Appel à communication : « Medieval manuscripts in motion »

brev_martin_aragon_febThe 2nd edition of the International Conference « Medieval Europe in Motion » is already underway. It will take place in Lisbon, March 4-6, 2015. The conference’s main scientific goal is, once more, to analyse the phenomenon of circulation, motion and mobility of people, forms and ideas during the Middle Ages. This time, however, the focus will be on the illuminated manuscripts. This three-day Conference aims thus to conduct a critical and constructive revision of research on Iberian Book Illumination in the Middle Ages, proposing new questions to be discussed.

 

 

Annonce

 

 

The main scientific of the event, as it was the previous conference, is to analyse the phenomenon of circulation, motion and mobility of people, forms and ideas during the Middle Ages. This time, however, the kind of works under consideration will be illuminated manuscripts. This three-day Conference aims thus to conduct a critical and constructive revision of research on Iberian Book Illumination in the Middle Ages, proposing new questions to be discussed.

 

The works to be surveyed are manuscripts of all kinds, both in form and in content. Our intention is to discuss the following topics: 

1) The phenomenon of mobility in Medieval times

Why did it happen? Who travelled? Where did they travel? What reasons motivated the circulation of people? How did mobility influence, stimulate and condition the production of manuscripts? 

2) Clients and promoters, both individual and institutional

To what extent did their own travels and vital experiences influence their decisions when ordering new works? How did fashion and taste influence the promoters’ choices? 

3) Material authors

How did their itinerant lives influence their creations? To what extent was the production of new works conditioned by the presence of foreign scribes/illuminators in specific geographical contexts? How did they transfer models to new places/media? To what extent were they influenced by the models they saw when passing through other places/contexts and by the tradition they found when arriving at new places? 

4) Models

The concepts of copy, reinterpretation, reuse and re-elaboration will under discussion, as well as the confluence of several graphic languages in the same work; we will also address the influence of old models in later works. 

5) Image performance

Analysis of several concepts regarding the influence of the phenomena of circulation and mobility on the image performance – the agency, efficiency, effectiveness and power of the image, both in Medieval and later times. 

6) Manuscript acquisition

Regarding the postproduction process, that is the sale and circulation of already finished works, several matters will be approached, such as the artistic market, the existence of a luxury market in Medieval times, and the act of collecting manuscripts both in the Middle Ages and in later periods.

We invite abstracts for papers

(20-minutes in length) 

Proposals in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian are welcome. Please, send a 300-word abstract and a short CV to medinmotion2015@gmail.com by June 30th, 2014. Accepted proposals will be confirmed by September 15th, 2014.

 

Contacts

Alicia Miguelez Cavero
courriel : amiguelez [at] fcsh [dot] unl [dot] pt

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