Welcome medieval art researchers, students, scholars, and enthusiasts.
Medieval Art Research is a resource run by researchers at The Courtauld Institute of Art and elsewhere to provide news, views and upcoming advice from the world of medieval art history. It does not represent the views of The Courtauld.
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Latest News
Podcast: The Illuminated World Chronicle with Nina Rowe, Les Enluminurers
In this episode Dr. Nina Rowe discusses her latest book The Illuminated World Chronicle: Tales from the Late Medieval City with our host Sandra Hindman. They discuss some of the thrilling and often titillating stories found in World Chronicle manuscripts including the tale of the Devil on Noah’s Ark.
Book Festival: 1st Online Edinburgh Byzantine Book Festival, 5-7 February 2021
The Edinburgh Byzantine Book Festival is the first of its kind as a way to learn about recently published books on any area of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies (AD ca.300–ca.1500), including literature, history, archaeology, and material culture.
Online Lecture: ‘Painting in Stone: Architecture and the Poetics of Marble from Antiquity to the Enlightenment’ with Dr Fabio Barry, Cambridge Graduate Seminar Series on Intermediality, 3 February 2021, 17:00 – 18:00 (GMT)
For the first ‘Intermediality’ Graduate Research Seminar, organised by the Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge, we are joined by Fabio Barry (Stanford University) who will be discussing his recently published book ‘Painting in Stone: Architecture and the Poetics of Marble from Antiquity to the Enlightenment’.
Online Lecture: ‘Between text and image, between writing and orality’ with Maria Chronopoulou, Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham, 4 February 2021, 17:15 – 18:30 (GMT)
In this talk, Maria Chronopoulou (École Pratique des Hautes Études) discusses the ornate letters in the manuscripts of the XVI homilies of saint Gregory of Nazianzus from 11th to 13th century
Online Lecture: ‘What Did Medieval Slavery Look Like? Colour, Race and Unfreedom in Late Medieval Iberia’ with Dr Pamela Patton, Cambridge Medieval Art Seminars, 1 February 2021, 17:00 (GMT)
Join the upcoming Cambridge Medieval Art Seminar with Dr Pamela Patton (Index of Medieval Art, Princeton University), who will be presenting on: ‘What Did Medieval Slavery Look Like? Colour, Race and Unfreedom in Late Medieval Iberia’.
The British Archaeological Association Digital Tour Competition
Inspired by the difficulties in visiting churches and other historic sites during the pandemic, The British Archaeological Association is looking at ways of promoting the use of digital technology to allow them to be seen even during a lockdown, or for those far distant. The Association is therefore holding a competition to produce a short video/photographic presentation of a Roman or medieval site (a building, ruin, even a town) using remote mapping and imaging systems such as Google Earth, or Google Earth Studio. The prize is £300.
Job: Lecturer in Medieval History 1100-1500, University of Lancaster, deadline 22 February 2021
The Department of History at Lancaster University has recently advertised a new post: Lecturer in Medieval History 1100-1500. This is a twenty-four month post, at 0.9 FTE, geared to support the post-holder in developing their research alongside teaching.
Online Conference: ‘Remarkable women’: Female patronage of religious institutions, 1300-1550, Courtauld Institute of Art, 29 January 2021, 10:00 – 17:45 (GMT)
This conference seeks to explore the ways in which women patronised and interacted with monasteries and religious houses during the late Middle Ages, how they commissioned devotional and commemorative art for monastic settings, and the ways in which these donations were received and understood by their intended audiences.
Online Lecture: Dr Robert Mills’ LGBT History Month Lecture: ‘Recognising Wilgefortis’, Manchester Met, 24 February 2021, 17:30 – 19:00 (GMT)
The point of departure for Dr Robert Mills’ talk is a painting by Hieronymus Bosch depicting a crucified saint whose identity, including their gender identity, has sparked controversy.
Online Lecture: ‘The Great Church which is called Sophia’, with Alessandro Taddei, Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies University of Birmingham, 28 January 2021, 17:15 – 18:30 (GMT)
Join Alessandro Taddei (La Sapienza) for their talk on ‘The Great Church which is called Sophia’: The History and archaeology of the episcopal church of Constantinople before Justinian.
Online Lecture: ‘The stronghold of shields: Two 12th-century kite shields discovered in Poland’ with Keith Dowen, 4 February 2021 14:00 – 15:00 (GMT)
Although the kite shield was a key part of the early medieval warrior’s equipment, only two examples of the type survive. Keith Dowen, Royal Armouries’ Assistant Curator of Arms and Armour, will examine their design and construction as well as the circumstances of their discovery.
New Publication: ‘Emerging Naturalism: Contexts and Narratives in European Sculpture 1140-1220’ edited by Gerardo Boto Varela, Marta Serrano Coll & John McNeill
Artistic production in Europe between the mid-12th and early 13th centuries is notoriously difficult to categorise. ‘Emerging Naturalism: Contexts and Narratives in the Architectural Sculpture of the Latin Church 1140-1220’ offers a number of different perspectives on this question, while offering a panoramic analysis of the period as expressed in the medium of stone sculpture.
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Seminars and Lectures
Online Lecture: East of Byzantium Lecture: ‘Back to Byzantium: Translation, Legitimacy, and Worlding on the Byzantine Frontier’ with Sergio La Porta, 2 February 2021 3:00pm (EST)
Sergio La Porta (California State University, Fresno) discusses the translation of the martyrology of St. Step‘anos Ulnec‘i and its place in the larger Mediterranean world.
Online Lecture: Dr Zsuzsanna Gulácsi, ‘Sideways-Oriented Images of Manichaean and Armenian Liturgical Books’, East of Byzantium Lecture, 29 January 2021, 3pm (EST)
Join the East of Byzantium Lecture series for Dr Zsuzsanna Gulácsi’s presentation on ‘Sideways-Oriented Images of Manichaean and Armenian Liturgical Books’.
Online Lecture: Dr Tom Nickson, ‘(Im)material Devotions: Light and lighting devices in devotional practice’, Warburg Institute, 9 February 2021, 17:30 – 19:00 (GMT)
As part of the Warburg Institute’s ‘A Material World: Devotion’ lectures, Dr Tom Nickson (Courtauld Institute) will examine the role of candles, lamps and natural light in shaping devotional spaces and experiences.
Online Lecture: ‘Living legends: the art of adventure in English manuscripts c. 1240-1340’ with Amy Jeffs, BAA Lecture, 3 February 2021, 5:00 PM (GMT)
The British Archaeological Association’s February Lecture will be by Dr Amy Jeffs who will be presenting ‘Living legends: the art of adventure in English manuscripts c. 1240-1340’.
Lecture Series: London Society of Medieval Studies 2021 Seminar Series, 17:30pm (GMT) via Zoom
The London Society of Medieval Studies is delighted to announce the programme for this coming semester.
Online Lecture: ‘Capturing expertise: Romanesque sculpture between Spain and France’, with Rose Walker, Murray Research Seminar at Birkbeck, 23 February 2021, 16:50-18:30 (GMT)
This paper will pursue the concept of artistic expertise as a commodity in the first half of the twelfth century in northern Iberia and southern France. Consequently it will also cast doubt on the idea of the unfettered itinerant craftsman.
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Call for Papers
CFP: ‘Self & Selves’, White Rose Medieval Graduate Conference (Virtual, 17-18 June 2021), deadline 1 April 2021
This conference explores how medieval people expressed and conceptualised the self and selves.
CFP: Water in towns in North-West Europe in the early Middle Ages: an agent of urban spatial transformation (4th−12th centuries), University of Tours (France) (21-23 October 2021), deadline 1 March 2021
This conference will assess the role of water in the early Middle Ages, as an agent of urban spatial transformation.
CFP: Reviving the Trinity: New Perspectives on 15th-Century Scottish Culture (27th March 2021), deadline 1 February 2021
Call for papers for Reviving the Trinity: New Perspectives on 15th-Century Scottish Culture (27th March 2021), deadline for proposals is 1 February 2021
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Conferences
Online Conference: ‘‘Our Aelred’: Man, Monk & Saint’, English Heritage & the British Archaeological Association, 11-12 January 2021
Join English Heritage and the British Archaeological Association for this major online conference focused on Aelred, abbot of Rievaulx between 1147 and 1167.
Online Conference: Travelling Objects, Travelling People: Art & Artists of Late-Medieval & Renaissance Iberia & Beyond, c. 1400–1550, 10-11 December 2020
Travelling Objects, Travelling People aims to nuance our understanding of the exchanges and influences that shaped the artistic landscape of Medieval and Renaissance Iberia.
Recorded Conference: British Archaeological Association Postgraduate Conference 2020
This year the conference took place online via Zoom across two days. Whilst we would have loved to have hosted the conference in-person, the silver lining is that we were able to have scholars and academics across the world attend and present their work. So fear not if you missed out – as we recorded the conference and you can view the panels here.
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New Publications
New Publication: ‘The Portal of Glory: Architecture, Matter, and Vision’ Edited by Francisco Prado-Vilar
To celebrate the start of the Santiago de Compostela Jubilee Year (Xacobeo 2021), the Complutense Foundation publishes an open-access digital edition of the book ‘The Portal of Glory: Architecture, Matter, and Vision’.
New Publication: ‘Conversion to Islam in the Premodern Age: A Sourcebook’, eds. Nimrod Hurvitz, Christian C. Sahner, Uriel Simonsohn, and Luke Yarbrough
This groundbreaking collection of texts, translated from sources in a dozen languages from the seventh to the eighteenth centuries, presents the historical process of conversion to Islam in all its variety and unruly detail, through the eyes of both Muslim and non-Muslim observers.
New Publication: ‘A Companion to Late Medieval & Early Modern Siena’, edited by Santa Casciani & Heather Richardson Hayton
This multi-disciplinary book presents chapters by prominent scholars on the powerful commune that birthed a pope, sheltered saints, built banking institutions that have thrived for nearly 1000 years, and nurtured vibrant communities of artists and intellectuals.
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Medieval Jobs
Job: Research Associate in Hebrew Manuscripts, John Rylands Library, Manchester, deadline 25 January 2021
Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate in Hebrew Manuscripts, to produce an online catalogue, compliant with current cataloguing and metadata standards and to promote The University of Manchester Library’s Hebrew collection. The post is part-time and fixed term from 1 March 2021 to 30 June 2022.
Postdoctoral Fellow in Late Medieval European Art (13th through 15th century), Washington University in St. Louis and the Saint Louis Art Museum, Deadline 15 February 2021
The Department of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis and the Saint Louis Art Museum seek a specialist in late medieval European art for a joint teaching-curatorial two-year position. Deadline is 15 February 2021.
Job: 2021 Curatorial Internship, Museum of Russian Icons (Deadline 15 January 2021)
The Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA invites applications for a curatorial internship to be held during spring 2021.
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Journal Publications
New Journal Publication: Gesta, Volume 59, Number 2 | Fall 2020
The latest issue of Gesta is now available to view online, edited by Diane J. Reilly and Susan L. Boynton. The journal is sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art Articles include: Kathryn A. Smith, Found in Translation: Images Visionary and Visceral in the Welles-Ros Bible Jonathan Andrew Turnock, The Earls of Hereford and Their Retinue:Continue reading “New Journal Publication: Gesta, Volume 59, Number 2 | Fall 2020”
New Journal Issue: Different Vision, ‘Are We Post-Theoretical?’, Issue 6, July 2020
We are excited to present this new issue of Different Visions featuring four essays that engage with the relevance of theory to medieval art history – and to art history in general – today.
New Issue of Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture
The Autumn 2020 issue of Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture (Kenyon College) is out now. As always, online access to Peregrinations is free and available to all interested students and scholars. The current issue features articles highlighting shifts in medieval iconography and its various interpretations. Six book reviews are also included. To accessContinue reading “New Issue of Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture”
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Funding & Scholarships
PhD Funding: The University of Edinburgh Programmes in History, Classics, and Archaeology (Deadline 25 January 2021)
The University of University of Edinburgh School of History, Classics and Archaeology is delighted to invite applications from outstanding candidates for a range of PhD scholarships designed to attract the best and brightest candidates to study in Edinburgh.
Scholarship: MAA Inclusivity and Diversity Research Grant (Deadline 31 December 2020)
The Inclusivity and Diversity Research Grant of up to $3,000 will be granted annually to a scholar, at any stage in their career, who seeks to pursue innovative research that will broaden the scope of medieval studies. Projects that focus on non-European regions or topics under the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee’s purview such as race,Continue reading “Scholarship: MAA Inclusivity and Diversity Research Grant (Deadline 31 December 2020)”
PhD Position: History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture, UCLouvain, deadline 15 October 2020
Offer for 1 full-time PhD position for the project ‘Magnificent Architecture: Giving Form to Inherent Greatness in Fifteenth-Century Antwerp, Rouen en Strasbourg’.
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Exhibitions & Art Fairs
Exhibition: Architecture & Ornament, Sam Fogg Gallery, London, 22 October – 19 November 2020
The works of art in this exhibition provide an overview of the diversity that existed in Romanesque and Gothic architecture, which continually transformed across space and time. They range from the tenth century, when Lombard architecture and sculpture formed the so-called first Romanesque, to the late fifteenth century, when openwork spires towered over cities. TheContinue reading “Exhibition: Architecture & Ornament, Sam Fogg Gallery, London, 22 October – 19 November 2020”
Virtual Exhibition: Les Enluminures at Frieze Viewing Room – October 9 – 16, 2020
Les Enluminures have collaborated with Frieze to create a virtual showcase of selected medieval and early modern manuscripts and jewellery. Their public statement is detailed below: ‘Les Enluminures is delighted to participate in Frieze Viewing Room, which opens to the general public at 12pm BST this Friday October 9. Our Viewing Room will showcase a curated selectionContinue reading “Virtual Exhibition: Les Enluminures at Frieze Viewing Room – October 9 – 16, 2020”
Virtual Exhibition: Black Monuments Matter – A Virtual Exhibition of Sub-Saharan Architecture
Black Monuments Matter recognises and highlights African contributions to world history by exhibiting World Heritage Monuments and architectural treasures from Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Resources
Research Help: BAA Google Doc and Medieval Art History Resources Facebook Page
For those unable to access resources in person due to Covid-19 restrictions, there are two digital opportunities to find copies or online links to necessary texts through networking with fellow medieval scholars.
Medieval Views Virtual Arts Festival Crowdfund Campaign
Medieval Views: A Virtual Arts Festival seeks to address that need while simultaneously being more inclusive to the public. Let us try a creative solution. Let us, as scholars and researchers, take it upon ourselves to hold a virtual gathering. In short let’s be inclusive, show some kindness and have an art party for all to enjoy if they so choose.
New North of Byzantium Digital Project: Mapping Eastern Europe
North of Byzantium has launched a new open access digital project – Mapping Eastern Europe – intended to promote study, research, and teaching about the history, art, and culture of Eastern Europe between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries among students, teachers, scholars, and the wider public.
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