Author Archives: Roisin Astell

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.

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.

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.