Tales about the Virgin Mary were frequently told in the Middle Ages. They were communicated through diverse media and genres, ranging from poetry and exempla, were depicted on panels and in manuscripts, and followed the rhythms of hagiography, sermons and chant. Interpreting how these stories were made and disseminated and how these different media and genres intersected is fundamental to understanding the reach and impact of ideas about the Virgin Mary and the place of the Marian cult in late medieval culture and parish life.
The research project Imitatio Mariae at Umeå University and the Umeå Group for Premodern Studies invite you to a workshop on these interesting and challenging matters. There will be papers that analyze these media and the overlap between them; the role of Marian themes in parish life, the movement of Marian narratives between text and image in late medieval Europe. Methodological and theoretical approaches to these complex issues will be discussed. We intend to publish the papers after the workshop in a peer-reviewed volume.
This workshop was born at the Umeå Queen Mary University of London research workshop in autumn 2011. It aims to bring together senior and junior scholars from different disciplines to discuss and promote the understanding of themes and practices related to the very central and extremely diverse cult of the Virgin Mary in late medieval Europe.
The workshop will take place between 8 and 10 November 2012 at Umeå University. The conference organizers will also host social activities for the participants.
The workshop is funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond!
Are you interested attend? Then send a mail to jonas.carlquist@nord.umu.se or by post: Department of Language Studies, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden!
We look forward to welcoming you to Umeå in November!
Jonas Carlquist, Professor of Scandinavian Languages
Ann-Catrine Eriksson, Art History, Ph.D.
ann-catrine.eriksson@arthist.umu.se
Virginia Langum, English, Ph.D.
