Medieval Art Research

CFP: Marco Manuscript Workshop 2021: ‘Immaterial Culture’ (5-6 February 2021), deadline 9 October 2020

Remotely from the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Presenters will receive a $500 honorarium for their participation. The sixteenth annual Marco Manuscript Workshop will take place Friday, February 5, and Saturday, February 6, 2021. Sessions will meet virtually via an online platform.

The workshop is led by Professors Maura K. Lafferty (Classics) and Roy M. Liuzza (English), and is hosted by the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

This year’s workshop will consider some of the recent challenges that researchers have faced with the suspension of travel, the closing of libraries and universities, and the quarantine restrictions that have kept so many of us in our homes.

How can our field, which has always emphasized the importance of physical place and tactile artifacts, work successfully in isolation and at a distance? What does it mean for us when our work takes place in an incorporeal world of light and numbers rather than ink and flesh, in matrices of data rather than dusty rooms?

We propose to explore the advantages and disadvantages of this “immaterial culture,” and to think about how our work is shaped by access or lack of access to manuscripts, texts, catalogues, and objects. We would like to hear about experiences working remotely, discoveries made using virtual archives or catalogues, or advice on how to study manuscripts without visiting archives or how to teach codicology without a library. We welcome stories of scholars who have been productive in constrained circumstances.

We would also like to learn from the experience of those for whom archives have been inaccessible for other reasons – scholars who are homebound, visually impaired, or otherwise physically challenged, or those whose access to libraries and collections has been restricted or denied. How have these constraints shaped your work? What can these experiences tell us about our discipline? We welcome presentations on any aspect of this topic, broadly imagined.The workshop is open to scholars and graduate students in any field who are engaged in textual editing, manuscript studies, or epigraphy.

This year’s workshop will be virtual, but we hope to retain as much of the format and the flavor of our in-person meetings as possible. Individual 75-minute sessions will be devoted to each project; participants will be asked to introduce their text and its context, discuss their approach to working with their material, and exchange ideas and information with other participants.

We will prepare an online repository where presenters can place abstracts, presentations, or supporting material for access by all attendees. As in previous years, the workshop is intended to be more like a class than a conference; participants are encouraged to share new discoveries and unfinished work, to discuss both their successes and frustrations, to offer practical advice and theoretical insights, and to work together towards developing better professional skills for textual and codicological work.

We particularly invite the presentation of works in progress, unusual problems, practical difficulties, and new or experimental models for studying or representing manuscript texts.The deadline for applications is October 9, 2020.

Applicants are asked to submit a current CV and a two-page abstract of their project to Roy M. Liuzza, preferably via email to rliuzza@utk.edu.

The workshop is also open at no cost to scholars and students who do not wish to present their own work but are interested in sharing a lively weekend of discussion and ideas about manuscript studies. In order to keep the virtual sessions manageable, preregistration will be required and spaces will be limited.

Further details will be available later in the year; please contact the Marco Institute at marco@utk.edu for more information.

Online Exhibition: Celebrating 800 Years of Spirit & Endeavour at Salisbury Cathedral

On the 800th anniversary of the laying of its foundation stones Salisbury Cathedral is launching a virtual version of Celebrating 800 years of Spirit and Endeavour, its largest contemporary art exhibition for nearly two decades. A special service of words and music is programmed to mark this important day in the life of Salisbury Cathedral – click here for details.

Celebrating 800 years of Spirit and Endeavour brings together work from some of the most important and influential contemporary artists of the 20th and 21st century, including Antony Gormley, Shirazeh Houshiary, Henry Moore, Grayson Perry, Conrad Shawcross, Stanza and Mark Wallinger. Pieces from the Cathedral’s permanent collect have also been incorporated into this exhibition, including sculptures by Dame Elisabeth Frink, Dame Barbara Hepworth and Helaine Blumenfeld.

Please note that this tour is best viewed using a computer or laptop.

View the entire online exhibition here.

Online Workshop: Digital Tools for Teaching Medieval Art

The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) is hosting an online workshop on Digital Tools for Teaching on Friday, August 14 at 12:00pm EST. Led by Rheagan Martin, the ICMA’s Coordinator for Digital Engagement, the workshop will focus on a comparison of the capabilities of ArtSteps and Omeka, two virtual exhibition platforms, as well as a demonstration of VoiceThread—a tool for commenting on slideshows and videos with a variety of media including audio, video, and sketching. The demonstration will be followed with discussion, so please bring your questions and insights! No previous experience with these platforms is necessary.

Registration is required. Please sign up here.

New Publication: Christian Maps of the Holy Land: Images and Meanings, by Pnina Arad

An innovative approach to Christian maps of the Holy Land, exploring their devotional imagery.

This book offers a way of reading maps of the Holy Land as visual imagery with religious connotations. Through a corpus of representative examples created between the sixth and the nineteenth centuries, it studies the maps as iconic imagery of an iconic landscape and analyses their strategies to manifest the spiritual quality of the biblical topography, to support religious tenets, and to construct and preserve cultural memory.

Maps of the Holy Land have thus far been studied with methodologies such as cartography and historical geography, while the main question addressed was the reliability of the maps as cartographic documents. Through another perspective and using the methodology of visual studies, this book reveals that maps of the Holy Land constructed religious messages and were significant instruments through which different Christian cultures (Byzantine, Catholic, Protestant, and Greek Orthodox) shaped their religious identities. It does not seek to ascertain how the maps delivered geographical information, but rather how they utilized the geographical information in formulating religious and cultural values.

Through its examination of maps of the Holy Land, this book thus explores both Christian visual culture and Christian spirituality throughout the centuries.

Pnina Arad is a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Conversion and Interreligious Encounters at Ben-Gurion University. Her publications focus on visual representations of the Holy Land and the cultural role they have played for different societies from the Middle Ages to the present.

Order the book here.

List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Timeline
Introduction

Part I. Iconic Landscape, Iconic Map

Chapter 1. Formation of a Holy Land

Chapter 2. Madaba Map: A Visual Portrait of the Holy Land from the Byzantine Period

Composition and Content
Religious Message
Generator of Cultural Memory
Map and Pilgrimage
The Holy Land Map and Early Christian Art

Part II. The Map of the Holy Land in the Latin West

Chapter 3. Innovative Western Spiritual Iconographies

Twelfth-Century Maps
Matthew Paris’s Map in his Chronica majora (mid thirteenth century)
Grid Maps from the Fourteenth Century

Chapter 4. Fifteenth-Century Pilgrims’ Maps: Late Medieval Instruments of Devotion

Gabriel Capodilista’s Map
William Wey’s Map
Bernhard von Breydenbach’s Map
A Map by an Anonymous Author

Part III. Between Pilgrimage and Scripture, Catholicism and Protestantism

Chapter 5. Friedrich III’s Cartographical Pilgrimage Imagery

Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Map: A Transitional Image
Gotha Panel

Chapter 6. Map and Scripture

Gerard Mercator’s Map of the Holy Land
John Speed’s Map, Associated with the King James Bible
Maps of the Holy Land in the Dutch States-General Bible
Justus and Cornelis Danckerts’ Map of the Holy Land: A Pictorial Epitome

Part IV. Map as Icon: Greek Orthodox proskynetaria from the Ottoman period

Chapter 7. Icon of a Land

Conclusion

Appendices

I. Inscriptions on the Madaba Map
II. Sites Mentioned in the Pilgrimage Guide of Gesta Francorum Ihrusalem expugnantium (dated to 1101–1104) in Order of Appearance)
III. Inscriptions on Three Twelfth-Century Maps of the Holy Land
IV. Inscriptions on London, British Library, Add. MS 27376, fols. 188v–189r
V. A List of Places in William Wey’s Pilgrimage Account (Oxford, Bodleian Library,MS Bodley 565), said to be synchronized with his map of the Holy Land
VI. Sites in and around Jerusalem in Bernhard von Breydenbach’s Map of the Holy Land

Bibliography

Index

CFP: Global Islamic Archaeology Showcase, online conference (26 September 2020), deadline 22 August 2020

Global Islamic Archaeology Showcase

A FREE online postgraduate and early-careers research event hosted by the Centre for Islamic Archaeology (CfIA), Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS), University of Exeter 26 September 2020

ABSTRACT DEADLINE: 22 August 2020

GIAS invites early-careers researchers working within the field of Islamic archaeology and material culture to submit papers to our first virtual showcase—an opportunity to present current research to a global audience. We are particularly keen to encourage researchers based in Africa and Asia who may not ordinarily have the means to attend a conference in Europe. We welcome papers from Ph.D. students and early career researchers, as well as those studying a Master’s by Research, whose focus is Islamic archaeology and material culture in the broadest sense: we embrace a wide chronological range and geographical focus, from Brazil to Azerbaijan, Mali to Japan.

Your participation as speaker or audience is welcome.

The summer of 2020 has seen many changes to academia, not least with the impact of COVID-19, growing environmental concerns and recently intensified decolonisation movements. These issues are particularly relevant to the discipline of archaeology and especially its application on the African and Asian continents. Prompting us all to think differently, they present an opportunity to change how we do conferences for the better by using technology to widen participation and increase inclusivity in this growing and dynamic field of archaeological enquiry.

The format

GIAS is a one-day online conference, divided into sessions, with a keynote event and a relaxed virtual social event to be held afterwards. Whether presented live or pre-recorded, each 15 minute presentation will be followed by a live, five-minute Q&A with the speaker(s). The presentations will be recorded¹and we intend to upload them to the conference website after the event. To improve accessibility, participants are encouraged to submit two recordings of their presentation for upload—one in English and another in a language of their choice—although only the English version can be presented on the day. The chatbox and breakout rooms will be utilised to faciliate discussions.

Apply to present a paper

If you’d like to present your work at the GIAS, please submit a 200–300 word abstract by 22^nd August to globalislamicarchaeology@gmail.com. Be sure to include the title of the paper, your full name, your contact details, the name of your institution, and your current position/level of study. You can also submit your abstract through the conference website at: https://www.islamicarchaeology.co.uk/

Registration

Registration is FREE for all. All welcome!

Enquiries

For further enquiries, please contact the conference organisers:

Awet Araya – A.Teklehimanot-Araya@exeter.ac.uk

Hannah Parsons-Morgan – H.L.Parsons@exeter.ac.uk

New Journal Issue: Journal of Islamic Manuscripts Volume 11 (2020): Issue 2 (Jul 2020)

The Journal of Islamic Manuscripts explores the crucial importance of the handwritten book in the Muslim world. It is concerned with the written transmission of knowledge, the numerous varieties of Islamic book culture and the materials and techniques of bookmaking, namely codicology. It also considers activities related to the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections, including cataloguing, conservation and digitization. It is the journal’s ambition to provide students and scholars, librarians and collectors – in short, everyone who is interested in Islamic manuscripts – with a professional journal and functional platform of their own.

The Journal of Islamic Manuscripts is published on behalf of the Islamic Manuscript Association Limited, an international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting Islamic manuscripts and supporting those who work with them.

Online Exhibition: The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Whilst we would love to hop on a plane and head to Galicia for a holiday, we’re being responsible art historians! With this in mind, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela have created a wide range of online exhibitions on Google Arts & Culture for us to enjoy without leaving the comforts of our home! Learn more about the Master Mateo who sculptor and architect who worked on the Cathedral’s Pórtico de la Gloria, or explore the museum’s collections of fascinating artworks, as well as learning about the legendary origin of the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James). Below are some of our favourites.

The Cathedral de Santiago, Left columns of the central arch of the Portico of Glory, Master Mateo, ca. 1188-1211

The Portico of Glory: Master Mateo’s Masterpiece

Discover the story of revelation and salvation, starting in the crypt and developing through the statues and reliefs of an artistic masterpiece of the Middle Ages.

(The Cathedral de Santiago, Left columns of the central arch of the Portico of Glory, Master Mateo, ca. 1188-1211)

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral Museum

A tour of the cathedral’s most emblematic pieces, showcasing more than 1,000 years of history.

(The Cathedral de Santiago, Rose window, Master Mateo, c.1200)

The Cathedral de Santiago, Saint James the Pilgrim, previously owned by Archbishop Álvaro de Isorna, Francesco Marino, 1445

The Camino de Santiago

The legendary origin of the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) and the various routes leading to the Apostle’s tomb.

(The Cathedral de Santiago, Saint James the Pilgrim, previously owned by Archbishop Álvaro de Isorna, Francesco Marino, 1445)

A Master by the Name of Mateo

Between 1168 and 1211, Master Mateo worked on a project that was fundamental to the history of Santiago Cathedral.

(The Cathedral de Santiago, Base of the mullion of the Portico of Glory, Master Mateo, 1168-1188)

Check out the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela’s page on Google Arts &Culture here.

New Publication: Die Hildesheimer Emailarbeiten des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts, by Dorothee Kemper

This volume for the first time systematically catalogs medieval Hildesheim champlevé scattered in collections around the world. The products from these local workshops differ from those in large centers for enamel production on the Rhine and Meuse in that they reflect the upholding of local historical tradition by religious elites in the 12th century, as well as the beginnings of mass production for export.

Der Band stellt erstmals die heute weltweit in Sammlungen verstreuten mittelalterlichen Hildesheimer Grubenschmelze (email champlevé) systematisch katalogartig zusammen. Die Produkte dieser lokalen Werkstätten unterscheiden sich von denen der grossen Emailzentren an Rhein und Maas; sie spiegeln die ortshistorische Traditionspflege der religiösen Eliten im 12. Jh. sowie eine einsetzende Serienfabrikation für den Export.

Dorothee Kemper hat Kunstgeschichte, Philosophie und Germanistik in Bonn und Heidelberg studiert. Seit 2006 arbeitet sie in diversen Forschungsprojekten zu mittelalterlichen Goldschmiedearbeiten, zuletzt 2015-2018 am Kunsthistorischen Institut Kiel (BMBF-Verbundforschungsprojekt), seit 2017 ist sie Geschäftsführerin des Deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft e.V.

Order the book here.

Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution MSK Ghent Virtual Tour

The largest Jan van Eyck exhibition ever

From February 1st until March 12th 2020, the MSK hosted the largest Jan van Eyck exhibition in history. During these weeks, nearly 130,000 visitors came closer to Van Eyck than was ever possible before, but unfortunately the COVID-19 crisis forced us to close the exhibition earlier. You can find a retrospective on the Van Eyck website.

Visit Flanders and the MSK joined forces with Belgian virtual reality company Poppr, to develop an online 360° virtual tour of the Van Eyck galleries. Enter the largest Van Eyck exhibition ever directly from the comfort of your home! While scrolling through the 360° images, discover 13 museum galleries with over 120 masterpieces. The audio guide for adults or children is your personal guide through the exhibition.

VISIT FLANDERS also filmed a guided visit with Till-Holger Borchert, Director of the Museums Bruges and one of the curators of the exhibition. Discover with him some of the masterpieces on display in Ghent. Take the virtual tour here!

New Publication: Diagramming Devotion: Berthold of Nuremberg’s Transformation of Hrabanus Maurus’s Poems in Praise of the Cross, by Jeffrey F. Hamburger

During the European Middle Ages, diagrams provided a critical tool of analysis in cosmological and theological debates. In addition to drawing relationships among diverse areas of human knowledge and experience, diagrams themselves generated such knowledge in the first place. In Diagramming Devotion, Jeffrey F. Hamburger examines two monumental works that are diagrammatic to their core: a famous set of picture poems of unrivaled complexity by the Carolingian monk Hrabanus Maurus, devoted to the praise of the cross, and a virtually unknown commentary on Hrabanus’s work composed almost five hundred years later by the Dominican friar Berthold of Nuremberg. Berthold’s profusely illustrated elaboration of Hrabnus translated his predecessor’s poems into a series of almost one hundred diagrams. By examining Berthold of Nuremberg’s transformation of a Carolingian classic, Hamburger brings modern and medieval visual culture into dialogue, traces important changes in medieval visual culture, and introduces new ways of thinking about diagrams as an enduring visual and conceptual model.

Pre-order here.