Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean – Day Three

Society for the Medieval Mediterranean Conference 2015: Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean – Day Three

The final morning of the conference is underway after a wonderful evening spent at the Old Palace last night.  Everyone was in high spirits and had a great time relaxing with friends, old and new.

This morning the sessions focused on justice and legal and material culture.  Speakers included Lincoln’s own Rob Portass, Fernando Luis Corral, Inaki Martin Viso, Miriam Wissa, James Powers, Kati Ihnat, Leonard Chiarelli, Ada Kuskowski and a special Skype conference call from Anna Adashinskaya who delivered her paper from Russia! Topics were diverse; ranging from tenth century justice systems to law, custom and colonialism in the crusader states.  The discussions that followed were very animated and thought-provoking.

Antonella and Jamie rounded up the conference with the news that the fifth Medieval Mediterranean conference will be held in Ghent, 2017.

We hope all delegates enjoyed the conference and had a great time exploring the beautiful and historical city of Lincoln (despite the weather!).  We would like to thank Jamie and Antonella, Simon Barton, delegates who delivered keynote speeches and papers and all those who contributed to making the fourth Medieval Mediterranean Conference such a success. Until next time!

Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean – Day Two

Society for the Medieval Mediterranean Conference 2015: Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean – Day Two

A warm welcome back to all delegates here at the University of Lincoln for the 4th International Conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean. Hope you have all enjoyed another fascinating day of panels. Thank you to all those who delivered papers and to today’s keynote speaker, Dr. Andrew Marsham of Edinburgh University.

This morning, the papers included topics on professional legal identities, the selection of an emir, the Lombard Laws and the steps involved in maintaining the eastern Mediterranean slave trade. The afternoon’s sessions were equally as informative, with papers concerning rituals, customs and laws of fiefs in Medieval Italy; scribal practice and record keeping; and the traditions, variety and originality in the formulas of charters. Each paper provoked a wide range of questions which made for interesting discussion.

Doctor Marsham’s keynote speech on ‘Rituals of accession in early Islam: a comparative perspective’ was extremely informative and offered interesting comparative insights between the Medieval East and Latin West. Thank you!

We are very much looking forward to a lovely evening at the Old Bishops Palace for the conference dinner! The programme for tomorrow promises an equally fascinating day ahead.

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Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean – Day One

Society for the Medieval Mediterranean Conference 2015: Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean – Day One

So, thank you to all of those delegates who have travelled from far and wide to meet this week here at the University of Lincoln for the 4th International Conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean. Special thanks, of course, to those delivering papers and to today’s keynote speaker, Prof. Simon Doubleday of Hofstra University.

Papers today covered such diverse topics as our first sessions on Justice and judicial practice in early medieval NW Iberia – Government and Archives – and on Comparative aspects of the institutionalisation of law – the Making of Political Discourses, on Fatimid rituals, revolts and rules, on Medieval Laws of the Sea, the late medieval crown of Aragon, and last (but certainly not least) Orthodoxy and deviance. As so often, sessions were lively, the speakers engaging and the questions extremely thought-provoking – thank you.

Professor Doubleday’s keynote speech on ‘Illegitimate Approaches’, essentially on how we should undertake a serious re-evaluation of our views of illegitimacy in the medieval period and beyond, looking especially at the relationship of Alfonso X of Castile and his daughter Beatriz, was also very well received. Again, thank you!

I’m writing this whilst at the evening wine reception and listening in on the buzz of academic conversation. It seems like it will be an interesting day tomorrow.

We hope you all enjoy your stay in Lincoln. Please make the most of its wonderful medieval history and heritage while you are here – and we look forward to meeting you again tomorrow.

 

2nd Call for Papers – SMM conference 2015

We are delighted to announce that the University of Lincoln will be hosting the fourth biennial conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean from 13th to 15th July 2015.

The theme of the conference is “Law, Custom and Ritual in the Medieval Mediterranean” and the keynotes will be delivered by Professor Maribel Fierro (CSIC, Madrid: “Obedience to the ruler in the Medieval Islamic West: legal and historical perspectives”) and Dr Andrew Marsham (University of Edinburgh: “Rituals of accession in early Islam: a comparative perspective”).

The call for papers is accessible here: http://www.societymedievalmediterranean.com/conference-2015.php

We look forward to seeing you in Lincoln!