reframing. An interdisciplinary group of scholars will offer insights into their own research and their respective academic fields in a series of seminars and visits to collections based in Oxford.

Programme:

Monday, 3 April
17.00-18.45 Opening Keynote Lecture, Weston Library Lecture Theatre
17.00-18.45: Lisa Fagin Davis (Boston, USA): Framing Fragments

Tuesday, 4 April
9.00-10.30 & 11.00-12.30 Weston Library Sessions

Dr Hannah Ryley introducing manuscripts during the hands-on session

14.00-17.00 Paper Panel Session, St Cross Church, Balliol College Archives
14.00-14.30: Catherine Casson (Mancester, UK): Pioneers of Sustainability: Repair, Reuse and Recycling in the Middle Ages and its Relevance for Today
14.30-15.00: Reinhold Reith/Georg Stöger (Salzburg, AT): Materials, Things and Actors in Pre-Industrial Reuse and Recycling
15.00-15.30: David Rundle (Kent, UK): Why would they do that? Binders Choices in Reusing Manuscript and Print ‘Waste’
16.00-16.30: Orietta Da Rold (Cambridge, UK): Paper Reborn: Collecting and Repurposing Practices by Antiquaries in Late 17th- and 18th-Century England
16.30-17.00: Anna Reynolds (Steffield, UK): The Material and Imaginative Lives of Waste Paper and Waste Parchment in Early Modern England

Wednesday, 5 April
9.00-10.30 & 11.00-12.30 Ashmolean Museum Session with Dr Jim Harris (Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean Museum)

Oxford Medieval Studies lecture including some objects discussed in the session

14.00 – 17.00 Paper Panels, Lecture Room 23, Balliol College Main Site
14.00-14.30: Malena Ratzke (Jena, DE): Reframing the Lives of Christ and Mary in Codices of the Speculum humanea salvationis 
15.00-15.30: Magdalena Butz (Munich, DE): Reframing “Beichtformulare”: From Paraliturgical Contexts to Middle High German Poetry
16.00-16.30: Stefanie Seeberg: Reuse and Reframing of Textiles in the Middle Ages
16.30-17.00: Juliette Calvarin (Berlin, DE): Looking for Amices: Reused or purpose-made Embroideries of the Holy Face

Thursday, 6 April
9.30-11.00 Paper Panel Session, St Cross Church, Balliol College Archives
9.30-10.00: Alison Ray (Oxford, UK): Veneration and Preservation: the Role of Christ Church Priory Library in the Cult of St Thomas Becket

Dr Alison Ray introducing the Becket volume during the Bodleian Library hands-on session

10.00-10.30: Henry Ravenhall (Cambridge, UK): Studying Cultures of Touch and Use in the Illuminated Manuscripts of the Medieval French Biography of Julius Caesar (Faits des Romains)
10.30-11.00: Katarzyna Kapitan (Oxford, UK): Priceless or Valueless: Fragments in the Arnamagnæan Collection
11.30-13.00 Roundtable Discussion

14.00-15.45 Closing Keynote, Weston Library Theatre
14.00-15.45 Feature it, or hide it? (Kate Rudy, St Andrews, UK)

Keynote Lectures: We are delighted to have Lisa Fagin Davis and Kate Rudy as keynote speakers for our workshop. Both keynote lectures are free, but registration is required. For futher information, please click on the names of the respective keynote speakers.

Convenors: JProf. Dr Julia. von Ditfurth (Faculty of Art History, University of Freiburg); Dr Hannah Ryley (Balliol College, University of Oxford); Carolin Gluchowski, M.A. (New College, University of Oxford) in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, the Bodleian Libraries Oxford, and Balliol College Library.

This event this generously supported by the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership, New College, Balliol College, the Centre for the Study of the Book, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Bodleian Library. We are delighted to collaborate with Henrike Lähnemann, Alexandra Franklin, Andrew Dunning, and Jim Harris.

Image: Bodleian Library MS. Lat. liturg. f. 4, 9r: The prayerbooks of the Cistercian convent of Medingen are an outstanding example for the reworking of manuscripts in the course of late-medieval church reforms.

Graduate Students: OMS is hiring!

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26/09/2022

13:38

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OMS is one of the largest forums in the world for interdisciplinary research on the Middle Ages, bringing together over 200 academics and a large body of graduate students. If you would like to be involved behind the scenes, we have three exciting (paid) opportunities to get involved! Though these are advertised as three separate posts, we welcome applications from students who would like to combine two or even all three posts:

1) OMS Social Media Officer: The Social Media Officer is in charge of connecting all of Oxford’s medievalists via the OMS Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and also occasionally posting on here, the OMS blog. You will be responsible for posting across these platforms to advertise OMS events, opportunities and news. You will work closely with the OMS directors (Profs Henrike Lähnemann and Lesley Smith), the Communications Officer (Dr Luisa Ostacchini) and the Events Coordinator. Familiarity with social media advertising is beneficial but not essential: this is an ideal way to gain technical know-how about social media, advertising and marketing that can be used in your academic career and beyond. The post usually comprises an hour or two a week. To read more about the post from the out-going postholder, Llewelyn Hopwood, including tips and tricks for social media success, see his blog post here.

2) OMS Events Coordinator: The Events Coordinator ensures that all of our in-person and online OMS events run smoothly. You will organise the google calendar, oversee the OMS Teams and YouTube Channels, respond to email queries about events, set up Zoom streaming events, assist in the real-time running of events (mostly hybrid and online, but also in-person), and serve as a point of liaison point between events organisers and the rest of the OMS Team. You will work closely with the OMS directors (Profs Henrike Lähnemann and Lesley Smith), the Communications Officer (Dr Luisa Ostacchini) and the Social Media Officer. Some familiarity with Teams and Zoom is necessary, but you by no means need to be an expert in these software packages as you can learn on the job. The post usually comprises an hour or two a week. To read more about the post from the out-going postholder, Tom Revell, including insight into the exciting range of events he helped to facilitate, see his blog post here.

3) Graduate Convenor for the Medieval Mystery Cycle 2023: the graduate convenor will take the mantle of the operation from Dr Eleanor Baker by organising the Medieval Mystery Cycle, which takes place on 22 April 2023. You will liase with the various Mystery Players and directors, help to coordinate workshops, and ensure that the plays run smoothly on the day. Experience in events organisation and a love of theatre are beneficial, but not essential. You will work closely with the OMS directors (Profs Henrike Lähnemann and Lesley Smith), the Communications team, and Mystery Players from across the university and beyond. To get a sense for the scope of the project, and to see the plays performed in previous years, see seh.ox.ac.uk/mystery-cycle.
Payment for all of these roles is at the standard rate for graduate students, and is billed by timesheet — up to a maximum of six hours per week per role, although actual hours will usually comprise one or two hours per week per role.

Please send expressions of interest to Co-Directors Henrike Lähnemann and Lesley Smith by 30 September 2022, 12noon, at medieval@torch.ox.ac.uk, including a one-page CV and a cover email explaining why you are interested in the job(s) and what experience you bring to it.

Header image: Matthew Paris Elephant from Parker MS 016II fol 152v (See the manuscript online via Parker Library on the Web)