Newsletter 10

The Medieval Chronicle 6th International Congress, Pécs, 25 – 30 July, 2011

The 6th conference of the Medieval Chronicle Society, last July in Pécs, was a great success. The papers were of the usual high quality, the city offered multifarious possibilities for meals and cultural diversion, and the excursion to the nearby wine district was enjoyed by all, in spite of a horrendous thunderstorm that struck the group with torrential rains on their way out from a medieval castle.

After their safe return home Graeme Dunphy, the President of the MCS, and the undersigned sent a congratulatory letter to the organisers, Márta Font and Dániel Bagi, from which a passage is quoted below:

We were delighted when you first offered to host the 2011 conference, and your enthusiasm and commitment throughout the planning phases were exemplary. The success of the conference was thanks in large part to the time and energy which you personally invested throughout this process.

The conference itself ran very smoothly, generated a high level of scholarly exchange, and took place in a pleasant atmosphere conducive to the furthering of strong international academic collegiality. The organizing committee and indeed all the Pécs colleagues went out of their way to provide a warm welcome, and the young people who formed your support team were helpful and friendly. The backdrop of the historic city of Pécs was particularly appropriate to the medieval focus of our work. For all these reasons and more, many conference participants commented to us positively on their experiences. For all this you are to be congratulated.

The Medieval Chronicle  Planned 7th International Conference, Liverpool July 2014

At the General Meeting on the last day of the conference in Pécs it was decided to accept the offer of the University of Liverpool to host the 7th International Conference on the Medieval Chronicle in July 2014. The organsiers are well known to regular congress participants, and our webmasters as well: Godfried Croenen and Sarah Peverley. For more information, see the end of this Newsletter.

MCS Twitter Account

The Medieval Chronicle Society now has a Twitter account to accompany its website. The account is being run by Dr Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool) and will be used to provide short updates about the 2014 Medieval Chronicle conference, other chronicle conferences and symposia (which have reached the ‘call for papers’ stage), large funded research projects involving medieval chronicles, and newly published editions and/or monographs on chronicles. If members would like Dr Peverley to ‘tweet’ about any of the above on their behalf please contact her at S.Peverley@liv.ac.uk. Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters and to avoid being overwhelmed with requests Dr Peverley will only ‘tweet’ about publications and events that are chronicle related. The Twitter account is
@medievalchron so please follow us and spread the word.

Conference Announcements

7th International Layamon Conference –  21-23 June 2012

Université Paris-Sorbonne – « Centre d’Etudes Médiévales Anglaises » (CEMA, EA 2557. Direction : Prof. Leo carruthers)

The conference will be dedicated to Layamon’s Brut as well as to the various Brut chronicles, from the earliest and founding texts (Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace) to versions written after Layamon’s time (Anglo-Norman and Middle-English Brut chronicles, continental versions in the vernacular).

Papers on the broader topic of national histories of medieval Europe are welcome. They should address questions related to:

– Myths of origins, civilizing heroes, time and space.

– Identity and national feeling, collective memory, connections with the past and present.

– Relationship between reality and fiction, History and facts / romance and imagination.

– Propaganda and ideology, glorifying ancestors and a royal lineage.

– Genre & hybridity, literary conventions or originality.

– Audience reception: medieval and current readers.

Please send abstracts of 200-300 words by 15 September 2011 to: Prof. Marie-Françoise alamichel:  marie-francoise.alamichel@univ-mlv.fr (CEMA, EA 2557 & IMAGER, EA 3958)

7^e  colloque international consacré à Layamon –  21-23 juin 2012

Université Paris-Sorbonne – « Centre d’Etudes Médiévales Anglaises »  (CEMA, EA 2557. Direction : Prof. Leo carruthers)

Le colloque sera tout d’abord consacré à la tradition des Brut ou chroniques d’Angleterre. Le Brut de Layamon sera privilégié mais on pourra y ajouter les textes antérieurs, à l’origine de la tradition (Nennius, Geoffroy de Monmouth, Wace) tout comme les Brut postérieurs à celui de Layamon (Brut anglo-normands, moyen-anglais, autres versions en langues vernaculaires européennes).

Le colloque sera ensuite élargi à toute chronique nationale du Moyen Âge européen et aux questions de :

– Mythes fondateurs, héros civilisateurs, temps et espace.

– Identité et sentiment national, mémoire collective, rapports au passé, à l’actualité.

– Liens entre réalité et fiction, Histoire et vérité ou fables et mensonges.

– Propagande, reconstructions idéologiques, glorification des dynasties.

– Genre, hybridité des chroniques, conventions et originalité littéraires.

– Réception des chroniques : lectorat médiéval et contemporain.

Les propositions de communication doivent être adressées accompagnées d’un résumé de 200 à 300 mots avant le 15 septembre 2011 à: Prof. Marie-Françoise alamichel :  marie-francoise.alamichel@univ-mlv.fr (CEMA, EA 2557 & IMAGER, EA 3958)

Oxford/Cambridge International Chronicles Symposium, 5-7 July 2012, University of Oxford

About OCICS

The Oxford/Cambridge International Chronicles Symposium (OCICS) is a biennial conference devoted to the interdisciplinary study of chronicles in the medieval and Early Modern periods. It provides a forum for discussions of historical and related texts written across a range of languages, periods, and places. It seeks to strengthen the network of chronicle studies worldwide, and aims to encourage collaboration between researchers working in a variety of disciplines from around the globe.

2012 marks the first year that OCICS will take place at the University of Oxford. It follows two highly successful conferences hosted at the University of Cambridge, first in 2008 and then in 2010.

The theme for the 2012 conference is ‘Bonds, Links, and Ties in Medieval and Renaissance Chronicles’. Keynote addresses will be given by Prof Pauline Stafford (Liverpool), Prof Elizabeth van Houts (Cambridge), and Dr James Howard-Johnston (Oxford). The conference will take place at The Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies.

For further information, see the website: http://www.ocics.co.uk/

The Medieval Chronicle Series

The Medieval Chronicle VIII and IX – Call for contributions

At this moment it is clear that most of the space of vol. VIII will go to papers read at the conference in Pécs in 2011.

But members are reminded that we are also looking ahead to vol. IX, for which they can already submit papers.

Research Stipends

Notre Dame’s programs for visiting medievalists (from Julia Marvin)

The Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame has several year-long and short-term programs for visiting scholars, including an A. W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medieval Studies (for faculty at US institutions), Stipends for Short-term Postdoctoral Research, Stipends for Ambrosiana Microfilms Collection Research,  and the SIEPM Fellowship in Medieval Philosophy. For more information, see

http://www.nd.edu/~medinst/funding/funding.html

Notre Dame has substantial collections of microfilms and facsimiles, which may be searched here:

http://medieval.library.nd.edu/mss_microfilms/
http://medieval.library.nd.edu/mss_facs/

Click to access FAZ_22May2011_p60-63.PDF

New Publications

[Prussia] Fischer, Mary, trans. The Chronicle of Prussia by Nicholaus of Jeroschin. A History of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, 1190-1331. Crusade Texts in Translation. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing  Company, 2010.  Pp.viii, 299.  $114.95.  ISBN: 978-0-7546-5309-7

[Reviewed for TMR by John Eldevik – Hamilton College – jeldevik@hamilton.edu]

[Holland] Levelt, Sjoerd, Jan van Naaldwijk’s Chronicles of Holland. Continuity and Transformation in the Historical Tradition of Holland during the Early Sixteenth Century. Hilversum: Verloren, 2011. ISBN: 9789087042219. € 35. 280 pages.

http://www.verloren.nl/boeken/2086/259/2752/historiografie/jan-van-naaldwijkas-chronicles-of-holland

[Baltic] Crusading and Chronicle Writing on the Medieval Baltic Frontier: A Companion to the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia. Ed. Marek Tamm, Linda Kaljundi and Carsten Selch Jensen. Farnham, Burlington: Ashgate, 2011. Pp. xxviii, 484. ISBN: 978-0-7546-6627-1. £75.00

The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, written in the early thirteenth century to record the history of the crusades to Livonia and Estonia in around 1186–1227, offers a vivid example of the crusade ideology in practice. The chronicle provides many opportunities to test and broaden the new approaches brought along by recent developments in medieval studies, including the pluralist definition of crusading and the relationship between the peripheries and core areas of Europe. While the recent years have produced a significant amount of new research into Henry of Livonia, much of it has been limited to particular historical traditions and languages. One of the purposes of this book, therefore, is to synthesise the current state of research. The volume is designed to provide a multi-disciplinary companion to the chronicle, and is divided into three parts. The first part of the volume, ‘Representations,’ brings into focus the imaginary sphere of the chronicle, brought into existence by the amalgamation of crusading and missionary ideology and the frontier experience. This is followed by studies into the ‘Practices,’ which examines the diplomatic, religious, and military practices of the Christianisation and colonisation of Livonia. The volume concludes with a section on the ‘Appropriations,’ which maps the dynamics of the medieval, early modern and modern national uses of the text.

For more information, see http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754666271.

[Northeastern Europe] Ildar H. Garipzanov (ed.), Historical Narratives and Christian Identity on a European Periphery. Early History Writing in Northern, East-Central, and Eastern Europe (c.1070–1200). Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe  •  TCNE 26, xiii + 292 p., 156 x 234 mm, 2011, HB, ISBN 978-2-503-53367-4, € 90. Available – Part of Brepols Miscellanea Online: Essays in Medieval Studies

The first comprehensive overview of the main early historical narratives created on Europe’s northeastern periphery between c. 1070 and c. 1200. It focuses on their role in constructing Christian identity in the first centuries after conversion.

For more information, see Brepols’ online catalogue.

Planned 7th International Conference, The Medieval Chronicle, Liverpool July 2014

The University of Liverpool will host the Seventh International Conference the Medieval Chronicle in July 2014 on behalf of The Medieval Chronicle society.

The University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool was founded in 1881 and was granted its Royal Charter in 1903, confirming its degree‐conferring powers. The University of Liverpool has an impressive history of pioneering education and research, with a particular emphasis on ‘education for the professions’ and applied sciences. The University currently has 27,000 students pursuing 400 programmes in 54 subject areas. Although the sciences are one of the University’s research strengths (it counts 9 Nobel laureates amongst its current and former staff) the University is also strong on Humanities research. Its Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences covers most humanities disciplines.

Medieval Studies at Liverpool

The University has been the home to several famous medievalists in the past, and medieval studies is still a thriving subject at Liverpool. Apart from the Chair of Medieval History based in the School of History, different departments include medievalists amongst their academic staff. The Liverpool medievalists are all members of the Liverpool Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (LCMRS), a hub for interdisciplinary study and research of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Europe, the Near East and Africa from c.300 to c.1700. The Centre involves scholars from several disciplines (Archaeology, Classics, English Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, Hispanic Studies, History) and academic institutions and heritage organisations across the North West of England. The Centre regularly organises conferences, workshops, seminars and lectures. It also runs a successful MA in Medieval and Renaissance studies.

The organisers

The Seventh Medieval Chronicle conference conference would be sponsored by the LCMRS (with its director Dr Harald Braun). The local organising committee is comprised of Dr Godfried Croenen (French), Dr Damien Kempf (History) and Dr Sarah Peverley (English).

Date

The final date will be decide after consultation with the Society’s officers and will avoid other major medievalists conference. If possible we will try to choose a date which would enable delegates to attend other conferences in the region (in particular IMC Leeds). Whereas previous conferences in the cycle sometimes stretched over five days, the local organisers propose to cut this back to three days so as to keep the cost reasonable for conference delegates.