Guiding the Mind of the Beholder – The Materiality of the Medieval Text as Determinant of its Meaning and Use (Leeds 2016 session)

International Medieval Congress 2016
University of Leeds, 4–7 July 2016
Call for Papers
Guiding the Mind of the Beholder –
The Materiality of the Medieval Text as Determinant of its Meaning and Use

How we perceive and use a text is influenced by the way it is visualized and how it is
intentionally or unintentionally associated with other texts. Based on the manuscript evidence,
the session wants to explore the different ways how this change of a text’s meaning or usage
can be achieved. This includes the (re)organization of a text in a manuscript witness, or how
accompanying texts like commentaries, glosses and notes complement, add to or even change
a text, as well as the influence of the ‘mise-en-page’ and the materiality of the manuscript
book itself. Through these the session will examine the ways in which the experience of a
reader (anticipated or real) is directed to facilitate and constrain their engagement with the
text. Furthermore the broader context of the manuscript will be taken into account: It will be
asked, how associating or relating a text with other texts in a manuscript may either conserve
traditional interpretations of a text, or generate new readings and new perspectives on the
text’s usage.

The organizer would like to invite papers on Manuscript Studies from all academic
disciplines. Please submit proposals which fit the overall topic of the session via email to
Rüdiger Lorenz by September 15, 2015 and
please include the following information:
 paper title
 short abstract (ca. 150 words)
 name and title
 contact details and affiliation
 a short CV
 equipment needed

All papers should be given in English and should not exceed 20 minutes. Feel free to contact
the organizer, if you have any questions.

Please note, that the organizer is not able to provide any financial support to cover travel,
registration or accommodation expenses of the participants. The IMC offers bursaries that
may cover all or part of the Registration and Programming fee, accommodation and meals.
The IMC bursary applications should be submitted by October 17, 2015. For more
information on the IMC 2016 see <https://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2016_call.html>.
Dr. Rüdiger Lorenz,
Department of History,
University of Freiburg,
Germany