Animals and Materiality in the Arthurian Tradition

Proposed session for the 2019 IMC (Leeds)

 Organizers: Melissa Ridley Elmes and Renée Ward

 We seek papers to compose a session of 3 or 4 papers on the subject of “Animals and Materiality in the Arthurian Tradition” for the 2019 International Medieval Congress at Leeds. The Congress theme is “Materialities.”

While the subject of animals in medieval literature is enjoying substantial scholarly focus, especially considerations of animals in medieval French and English encyclopediae, bestiaries, and romances, relatively little critical work exists dealing specifically with animals in the Arthurian legend, particularly so when we look beyond the mythical White Hart, the Questing Beast, and the dragons. Yet, animals real and imagined abound throughout the pages of Arthurian narratives, appear in related artefacts (art, architecture, stained glass, paintings, and tapestries, for example), and are present in the very production of the manuscripts that preserve the legend. Moreover, recent trends in critical animal studies demand that we expand our understandings of such animal appearances to consider them for their animality—for the qualities that make them beings unto themselves rather than as analogies and metaphors for humans and their environs.

 This proposed session seeks to explore animals and materiality within Arthurian traditions, to serve as the beginning of a continued scholarly discussion of the place of animals within the Arthurian realm, especially of their animality or materiality. We are particularly interested in the ways in which animals and their bodies figure as objects of veneration and/or consumption within the legend, or how, as objects themselves, they contribute to the legend’s production, preservation and perpetuation into post-medieval periods. Do animals within Arthuriana have agency beyond their symbolic functions? How might animals be considered a part of the material landscape of the legend both within and outside of the textual narratives? How, where, when, and to what purpose or function are animals found in material Arthurian spaces such as 2- and 3-d artworks, stage, television, and/or film? In what ways have animals carried the Arthurian legend across space and time from the medieval period to the present?

 We invite papers from all disciplines and national traditions, and interdisciplinary projects are especially welcome. Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words together with a brief bio to session organizers Melissa Ridley Elmes (MElmes@lindenwood.edu) and Renée Ward (rward@lincoln.ac.uk) by 31 August 2018. Please include your name, title, and affiliation/status on the abstract. Abstracts will be selected, and then a full session proposal will be submitted to the Congress in mid-September 2018.

Canadian Society of Medievalists Annual Meeting Rencontre annuelle de la Société Canadienne des Médiévistes

Congrès 2018 Congress

28-30 May/Mai 2018
Regina, Saskatchewan

 Gathering diversities/Diversités convergentes

Monday, May 28 / lundi, le 28 Mai

900-1200    Session 1. Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Wilcox, SK)

We will arrange a carpool to Athol Murray College for those wishing to visit its collections. Cars will depart from Regina at 8:15 a.m. Please contact David Watt (david.watt@umanitoba.ca) by noon on Sunday, May 27 if you plan to attend and indicate whether you need a ride to Wilcox or can provide a ride to others (please get in touch sooner if you can).

The manuscript holdings (a 13th-century Venetian deed) and early printed books at the Archer Library, University of Regina, are available at request.

1200-1330    Lunch/Dîner

1330-1500    Session 2. Language Institute 216 Rotunda Authorship and Authority in Medieval England
Chair/Président: Dominic Marner, University of Guelph

Perceforest as Mirror: Catching the Imagination of Edward III Melissa Furrow, Dalhousie University

The Pearl-Poet, the Gawain-Poet, and the substantival adjective Richard Firth Green, The Ohio State University

Reading Mary: John Lydgate’s Life of Our Lady and Henry Chichele’s Reform of the English Church
Brandon Alakas, University of Alberta

1500-1530    Break/Pause

1530-1700    Session 3. Language Institute 216 Rotunda Food: Feasting and Fasting in the Middle Ages
Chair/Présidente: Christa Canitz, University of New Brunswick

Butter, oil, eggs, and meat: Requests for Dispensations from Fasting and Abstinence Requirements in Britain, 1248-1503
Allison Fizzard, University of Regina

The Chester Noah's Flood: Animals and Dietary Regulations Ernst Gerhardt, Laurentian University

The Bakers’ Play of the Last Supper in York: Christ’s Body as Holy Bread, Christ’s Body as Eucharistic Wafer
Leanne Groeneveld, University of Regina

1930    All participants are invited to join an informal social gathering at The Bushwacker Brewpub (2206 Dewdney Avenue)
CSM Executive Meeting


Tuesday, May 29 / mardi, le 29 mai 845-1015    Session 4. Language Institute 216 Rotunda
Medieval Texts, Modern Lenses
Chair/Président: Marc Cels, Athabasca University

Teaching Old English Through Translations: The Triangulation Method Michael Kightley, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Medieval Mansplaining: The Disruption of Female Knowledge Dissemination Brenna Duperron, Dalhousie University

Professional Pages, Done Dirt Cheap: On the Genre of English Offcut Manuscripts Stephanie Lahey, University of Victoria


1015-1030    Break / Pause

1030-1200    Session 5. Language Institute 216 Rotunda Plenary with Scandinavian Society
Chair/Présidente: Natalie Van Deusen, University of Manitoba

Sacrality and the Landscape in the Nordic Middle Ages Thomas Dubois, University of Wisconsin at Madison

1200-1215    Break/Pause

1215-1345    Lunch/Dîner (AGM)

1345-1400    Break/Pause

1400-1530    Session 6a. College West 115

Landscape and Gender in Medieval Scandinavia
Chair/Président: David Watt, University of Manitoba

Landscape, Language, Maternal Space, and Child Exposure in Jómsvíkinga Robin Waugh, Wilfred Laurier University

“‘There are Few Things More Powerful than Destiny.’ Gender, Power and Foresight in The Sagas of the Icelanders"
Amy M. Poole, University of Guelph

Gender, Crime and Space in Medieval Scandinavian Law Christine Ekholst, Uppsala University

Session 6b. Language Institute 216 Rotunda

Ecclesiastical Questions
Chair/Présidente: Meredith Bacola, University of Manitoba

Sanctuary and Abjuration in Thirteenth-Century England Kenneth F. Duggan, Huron University College

Why Should a Blockhead Have One in Ten? Thinking About Tithes at the End of the Middle Ages
Derek Neal, Nipissing University

1530-1600    Break/Pause

1600-1715    Session 7. Language Institute 216 Rotunda Icelandic Romance
Chair/Président: Christopher Crocker, University of Winnipeg

Romance Elements in Icelandic Virgin Martyr Legends Natalie van Deusen, University of Alberta

Diverse Gatherings: Imagining the New North Sea Empire in Old Icelandic Romance Andrew Klein, Wabash College

1900    Banquet/Banquette

All are welcome (and encouraged) to attend Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar (1925 Victoria Ave). Please speak to Meredith Bacola (Meredith.Bacola@umanitoba.ca). The cost will be $39 plus tax, gratuity & your own beverages.

Wednesday, May 30 / mercredi, le 30 mai 900-1015    

Session 8. Language Institute 216 Rotunda
Chair/Président: Dominic Marner, University of Guelph

CSM Plenary (Past President)
What Do We Study When We Study Manuscripts in Canada?
David Watt, University of Manitoba

1015-1030    Break/Pause

1030-1200    Session 9. Language Institute 216 Rotunda Medieval Film and The Modern Classroom
Chair/Présidente: Melissa Furrow, Dalhousie University

The Real Middle Ages vs The Reel Middle Ages Jacqueline Murray, University of Guelph

Sanctity on Screen: Performativity, Sanctity, and the Medieval Imaginary Alison More, University of Toronto

Hits and Flops: The Pedagogical Value of Medievalist Historical Films across Disciplines and Borders
Felice Lifshitz, University of Alberta

1200-1330    Lunch/Dîner

1330-1500    Session 10. Language Institute 216 Rotunda Medieval Hagiography
Chair/Président: Brandon Alakas, University of Alberta

Reading Sanctity in the Epigraphic Poetry of Damasus
Zach Yuzwa, St Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan

Establishing a Sacral landscape in Felix’s Life of St Guthlac Meredith Bacola, University of Manitoba

Measuring Time and Topography in the Cult of Cuthbert at Durham Dominic Marner, University of Guelph

1500-1530    Break/Pause

1530-1700    Session 11. Language Institute 216 Rotunda The Material Medieval Memory Project
Chair/Président: Michael Kightley, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Deforestation, Energy Penury, and the Old English Poems of the Exeter Book Murray McGillivray, University of Calgary

Memorializing Matter: Early Medieval Scandinavian Identities and their Material Memories
Jaclyn Carter, University of Calgary

Building matters: a case study in partnerships for environmental sustainability Kenna L. Olsen, Mount Royal University

1700    President’s Reception/Réception du Président

The Spanish Society for Mediaeval English Language and Literature and the local organising committee invite members of the Society and all other scholars interested in the field to participate in the 30th International SELIM Conference (https://selim30oviedo.wordpress.com), which will be hosted by the Department of English, French and German of the University of Oviedo from September 27th to 29th 2018.

The organisers welcome papers dealing with any aspect of mediaeval English language and literature and particularly encourage the submission of papers that offer new readings or perspectives on mediaeval English texts, as well as new approaches and analytical techniques.

Scholars interested in offering 20-minute papers (followed by a 10-minute discussion) should submit their abstracts in electronic format via e-mail to congresoselim@uniovi.es by April 30th 2018. Abstracts should include name(s), institutional affiliation(s) of the author(s), as well as e-mail address and the technical support required for the presentation. They should preferably be submitted in Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, or PDF format, and should not exceed 400 words (including references). Acceptance of proposals will be confirmed as soon as the proposals have been peer-reviewed.

Greetings
________________________________
Sociedad Española de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa Medieval
Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature
http://selim.uniovi.es

Le CESCM organise depuis 1954 une session annuelle internationale francophone de formation, qui regroupe une cinquantaine d’étudiants, doctorants et jeunes chercheurs, français et étrangers. Les conférences, les séances de travail autour des ressources documentaires, les excursions et visites au programme des stagiaires sont proposées par des spécialistes du Moyen Âge venus du monde entier.

En savoir plus.

XVIth Congress of the International Courtly Literature Society

XVIe Congrès de la Société Internationale de Littérature Courtoise

22-27 July/juillet 2019, University of Exeter/Université d’Exeter, UK

Courtly Communities/Communautés courtoises

The network as a subject of study has blossomed in Medieval Studies in recent years. The notion of ‘textual community’ coined by Brian Stock has focused critical scrutiny on the ways in which literature calls communities into being. Renewed attention has been paid to the links between different authors and texts, but also to the social dimension of reception – who owned and read literary texts, what motivated owners and audiences’ interest in them, and how literature contributed to binding different communities together. Meanwhile, conceptual tools such as Bruno Latour’s actor-network model are proving to offer productive and increasingly popular ways of thinking about the connectedness of medieval texts, their creators, and audiences.

The International Courtly Literature Society proposes to recognise the vibrancy and timeliness of this topic by making it the central theme for its next International Triennial Congress, which will be held at the University of Exeter (UK) from 22-27th July 2019. We invite proposals of up to 200 words for 20-minute papers in English or French, to be submitted by 15th June 2018. We are also interested to welcome full panel proposals of up to 4 papers.

Potential paper/panel topics include (but are not limited to):

-          Courts as communities
-          Textual communities
-          Literary and artistic collaboration
-          The network as a concept
-          Linguistic communities
-          Material communities at court

Alongside the main business of scholarly exchange and debate, the conference will include visits to local medieval landmarks and other places of interest. All these activities will take place in a spirit of collaboration, community, and friendship, which will allow participants to build and renew their own professional and personal networks.

Please send your proposals (in English or French) for papers or full panels to the following address, by 15th June 2018: [e.j.cayley@exeter.ac.uk]

Le réseau est devenu un sujet de prédilection pour les médiévistes au cours des dernières années. La notion de ‘communauté textuelle’ définie par Brian Stock a eu l’effet de focaliser l’attention des chercheurs sur les divers moyens à travers lesquels la littérature donne naissance aux communautés. La critique s’est évertuée à relever les rapports entre différents auteurs ou textes, mais aussi à détailler la dimension sociale de la transmission : la nature de l’intérêt porté aux textes littéraires par leurs publics, l’identité et les motivations de ceux qui commanditaient ou collectionnaient ces textes, et la capacité de la littérature à créer et à nourrir les communautés. En même temps, divers modèles conceptuels tel que la théorie acteur-réseau développée par Bruno Latour se sont révélés utiles pour analyser les liens entres les textes médiévaux, leurs créateurs, et leurs publics.

La Société internationale de littérature courtoise se propose de reconnaître l’importance et l’actualité de ce sujet en l’inscrivant comme thème principal de son prochain Congrès international, du 22 au 27 juillet 2019 à l’université d’Exeter (Royaume-Uni). Nous vous invitons à nous faire part de vos propositions en envoyant un résumé de 200 mots maximum (en anglais ou en français) pour des communications de 20 minutes, avant le 15 juin 2018. Nous lirons aussi avec intérêt les propositions d’ateliers complets (maximum 4 intervenants).

Les communications peuvent porter sur les thèmes suivants (entre autres) :

-          Communautés de/à la cour
-          La communauté textuelle
-          Collaboration littéraire et artistique
-          Le réseau comme concept
-          Communautés linguistiques
-          Communautés matérielles

Les échanges intellectuels qui constitueront le fond même de la conférence seront agrémentés de plusieurs visites organisées, comprenant d’importants sites médiévaux de la région. Toutes ces activités se dérouleront dans un esprit de collaboration, de communauté, et de convivialité, qui permettra aux conférenciers de développer et de nourrir leurs propres réseaux personnels et professionnels.

Les résumés de 200 mots maximum (en anglais ou en français) pour des communications de 20 minutes devront être envoyés, avant le 15 juin 2018, à l’adresse suivante: [e.j.cayley@exeter.ac.uk]

The Oxford University Summer School for Adults is a stimulating, accredited programme that has existed for over a hundred years. The summer school brings together a cosmopolitan range of like-minded students for a self-contained week of specialised study overseen by some of the finest tutors in the country.

Some of our members might be interested in the following course:

The Lives and Afterlives of Illuminated Manuscripts
This course takes as its starting point the manuscript as artefact existing of and beyond its time. We consider the production of manuscripts to meet an emerging literate class in the 14th and 15th centuries. As part of this exploration we’ll consider a number of specific examples taken from devotional books and secular literary material such as romance. The course will move forward to consider the afterlife of manuscripts in the hands of 19th and 20th century collectors: what motivates a bibliophile to collect centuries-old material and what relevance do collections of manuscripts in public institutions have for us today?

The course will be taught by Dr Victoria Condie, who has taught courses in medieval and Old English literature for OUDCE and currently teaches medieval language and literature at the University of Cambridge.

Full information regarding the course can be found at: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-lives-and-afterlives-of-medieval-manuscripts?code=O17I307CAR<http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-lives-and-afterlives-of-medieval-manuscripts?code=O17I307CAR>

Florilegium invites papers on any aspect of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (including the post-medieval representation of the medieval period). Submissions taking an interdisciplinary approach are especially welcome. Papers may be written in either English or French. Florilegium publishes only previously unpublished material. Manuscripts submitted for consideration must not be published or submitted elsewhere.

Submissions are refereed double-blind by international and Canadian specialists. Manuscripts submitted for consideration must therefore not contain any indication of authorship. Authors should provide their electronic and postal addresses in a cover note. A brief abstract (one or two sentences) should be included with the submission.

Manuscripts should normally not exceed 8,000-9,000 words, including footnotes and bibliography, and should be formatted according to Chicago style. Footnotes should be kept as spare as possible.

Manuscripts (in Microsoft Word) should be sent to the Editor, Dr. A. E. Christa Canitz, at Florilegium@unb.ca. All submissions will be acknowledged. Enquiries are welcome.

Florilegium est à la recherche d’articles de toutes disciplines, rédigés en français ou en anglais, portant sur le Moyen Âge et l’Antiquité tardive, y compris la représentation post-médiévale de l’époque médiévale. La revue est particulièrement intéressée aux contributions adoptant une approche interdisciplinaire. Florilegium ne publie que des travaux originaux et aucun article soumis à la revue ne devra être publié ou soumis ailleurs.

Les articles soumis au processus d’évaluation sont évalués anonymement par des spécialistes externes, internationaux et canadiens ; de ce fait, le texte de l’article ne doit pas comprendre le nom de l’auteur(e) ou toute information permettant de l’identifier. Les auteurs sont priés de communiquer leur adresse de courriel et adresse postale séparément. Les articles seront accompagnés d’un court résumé d’une ou deux phrases.

Les manuscrits ne doivent pas normalement dépasser 8 000-9 000 mots, notes et bibliographie comprises, et ils doivent être conformes au code typographique du Chicago Manual of Style. Les notes en bas de page devront s’en tenir aux références les plus essentielles.

Pour la soumission des articles (en format MS Word) et toute autre correspondance relative à la revue, s’adresser à Mme A. E. Christa Canitz, rédactrice, à  Florilegium@unb.ca. La revue accuse réception de tout article reçu. La rédaction est toujours heureuse de répondre à toute question ou demande d’information.

http://www.utpjournals.press/journals/flor/journal/authors/submission

Canadian Society of Medievalists Annual Meeting, Congress 2018 – Call for Papers

Rencontre annuelle de la Société Canadienne des Médiévistes, Congrès 2018 – Appel à communications

28-30 May/Mai 2018

Regina, Saskatchewan

The special theme for this year’s Congress is “Gathering diversities/Diversités convergentes,” but papers for the CSM Annual Meeting can address any topic on medieval studies. Proposals for complete sessions are also invited.  Presentations may be made in either English or French. Bilingual sessions are particularly welcome.

Proposals should include a one-page abstract and a one-page curriculum vitae. Papers should be no more than 20 minutes' reading time. Proposals for complete sessions should include this information in addition to a title and a brief explanation of the session and its format.

Keynote speakers this year include Thomas Dubois (in cooperation with the Association for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies in Canada), who will speak on “Sacrality and the Landscape in the Nordic Middle Ages” and David Watt (past president of the CSM), who will ask “What do we study when we study medieval manuscripts in Canada?"

Le thème du Congrès de cette année est: “Gathering diversities/Diversités convergentes.”  Les communications à ce congrès annuel de la SCM peuvent toutefois traiter de tout sujet relatif aux études médiévales.  L'invitation est également lancée pour des propositions de sessions entières. Les communications peuvent être données en anglais ou en français.  Les sessions bilingues sont particulièrement bienvenues. Les propositions devraient inclure un résumé et un curriculum vitae d'une page chacun. La durée de lecture maximale des communications devrait être de 20 minutes.

Les orateurs pléniers sont Thomas Dubois, de l’Association pour l’avancement des études scandinaves au Canada, “Sacrality and the Landscape in the Nordic Middle Ages,” et David Watt (Président sortant du SCM), “What do we study when we study medieval manuscripts in Canada?"

Please submit proposals by January 31, 2018 by email to David Watt, either by regular email (David.Watt@umanitoba.ca) or via our website’s email system (www.canadianmedievalists.org). You must be a member of the CSM to give a paper.

Prière de soumettre de soumettre vos propositions au plus tard le 31 janvier 2018 par courriel à David.Watt@umanitoba.ca ou par le courriel de notre site, www.canadianmedievalists.org.

Dear colleagues,

Please consider submitting a paper to the joint conference of the Atlantic Medieval Association and the Atlantic Medieval and Early Modern Group, which will be held on the 12-13 October 2018 at Mount Allison University. See the poster below.

The theme is Translatio: Knowledge Migrations of the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, and we welcome papers from all fields: please see the attached poster and CFP. Please note also that the CFP includes call for contributors to a special panel on Responses from the Fields of Medieval and Early Modern Studies to the TRC’s Calls for Action.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Samuel Gessner from the University of Lisbon. He will present a talk on the international migrations of astrolabe knowledge (texts and instruments) and his presentation will include a “hands-on” segment where audience members will get an introduction to using an astrolabe.

The deadline for 300 word proposals for 15-20 minute papers is 1 February 2018: please send the proposals by email to Janine Rogers and Lauren Beck: jrogers@mta.ca; lbeck@mta.ca.

Please circulate this call for proposals to interested colleagues: we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Janine Rogers
Head, Department of English Literatures
Purvis Chair of English Literature
Mount Allison University
Sackville, NB

jrogers@mta.ca

Deadline 1 September 2018

 Interfaces: A Journal of Medieval European Literatures

Interfaces 7 will address a key, but often simply assumed, aspect of our shared field: what do we mean by Europe when we speak of medieval literature? Most models of medieval literature remain nationally or linguistically based, with modern nations and linguistic experience being projected onto the Middle Ages. In trying to develop European models of medieval literature, it is not enough to stitch together national narratives to create European stories. While fundamental theoretical groundwork has begun, more is required to think in European ways about the literary cultures of the Middle Ages.

Issue No. 7 of Interfaces will take a capacious approach to Europe, identifying it in general geographic terms as Northwest Eurasia. This conceptual geography allows for an integrated study of literary traditions in, for examples, Al-Andalus, Bohemia, Iceland, France, Georgia, the Holy Land, Italy, Kievan Rus, and Mount Athos, without claiming that certain literatures are or are not European. Such a starting point, for example, proposes medieval Europe as a place where Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, and Jewish religious worldviews met and acknowledges the connection of Europe to other cultural networks in Asia and North Africa.

Interfaces challenges conventional approaches to literary culture which bind it within specific and narrowly defined linguistic, political, geographical, religious, or temporal conceptions of Europe. Examples of cultural phenomena that do not lend themselves to this traditional approach include: the shared Greco-Roman heritage of the Latin West, Byzantium, and Islam; the role of Arabic and Hebrew in the linguistic makeup of Europe; and the shared Byzantine heritage of the Orthodox churches in eastern and southern Europe and the linguistic affinities that connected the Slavs across East-West Christian divide. Likewise, conventional geo-political approaches do not adequately describe Christian textual culture in North Africa and Manichaean networks across Eurasia, and the role of the Silk Route in the exchange of stories and learning in the continuous Afro-Eurasian space.

A sustained interest in Europe, especially one so capaciously defined, is at odds with medieval worldviews and experiences: although the idea of Europe was available in this period, it was rarely highly productive before the fifteenth century and, when used, was often normative or excluding. Concern for Europe is a post-medieval phenomenon, with very particular and swiftly changing contours in the present day. Despite its anachronism, looking at European frameworks for medieval literature brings a number of dividends, not least when drawing large-scale comparisons of European literature with Asian parallels, such as Indian or Chinese. Talking of medieval European literature offers alternatives to nationalizing literary history and enables participation of medieval literary scholars in European studies. Importantly, the study of medieval literature contributes valuable material to wider political and cultural discussions about Europe’s past before the rise of nationalism, and its place in the world.

Modern politics do inform the accounts we give of the Middle Ages and their literary and linguistic heritage. The meeting of modern intellectual and political frameworks and medieval texts needs to be scrutinized in order for such intersections to be constructive for literary study. Such scrutiny recognizes that no definition or description of Europe, whether in the present or the past, is neutral. A capacious Europe can be viewed as hegemonic (that is claiming for Europe what is shared with or borrowed from others) while a narrow Europe can be viewed as exclusive: these pressure points are politically urgent and sensitive, particularly in the context of the legacy of colonialism, the expansion of the EU, migration, Brexit, racist appropriation of the Middle Ages, the rise of neo-nationalism, questions about a Europe of multiple confessions, and globalization. Thus this issue of Interfaceswill take a broad view of European literary cultures and their wider regional and global connections in the Middle Ages as its object of study, without taking Europe as a self-evident frame of reference.The aim will be to explore the literary cultures of medieval Europe and their place in a wider world, while also interrogating the nature and value of Europe as a framework for the study of medieval literature.

Theoretical questions which contributors are invited to consider in Interfaces 7 include:

• What does literary study let us see about medieval Europe that is distinctive from other disciplines and objects of study?

• What are the methodologies for the study of medieval European literatures (comparative, entangled, regional, postcolonial, race studies)?

• What models are available for the study of medieval European literature? (e.g. cultural, confessional, linguistic, geographical, imperial, focusing on dynasties, networks, itineraries, mobilities, waterways). What’s at stake in different models of Europe? Can other non-nationalizing frames enrich Europe as a working concept? How do ideas of Europe intersect with experiences of gender and sexuality?

• What can European perspectives enable us to see about medieval literature (interconnections, the place of smaller literatures, etc.)? What can European perspectives obscure or occlude (emergent national sentiment, debt to areas beyond Europe)?

• How does medieval European literature relate to national and global literary history?

• How is medieval European literary history told outside of Europe – in the Americas and Asia, for example?

• What do different national and regional (Byzantine, Central European, Western European, Eastern European, Iberian, Mediterranean, etc.) traditions of studying medieval literature have to teach each other? Can nationalizing and non-nationalizing approaches ignore the unifying nature of Europe as a common literary stage?

• Is the concept of Europe being used in literary histories in two different ways – one from the inside and one from half-way outside? From many regions of literary study, "Europe" is seen as the, partly, other from which impulses come (e.g. Iberia, Iceland, England, Bohemia, Byzantium); are there also core regions of Europe which don’t other Europe, and consequently don’t thematize it either?

• What commonalities and paradigms in the wide range of medieval literary traditions and encounters that existed on the European continent create the perception of a shared literary history?

• How do modern politics shape narratives of medieval literature, and how do these reflect different understanding of what “Europe” is across western, central, and eastern Europe and outside of European continent?

• How do ideas of Europe inform and challenge our teaching strategies, translation projects, collaborations, writing of literary history, public engagement, and interaction with modern literature and with other disciplines?

Interfaces is a fully open access, peer reviewed, online journal, published by the University of Milanis association with the Centre for Medieval Literature at the University of Southern Denmark and the University of York.

Interfaces is indexed by DOAJ - The Directory of Open Access Journals and ERIH PLUS - The European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences. It is registered for regular aggregation and indexing in OpenAIRE.

Interfaces invites papers in English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish.

Any enquiries can be directed to the editors at: interfaces@unimi.it.

 

Paolo Borsa, Christian Høgel, Lars Boje Mortensen and Elizabeth Tyler (editors)