The book cover for Lincoln Readings, showing the battle of Lincoln in 1217.

Introducing Lincoln Readings of Texts, Materials, and Contexts: Supplementum to Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Sources

The University’s Medieval Studies Research Group recently took over the editorship of  the peer-reviewed annual, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Sources (formerly the Journal of Medieval and Renaissance History, est. 1964).  To celebrate and showcase the diverse range of research that we do here on written, visual, and material sources, our first volume included contributions by nine members of University of Lincoln staff. We are delighted to report that this has now been published Open Access by ARC Humanities Press, thanks to the support of the University , especially Professor Stuart Humphries, and to the help of Claire Arrand at Lincoln Cathedral Archives: Lincoln Readings of Texts, Materials, and Contexts (oapen.org)

Edited by Dr Graham Barrett and Prof. Louise Wilkinson, Lincoln Readings of Texts, Materials, and Contexts: Supplementum to Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Sources, features peer-reviewed essays by nine Lincoln classicists, medievalists, and an early modernist. The essays cover topics including early doctrinal controversies, early Church councils, the Greek alphabet, disputes in thirteenth-century Rutland, the charters, letters, and seal of Lady Nicholaa de la Haye, castellan of Lincoln and sheriff, the proprietary queens of Jerusalem’s documents, the law and liturgy of trial by water in early medieval Iberia, a fourteenth-century aisled base-cruck building at Ketsby House Farm, and Mayflower materials in the Wren Library of Lincoln Cathedral.

The Lincoln-based contributors were: Drs Michael Wuk, Giustina Monti, Robert Portass (now Cambridge), Anais Waag (one of our Leverhulme ECRs), Graham Barrett (now Durham), and Profs  Mark Gardiner (with Jenne Pape), Anna Marie-Roos, Louise Wilkinson, and Jamie Wood (with Marta Szada).

The cover of the book, Lincoln Readings of Texts, Materials, and Contexts, showing the Battle of Lincoln in 1217.

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.

 

History-writing and Violence in the Medieval Mediterranean

Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo and Jamie Wood have just co-edited a special issue of the journal Al Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean, published by Taylor & Francis. The special issue is entitled “History-writing and Violence in the Medieval Mediterranean” and can be accessed online here.

The contents are as follows:

  • Introduction: History-writing and Violence in the Medieval Mediterranean by Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo (Lincoln) & Jamie Wood (Lincoln)
  • Anxieties of Violence: Christians and Muslims in Conflict in Aghlabid North Africa and the Central Mediterranean by Jonathan P. Conant (Brown)
  • Third/Ninth-Century Violence: “Saracens” and Sawdān in Erchempert’s Historia by Christopher Heath (Manchester Metropolitan University)
  • Persecution, Past and Present: Memorialising Martyrdom in Late Antique and Early Medieval Córdoba by Jamie Wood (Lincoln)
  • Anger in the Crónica de Alfonso X by Simon R. Doubleday (Hofstra)
  • Images of Biblical Conflict in Castile, c.1150–c.1240: A Comparison of the Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris and the Chronica Latina Regum Castellae by Alun Williams (Exeter)