Author Archives: Roisin Astell

Online Lecture Series: ‘Participation through Prayer in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World’, 21 October 2025 – 10 February 2026, Tuesdays, 4–6 pm (CET)

Join PRAYTICIPYTE for this lecture series on prayer in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World, which takes place online.

CFP: ‘Materialising the Holy. Matter, Senses, and Spiritual Experience in the Middle Ages (12th-15th century)’, University of Padua (6-8 May 2026), deadline 31 October 2025

The University of Padua is hosting the 4th International Multidisciplinary Conference on “Materialising the Holy,” exploring the interplay of materiality, sensory experience, and spiritual practices in the Middle Ages from 6-8 May 2026, with proposals due by 31 October 2025.

CFP: ‘Elevating the Word. Bimah – Ambo – Minbar – Pulpit as Spaces of Sacred Speech’, deadline 31 October 2025

The international conference seeks paper proposals, focusing on the acoustic and architectural dimensions of the Bimah, Ambo, and Minbar.

CFP: ‘Carrying Across: Translation as Material Practice in the Pre/Early Modern World,’ AAH 2026 Annual Conference (8–10 April 2026), deadline 2 November 2025

This session at the AAH 2026 Annual Conference invites papers exploring how portable objects function as means of translation across cultural and temporal boundaries.

Call for Contributions: ‘The Medieval in Museums’, deadline 3 November 2025

The edited volume “The Medieval in Museums” seeks short abstracts for contributions that explore the presentation and interpretation of medieval objects, texts, and histories in museums and related institutions, emphasising global perspectives and the cultural implications of these representations.

Murray Seminar: ‘The artist’s new body, burle, and the praise of caricature in early modern Italy’, with Katarzyna Murawska-Muthesius, Birkbeck, 20 October 2025, 17:00-18:30 (GMT)

Please join Birkbeck for the first Murray Seminar of this academic year. Katarzyna Murawska-Muthesius will share her research on ‘The artist’s new body, burle, and the praise of caricature in early modern Italy’.

Conference: ‘Boundaries and Encounters in Medieval Art and Architecture: A Conference in Memory of John McNeill’, Oxford, 12-14 December 2025 (Scholarship deadline 16 October)

In memory of our much-missed friend and inspiration, the British Archaeological Association will be holding a conference to celebrate our former secretary, John McNeill, on 12-14 December 2025.

Lecture: ‘Episcopal display and the English crozier around the time of the Norman Conquest’, with Sophie Kelly, 22 Oct 2025, 17:30-19:00 (BST), Courtauld Institute of Art

Join Dr Sophie Kelly for a lecture that explores the evolving design and significance of croziers in the context of ecclesiastical authority and political change in England during the 11th century.

Conference: ‘Communication – Cooperation – Confrontation: Queens, Noblewomen and Burgher Women in the Middle Ages’, 16-17 October 2025, Prague

The conference titled “Communication – Cooperation – Confrontation: Queens, Noblewomen and Burgher Women in the Middle Ages” will be held in Prague on 16-17 October 2025, focusing on the influence and roles of medieval women within various societal networks and exploring themes of patronage, social standing, and material culture.