Call for submissions of short stories about Morgana le Fay on behalf of the publisher Flame Tree who are advertising a newhardcover series with myths and short stories. Deadline for submissions is 22nd September 2024
From their website: Discover the mythology of humankind through its heroes, characters, gods and immortal figures. Myths, Gods & Immortals brings together the new and the ancient, familiar stories with a fresh and imaginative twist. Each book brings back to life a classic mythological or folkloric figure, with completely new stories alongside the original tales. New and emerging writers from open submissions, reveal hidden themes, casting fresh perspectives on well-known stories, alongside specially commissioned text on the origins and the cultural background of the mythology. The first four books in the series are Medusa, Odin, Circe and Anansi. We’re now opening up submissions for the next two books, Achilles and Morgana le Fay.
Morgana le Fay
Morgana le Fay is a mysterious figure of Arthurian legend, found in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,Le Morte d’Arthur and a number of other accounts. She is often seen in the context of the men in those myths – a half-sister of King Arthur, a jilted lover of Lancelot, a foil of Merlin – and yet is an extremely powerful character herself. She has deep roots in Celtic mythology and offers a fascinating canvas to be explored. Well known for her magical abilities, including shape-shifting, her complex character oscillates between benevolent healer and malevolent sorceress. Her relationship with Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is marked by both familial loyalty and deep-seated enmity, making her one of the most enigmatic and multifaceted figures in the Arthurian mythos. Stories submitted for consideration need to explore new angles to the character: have her follow alternative paths, present different viewpoints, imagine new futures, or perhaps pursue story lines that are hinted at in the original tales. Submissions to: Morgana@flametreepublishing.com
Terms:
Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails.
Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology.
For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints.
We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline.
Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that.
Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel.
Let us know in your submission email whether your story would be a reprint or is currently unpublished.
Important Notice about Submissions and Guidelines
We’re always looking for better ways of working so we’ve tweaked our submission process to allow us to read more stories, and spend more time assessing the balance of our books. So follow these rules to avoid your story getting lost in our system!
Submissions must use the dedicated email address.
The subject line of the email must be the story title.
The file with the story must be attached to the email (.docx, .doc or .rtf format).
The name of the file must match the name in the subject line.
If submitting more than one story, please submit one story per email.
Other useful tips for a more successful submission
The file name of the submission must be the story name only.
Please just use spaces between words in the title (not _ or – ).
If the story name starts with A or The, please use it at the beginning of the file name.
If you’d like to add some details about the story, confirm if it’s new or a reprint, or add a short bio of yourself, please add to the body of the email not as an attachment.
Story length is most likely to be successful at 3,000-4,000 words, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.
If submitting a story that has recently been submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email.
The long wait is over! We are extremely excited to finally present a complete video recording of the Old Norse eddic poem Vǫluspá (The Seeress’s Prophecy) by Clare Mulley:
This was the premiere performance of Vǫluspá by Clare Mulley, which took place at The Oxford Story Museum, in honour of the third Old Norse Poetry and Performance Conference (Oxford, June 2023). This was later followed by a repeat performance at The Aarhus Old Norse Mythology Conference (November 2023), and both performances have since aided and inspired other exciting projects by scholars and artists alike. This is just the beginning of a larger exciting project, so keep your eyes peeled for more!
Professor Terry Gunnell of the University of Iceland wrote of this performance, “Clare Mulley’s Vǫluspá is a multi-dimensional work of art that steps off the page to touch the lives of its twenty-first century audiences. Based around a new, creative, free translation of the original Old Nordic work, and effectively given additional depth by the atmospheric musical of Kjell Bråten, Mulley’s powerful presentation returns the poem to its original conception as a piece of essentially oral poetry, something designed to perform in both space and time. Like the original, which it builds on while retaining creative freedom, the translation is couched in striking musical, alliterative language and rhythm, evoking stark images of the original creation and eventual destruction of the world. Firmly touching the ancestral past of the ancient work, this is a presentation that simultaneously effectively draws on the present. It is something that needs to be experienced.”
The performance features soundscapes, backing vocals, accompaniment and sound recordings by musician Kjell Braaten.
It was filmed by Natascha Domeisen and edited by Ashley Castelino, with the support of Oxford Medieval Studies (OMS) and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH).
I hope you are all well, and are enjoying a summer that is equal parts restful and productive. I come bearing various summer announcements.
Firstly, a sad announcement: this will be my final email in your inbox! After three years, the time has come for me to pass on the torch (or should that be TORCH?) in my role as Communications Officer and mentor for the MSt Medieval students. I will still be around Oxford, as I take up a new role at Jesus College in September, so I hope to still see many of you at events and seminars – but I pass the Medieval Matters torch into new hands. The role has been advertised by the Humanities Division with an application deadline of 2 September for a start with the new academic year. This is also an early alert for everybody to send entries to the booklet to the generic address medieval@torch.ox.ac.uk, not to my personal email.
I’ve loved doing this work: it’s not only been a great way to meet and engage with Oxford’s medievalists at every level, but also a way to foster the sense of community that makes Oxford so unique and so special. To my knowledge, nowhere has such a large, vibrant, active, and linked community. If you are an early career researcher, I really encourage you to apply for this role straight away! It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet and work alongside medievalists across the university and beyond, and to work alongside our newest medievalists on the MSt. I’ve been so inspired by our recent cohorts of graduate students, and it’s been such an honour to be a part of their development as scholars. If you want to get a feel for what the job involves, you can read about my experience in my post A Medieval Monologium, and the reflection by one of my predecessors, Karl Kinsella, on his time heralding Medieval Studies.
Read on for summer announcements, opportunites and a list of new book publications:
OMS Matters:
Medieval Booklet Submissions: As we look towards the new year, please start thinking about your submissions for the Medieval Booklet. This year, all entries must be sent to medieval@torch.ox.ac.uk.
New blog post: The TORCH Network Poetry in the Medieval World after Two Terms of Activity. Ugo Mondini reflects on the initial activities of the TORCH Network Poetry in the Medieval World. He shares the network’s journey so far, which has taken participants through the forms, languages, communities, and geographies of medieval poetry and the challenges its comparative study poses. To read all about the first two terms of the network, and to find out how to get involved next year, please click here.
New blog post: Discoveries from New College’s Books of Hours. Caitlín Kane, Special Collections Curatorial Assistant New College writes about the showcase of the College’s collection of Books of Hours back in February of this year. To discover this collection, to find our more about Caitlín’s work on these manuscripts, and to read what happened at the workshop, please click here.
Opportunities and Announcements:
The Medievalist Coffee Morning is restarting well ahead of term on Friday, 6 September in the Visiting Scholars Centre 10.30-11.30. Follow the link for instructions how to find it and a playlist of previous manuscript showcases. The first autumn coffee morning will be followed by the
Medieval MSS Support Group at the Weston Library: We are pleased to trial a new session, once or twice a month, in which readers of medieval manuscripts can pose questions to a mixed group of fellow readers and Bodleian curators in a friendly environment. Come with your own questions, or to see what questions other readers have! If you wish to pose a question, please order the relevant manuscript to the issue desk, and email the details to Matthew Holford, Tolkien Curator of Medieval Manuscripts, the day before, so that he can arrange for it to be transferred across to the Horton Room for the session. The next session will be held on Friday, 6 September (Horton Room) 11.30-12.30. To find out more, click here.
Winter School in Digital Humanities: The Institute for Medieval Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is organising a Winter School in Digital Humanities in Vienna in November-December 2024. The Winter School will take a hands-on approach to tools for handwritten text recognition in medieval documents. They will have sub-groups for Carolingian Latin, Late Latin, Byzantine Greek, Syriac, Medieval Czech and Medieval German. They have planned three virtual sessions starting in November 2024 and a three-day meeting in Vienna in December. To read more, and to apply, please click here. The deadline for applications is 15 September.
CfP: Staging Silence from Antiquity to the Renaissance: 3–4 July 2025 / St John’s College, Cambridge. This two-day, in-person conference will explore developing traditions of silence in dramatic texts from antiquity to the Renaissance. Papers are sought from scholars across a range of fields, including classical reception, comparative literature, and medieval and/or early modern English literature. Please submit a 250-word abstract for a 20-minute paper to John Colley (stagingsilence@gmail.com) by noon on Thursday 9 January 2025. To read the full CfP, please click here.
The last of the events organised by Living Stones, St Mary the Virgin, Iffley is coming up on Saturday 8 September, 2.00 – 5.00 Iffley Church Hall OX4 4EG. We explore the explosive influence of communication with the Arab world with Teresa Whitcombe, and the spread of secular music with Ian Pittaway. We hope to continue the theme next year with a focus on the symbolism of the architectural features and carvings around the church. Please get in touch if you are interested in sharing your research! For contact details and this year’s programme see https://livingstonesiffley.org.uk/events. To read more, please see the blogpost here.
New Publications:
The Cambridge Anthology of British Medieval Latinby Carolinne White (Cambridge University Press). This anthology presents in two volumes a series of Latin texts (with English translation) produced in Britain during the period AD 450–1500. Excerpts are taken from Bede and other historians, from the letters of women written from their monasteries, from famous documents such as Domesday Book and Magna Carta, and from accounts and legal documents, all revealing the lives of individuals at home and on their travels across Britain and beyond. For more information, and to order with 20% off, click here and enter the code WHITE2023 at the checkout.
From Fingal’s Cave to Camelotby Douglas Gray, edited by Jane Bliss(Independent Publishing Network, Oxford). Contact Jane Bliss for further details and/or to buy a copy. The book costs £17.00 plus postage for those outside Oxford, or free delivery via University Messenger Service to those within the University.
Introduction to Middle High German by Howard Jones and Martin H. Jones (Oxford University Press). This book is a dedicated student edition of The Oxford Guide to Middle High German, designed for taught courses and self-study. It provides an accessible overview of the grammar and lexis of the language suitable for introductory-level students and includes thirty extensively-annotated texts with explanatory notes suitable for use in teaching. It is accompanied by a companion website which gives open access to further online resources for the study of Middle High German. There will be a free workshop day with a translatathon on 2 November 2024, introducing the book for anybody interested in Middle High German. Order online at global.oup.com/academic with promotion code AAFLYG6 to save 30%.
The Life of Nuns: Love, Politics, and Religion in Medieval German Convents by Henrike Lähnemann and Eva Schlotheuber, trans. by Anne Simon (Open Book Publishers). Henrike Lähnemann and Eva Schlotheuber offer readers a vivid insight into the largely unknown lives and work of religious women in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Using previously inaccessible personal diaries and letters, as well as tapestries, painting, architecture and music, the authors show that the nuns were, in fact, an active, even influential part of medieval society. Watch the launch during the Medieval Coffee Morning here. To read the book open access, click here. To purchase a paper copy with a 20% discount, use the code LONHL_24 at checkout. There will be a Book at Lunchtime event at TORCH on 13 November 2024 at 1pm.
Translating Europe in Ælfric’s Lives of Saints by Luisa Ostacchini (Oxford University Press). This book offers the first book-length study of Ælfric’s Lives of Saints as a unified collection, provides new insight into Ælfric’s translation practices and the ways in which Latin materials were adapted for a vernacular audience, and presents important new insights into the role of Europe in the early medieval English imaginary, and into pre-modern insular-continental relations. For more information, and to order with 30% off, click here and enter code AAFLYG6 at the checkout.
The Battle of Maldon: A New Critical Edition by Mark Griffith (Liverpool University Press). Mark Griffith’s new critical edition of the surviving Old English poem about the 991 AD Battle of Maldon offers a striking re-analysis of its marriage of old and new features of alliterative poetry. With an introduction, detailed commentary, and full glossary, it responds to the poem’s varied criticisms, and considers the reliability of the sole surviving manuscript. 20% discount when purchased directly from the LUP website: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
The Age of Alfred: Rethinking English Literary Culture c. 850–950, Edited by Francis Leneghan and Amy Faulkner (Brepols). This volume takes stock of recent developments and debates in the field of Alfredian scholarship and showcases new directions in research. Individual chapters consider how English authors before, during, and after Alfred’s reign translated and adapted Latin works, often in innovative and imaginative ways. Other contributions provide new contexts and connections for Alfredian writing, highlighting the work of Mercian scholars and expanding the corpus beyond the works traditionally attributed to the king himself. Together, these essays force us to rethink what we mean by ‘Alfredian’ and to revise the literary history of the ‘long ninth century’.
Beowulf: Poem, Poet and Hero by Heather O’Donoghue (Bloomsbury). The Old English epic poem Beowulf has an established reputation as a canonical text. And yet the original poem has remained inaccessible to all but experienced scholars of Old English. This book aims to present the poem to readers who want to know what makes it such a remarkable work of art, and why it is of such cultural significance. To purchase at 30% off, please click here.
All that’s left is to say a huge thank you: to my immediate colleagues Henrike and Lesley at OMS, but also to all of you for your submissions, emails, and blog posts over the last three years. I really believe in the work we’ve done over the past three years that I’ve been working at OMS, and am sure it will only go from strength to strength in the years to come. I’m so grateful for the time I got to spend heralding all things medieval, and gracing your emails every Monday. I leave you with a customary Medieval Matters quote – this one from Alcuin.
omnibus est locuples, qui rebus abundat amicis [He who is rich in friends is rich in everything] Alcuin, Carm. LXXII
[The Communications Officer passes the torch!] St John’s College MS. 61, f. 15 v. By permission of the President and Fellows of St John’s College, Oxford Viewable in full at Digital Bodleian
The Humanities Division Interdisciplinary Master’s Programmes are advertising an Academic Mentor & Communications Officer Joint Position for the MSt in Medieval Studiesand Oxford Medieval Studies (OMS). The deadline for applications is 2 September 2024. For an insight into the duties involved, read the blog post by two previous postholders, Dr Luisa Ostacchini: A Medieval Monologium, and Dr Karl Kinsella Heralding Oxford Medieval Studies.
The role of the Academic Mentor is to support the work of the programme convenors by fostering a group identity for the incoming cohort of students. The Academic Mentor will make an important contribution to the experience of students on this course.
The role of Oxford Medieval Studies (OMS) Communication Officer is to prepare the termly Medieval Booklet, send out a weekly news bulletin, and coordinate graduate students working with OMS.
The position will be offered for one year in the first instance. The holder will be expected to work 64 hours during Michaelmas term and 56 hours during each of Hilary and Trinity terms (for a total of 176 hours over the year). The hours should be divided flexibly between the MSt and OMS portions of the job, with a typical split of two-thirds MSt and one-third OMS. The remuneration offered is at point 7.1 of the casual pay spine; in 2023-24 this was £18.98 per hour.
Duties of the joint position
The role of the Academic Mentor is to:
help foster a sense of group identity and cohesion
contribute to the research mentoring and professional development of the students during the course
establish an informal space for group interaction
This will involve:
directing students towards relevant events and activities and helping them to navigate sources of information, including signposting to relevant learning opportunities and skills development provision
providing information and guidance on academic choice, including programme options and further study
discussing with students their future plans (whether professional or academic) and offering appropriate guidance by directing students towards relevant offices in the University
leading group discussions of academic and professional topics as may be relevant, depending on students’ needs
providing appropriate guidance on drafting research proposals for doctoral applications
coaching students in study skills (e.g., writing)
readiness to serve as ‘a helpful ear’ to students’ academic concerns or anxieties, liaising with the convenors where appropriate and/or where the mentor’s own concerns arise about a student. The mentor will not act as a welfare officer; however, they are advised to consult the convenors or the course administration should welfare issues arise so that students may be directed to the proper sources of support
The role will support the more formal work of the programme convenor to whom the Academic Mentor should report regularly and consult for guidance on offering advice to students (e.g., on University procedures)
The above is meant to act as a broad guidance; it is expected that the role will be flexible and responsive to the needs of individual cohorts.
The role of OMS Communications Officer is to:
Prepare the termly Medieval Booklet for publication two weeks before term starts
Write and circulate a weekly OMS email news bulletin
Coordinate graduate students working with OMS as events and social media officers
Help to administer the medieval.ox.ac.uk blog and the mailing list
Encourage graduate participation in blogging, application to OMS small grants, and so on
Work with the Directors of Oxford Medieval Studies to promote medieval studies
We welcome applications either from postdoctoral candidates, or candidates with relevant experience. Depending on availability and expertise, there might be scope for some collaborative teaching (for which additional payment would be made).
How to apply
Please write a letter of application outlining your suitability for the role, and send it, together with a CV, to interdisciplinary@humanities.ox.ac.uk by 2 September. Please ask two referees to send their references to the same address by the same date. Interviews for shortlisted applicants will take place in late August, and successful applicants will be expected to start from the beginning of Michaelmas term 2024.
by Caitlín Kane, Special Collections Curatorial Assistant New College
Back in February of this year, New College Library, Oxford had the pleasure of showcasing our wonderful collection of seven Books of Hours—beautiful manuscripts that once served as religious texts and treasured family heirlooms. Popular from the 14th century, especially in France, England, and the Netherlands, these were devotional texts that brought monastic routines into the daily lives of laypeople. Each typically included a calendar, the Office of the Virgin, Penitential Psalms, a litany, and the Office of the Dead, often decorated and customised to reflect the owner’s personal devotions. In collaboration with the Medieval Women’s Writing (MWW) Research Group, we hosted a workshop to show off, discuss, and examine these precious books. The event began with a talk by New College’s Special Collections Curatorial Assistant (that’s me!) on the significance of these books in studying lay devotion, particularly among women, and I shared tips on identifying their owners through text and decoration clues. Dr Jess Hodgkinson, New College Library’s Graduate Trainee, followed with a wonderful talk on her discovery of Eadburg in Bodleian Library, MS Selden Supra 30, thanks to innovative 3D recording technology from the ARCHiOx project.
Participants then had the chance to examine the manuscripts up close. A particularly lively discussion arose from an inscription I had found just that week in MS 369, where we debated whether the scribe’s name was ‘Claudius’ or ‘Claudine’.
It was wonderful to see these books being enjoyed, given that many hadn’t been closely studied since their donation in the 1980s. The enthusiasm and insights from everyone involved have been invaluable, prompting further research and discoveries about the lives of their former owners, some of which I will share now.
MS 369: A FRENCH CONNECTION
MS 369 is a late 15th-century French book of hours, possibly Use of Amiens, written in Latin. The last eight folios contain prayers to the Effusions of the Blood of Christ, written in vernacular French, and signed ‘Claudius Taconnet sripsit [sic]’. I had originally thought the name was Claudine or Claudina, but a further inspection of the horned ‘s’ in ‘les’ and ‘jesus’ suggested otherwise. Although there is a record of a Claude Taconnet, a juror for the linen-workers, in Paris in 1586, it’s unclear at this stage if this is our same Claude. The inclusion of these vernacular prayers suggests they were intended for someone less familiar with reading Latin.
New College Library, Oxford, MS 369, f. 9rNew College Library, Oxford, MS 369, f. 146rNew College Library, Oxford, MS 369, f. 128r
MS 369’s decoration is rich with burnished gold, floral borders, and miniatures. The face of St. John in one miniature has been worn away, likely through reverential touching or kissing of the page. This is commonly seen in books of hours, as the laity adopted not only monastic routines and prayers, but also imitated their priests in kissing holy images and books. As was pointed out to me during our showcase, a small figure depicted praying in an illumination of Saint Anne reading to Mary may potentially represent a member of Claude’s family or a woman for whom the book was originally commissioned.
MS 371: HERETIC HUNTERS IN DRENTHE
New College Library, Oxford, MS 371, f. 65rNew College Library, Oxford, MS 371, f. 2r
While preparing for our workshop, I thought Claude’s inscription in MS 369 would be the highlight. But thanks to the work of Prof. Henrike Lähnemann and Dr Friedel Roolfs, I was excited to discover that the inscriptions in MS 371 were even more intriguing. MS 371, a book of hours in the Middle Dutch vernacular, was likely made in a monastery in the Northern Netherlands around 1460-1480. Its calendar features saints linked to the dioceses of Utrecht, such as St Willibrord and St Walburga, and of Münster, including St Blasius and St George. This calendar and the decoration are strikingly similar to those in books of hours produced in the Benedictine double monastery of Selwerd in Groningen. Though the book’s exact origins need further examination, the endleaves record the births of Maria van Selbach and Roelof van Münster’s children from 1530 to 1538:
Item, in the year 1530, on Sunday after Candlemas, on St D.’s day, my daughter Katharina was born, whose godparents were John of Selbach, Marshal, my mother, and the wife of […]. Item, in the aforementioned year ‘31 on the Tuesday after Corpus Christi is my son Rolef born whose godparents were Kuntz von Selbach and the wife of Droste Bernt van Hackfort, my brother Jürgen van Münster. Item, in the aforementioned year ‘33 on the Tuesday after St Peter-in-chains is born my son John whose godparents were Henry van Münster, Bernt van Hackfort and the young lady van Eill to Klarenbeck, called Blankenstein. Item, in the year [15]34, on the 8th day after the birth of the BMV, on a Tuesday morning, my son Dirk was born whose godparents were my mother and Dirk van Baer. Item, in the year [15]36 on the Eve of Corpus Christi my daughter Agnes was born, whose godparents were her brother Roleff and Jutta Smullynck. Item, in the year [15]38 on a Tuesday after St Martin, my son David was born.
New College Library, Oxford, MS 371, f. 137vNew College Library, Oxford, MS 371, back board interior
All the names are clustered around the castle Klarenbeck in the Duchy of Cleves and the now destroyed Duirsum Castle in Loppersum, in the border area between the Netherlands and Germany. Maria van Selbach, born around 1510, grew up in Terborg and later moved to Coevorden with her father Johan van Selbach, the Drost of Drenthe and Castellan of Coevorden, and her mother Jutta Schmullynk. After her marriage to Roelof van Münster, the couple eventually settled in Duirsum Castle, Loppersum, in 1540, which Roelof inherited from his wealthy mother, Bauwe Heemstra. Agnes, one of their daughters, married Johan de Mepsche around 1561, a notorious Groningen heretic hunter and a staunch Catholic supporter of the Spanish monarchy during the Dutch Revolt. Their daughter, Mary de Mepsche, married Johan Kyff van Frens and inherited this treasured book. The manuscript then passed down to her sister’s son Egbert Clant and his wife Beatrix, and eventually to their daughter, Maria Catrina Clant. An additional note in the book traces its journey through the hands of women in the family:
This book is left as inheritance to Lady Agnes van Münster’s daughter Mary de Mepsche, and further to Egbert Clant and Beatrix van Ewssum who gave the same to their daughter Mary Catherine Clant, 4 April 1639.
MS 371 is the first book of hours at New College that we can definitively say was owned by women, though likely not the only one. Other additions by its owners, including the Ten Commandments in the vernacular, and notes on ‘watery’ zodiac signs, along with the worn initials on prayers and an image of Christ, reflect the deep personal devotion of this family over at least four generations. Their religious dedication is also evident from their sizeable donations to several monasteries, including Marienstatt, Keppel, and Ter Apel, where the coat of arms of Agnes van Münster and Johan de Mepsche can be found in a stained glass window.
AND MORE: MS 323 AND MS 310
Although MSS 369 and 371 have been the focus of my study, there are marks of use and ownership in each of New College’s books of hours. MS 323, a 16th-century Flemish manuscript, contains a Spanish inscription beginning ‘Estas horas van Lohesi(?)’ and further inscriptions in English detailing the births of two children, Jane and William Watson, in 1614 and 1615. MS 310, an early 15th-century book of hours, features a Middle English religious lyric and a signature possibly belonging to a ‘Henry Knyght’.
New College Library, Oxford, MS 323, f. 118 vNew College Library, Oxford, MS 310, f. 115r
There is still much to uncover about these manuscripts and their owners, especially the MSS I have mentioned only briefly. If anyone is interested in viewing these manuscripts themselves, please contact New College Library or the Head Librarian (Christopher Skelton-Foord) to arrange an appointment.
If you’d like to read more, my full article on these manuscripts has recently been published online, open access, in New College Notes 21 (2024).
My heartfelt thank you goes out to Marlene Schilling and Kat Smith from MWW, the New College Library team, and TORCH for making this event happen. I’m again deeply grateful to Prof. Henrike Lähnemann and Dr Friedel Roolfs for their incredible work on the transcription and translation of MS 371, and to Rakoen Maertens and New College Archivist Michael Stansfield for their assistance with the MS 323 inscriptions.
Bibliography:
Deschamps, J. and Mulder, H. (1998–2009). Inventaris van de Middelnederlandse handschriften van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België (voorlopige uitgave). Brussels: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België.
The last of the events organised by Living Stones, St Mary the Virgin, Iffley took place on Saturday 8 September, 2.00 – 5.00 Iffley Church Hall OX4 4EG, focussing on how the world changed in the 12th century when Iffley Church was built.
In ‘Encountering the Other: Conflict and connection in 12th-century Europe’, Dr Teresa Witcombe took us on a tour from Oxford to Toledo and back with Daniel of Morley, a scholar whose works are still preserved in the Bodleian Library. This century also saw the first Latin translation of the Qur’an (produced by an Englishman, Robert of Ketton, in the 1140s), and an increasing curiosity about the world beyond the Latin west.
This was followed by a workshop on the spread of secular music with Ian Pittaway; follow him on https://earlymusicmuse.com. Ian presented medieval harp, symphonia, gittern and citole. Playlist:
0:04:14 Sainte Nicholaes godes druð (Godric of Finchale, England, died 1170)
0:08:49 Cuers desirous apaie = A heart that is yearning (Blondel de Nesle, France, c. 1155–1202)
0:17:58 Ce fu en mai = It was in May (Moniot d’Arras, France, fl. c. 1213 – d. 1239)
0:23:00 Danse (Manuscrit du roi, France, c. 1300)
0:27:57 brid one brere = bird on a briar (anonymous, England, c. 1290)
0:34:55 Mirie it is (anonymous, England, c. 1225)
0:43:36 Sumer is icumen in (anonymous, England, c. 1250-60) [with audience participation – listen out for the cuckoo!]
0:49:25 La seconde Estampie Royal – The second Royal Estampie (Manuscrit du roi, France, c. 1300)
0:53:55 untitled estampie (anonymous, England, c. 1270)
1:16:16 Edi beo thu heuene queene (anonymous, England, c. 1265–90)
We hope to continue the theme next year with a focus on the symbolism of the architectural features and carvings around the church. Please get in touch if you are interested in sharing your research! For contact details and this year’s programme see https://livingstonesiffley.org.uk/events
Iffley Church was built in the 1160s. Its lavish design and ornamentation clearly express complex ideas that were topical then but which mystify today’s visitors. Living Stones, the church’s education and heritage programme, is exploring the changing world of the building’s patron and parishioners. This year a series of study days focuses on life and scholarship in the twelfth century.
On 18 May 2024, the opening talks focussed on manuscripts from St Frideswide’s Priory and records of pilgrims to St Frideswide’s shrine with Andrew Dunning and Anne Bailey. On 13 July 2024, Emily Winkler presented interpretations of the past, and Stewart Tiley immersed us in book creation: https://livingstonesiffley.org.uk/past-events/f/building-on-the-past-and-writing-for-the-future
Dr Andrew Dunning, St Frideswide’s Legacy: Literature and Local Care in Twelfth-Century Oxford
The canons of St Frideswide’s Priory relaunched what later became Christ Church Cathedral in the 12th century. The Priory became a locally renowned place of pilgrimage attracting large numbers of women looking for healing for themselves and their families. Surviving miracle stories show the concern that the canons took for local pastoral care, and their efforts to reach equally ‘the rich and the poor, the small with the great’.
Dr Anne E. Bailey, St Frideswide’s Female Pilgrims in the Middle Ages.
Further information on Dr Anne E. Bailey’s work can be found on https://twitter.com/AnneEBailey1and her publications page. More on the Pilgrimage Study Day on 25 June 2024, co-organised be her, with a keynote address by Andrew Dunning and the Pilgrimage walk along St Frideswide’s Way (26-29 June 2024), a guided walk with prayers and reflection to launch the new pilgrimage route between Oxford and Reading. Led by Dr Anne Bailey, Canon Sally Welch, and Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano. Pilgrims were blessed at the beginning of the journey by the Bishop of Oxford.
Header image: The Norman West porch of St Mary the Virgin, Iffley
The new Introduction to Middle High German by Howard Jones and Martin H. Jones (OUP 2024) is a dedicated student edition of The Oxford Guide to Middle High German, designed for taught courses and self-study. It provides an accessible overview of the grammar and lexis of the language suitable for introductory-level students and includes thirty extensively-annotated texts with explanatory notes suitable for use in teaching. It is accompanied by a companion website which gives open access to further online resources for the study of Middle High German.
Introduction to the workshop by Howard Jones and Henrike Lähnemann
The workshop was designed as a test case to show ways of using the ‘Introduction’ within a university setting or for self-study . Participants got access to the online version and worked with it in groups ranging from beginners to experts on aspects of Middle High German. The “Translathon” consisted of a group competition to translate and comment on passages of the Middle High German text ‘Helmbrecht’.
Translatathon with six competing groups, translating lines 984 to 1035, featuring
00:00 Group 1: Nicholas Champness, Nina Cornell, Philip Flacke, Anna Vines 00:38 Group 2: Sharon Baker, Monty Powell, Willa Stonecipher, An Van Camp 01:14 Group 3: Theodore Luketina, Daniel Ruin, Nina Unland, Hestia Jingyan Zhang 02:04 Group 4: Reuben Bignell, Greta Evans, Andreas Groeger 03:01 Group 5: Joshua Booth, Lia Neill, Catriona Robertson 03:49 Group 6: Isabelle Gregory, Wilfred Lamont, William Thurlwell
The workshop took place on Saturday 2 November 2024, 2-6pm, Taylor Institution Library, Room 2, University of Oxford. Participants were students from first-year undergraduate to doctoral level – a range of people, in fact, who wanted to acquire, practise, and improve their knowledge of Middle High German. No previous knowledge of Middle High German was required. Organisers Sarah Bowden, Howard Jones, and Henrike Lähnemann
