Notices

Jobs For
Medievalists

Summer Programs

Announcement Submission
Form

Recent Appointments

Mellon Summer Institutes in Vernacular Paleography

French Paleography at the Newberry Library, 7 July–1 August 2008 Directed by Marc Smith, Professor of Paleography at the Ecole nationale des chartes in Paris, this course will examine French manuscripts and archival materials from the 13th to the 17th century. The course will consist of a summary outline of the history of handwriting in France, followed by intensive training in reading from facsimiles, both in class and at home, which will result in greater familiarity not only with the development of handwriting but also with further aspects of written communication in the late-medieval and early-modern period. The institute will enroll 15 participants. First consideration will be given to advanced graduate students and junior faculty at U.S. colleges and universities, but applications will also be accepted from professional staff of U.S. libraries and museums, and from qualified independent scholars. Advanced French language skills are required. Applicants selected for admission will receive a stipend to help defray the cost of attending the institute.

Contact: Susi Krasnoo, Huntington Library, Research Dept. (626-405-3432; skrasnoo@huntington.org; (http:// www.newberry.org/renaissance/currentgrants/2008paleo). Applications are due 3 March 2008.

English Paleography at the Huntington Library, 23 June–17 July 2008. Directed by Heather Wolfe, Curator of Manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library, this course will provide an intensive introduction to reading and transcribing secretary and italic handwriting in the Tudor-Stuart period. Participants will also experiment with contemporary writing materials, learn the terminology and conventions for describing and editing early modern manuscripts, and, as time allows, discuss the important and evolving role of handwritten documents within a wider context of print, manuscript, and oral cultures. Examples will be drawn from the Huntington and Folger manuscript collections. Admission is limited to fifteen participants. Priority will be given to graduate students and junior faculty at U.S. colleges and universities who have no previous experience or training in paleography. Applications will also be accepted from professional staff of U.S. libraries and museums, and from qualified independent scholars. Each participant will receive a stipend to help defray the costs of housing and travel.

Contact: Susi Krasnoo, Huntington Library, Research Dept. (626-405-3432; skrasnoo@huntington.org; (http:// www.newberry.org/renaissance/currentgrants/2008paleo). Applications are due 3 March 2008.

London Palaeography Summer School

The London Palaeography Summer School is a series of intensive day- or half-day classes in Palaeography and Diplomatic given by experts in their respective fields from a wide range of institutions. Subject areas include Anglo-Saxon palaeography, electronic resources for manuscript studies, medieval scientific manuscripts, Latin palaeography, German palaeography, Papal diplomatic, illuminated manuscripts and manuscript book making (western and Ethiopic). Courses available during the period Monday 23 to Thursday 26 June 2008 are listed below. Further information and application forms will be available shortly at: http://ies.sas.ac.uk/cmps/events/courses/SummerSchool/index.htm

Monday 23 June

Introduction to Latin Palaeography - Dr Marigold Norbye (University College London): Full day. This course will provide a brief overview of the main elements of Latin palaeography, concentrating on scripts of the later medieval period (1100-1500). Whilst showing the most common abbreviation symbols and the evolution of letter forms, the course will consist of practical exercises, transcribing several different types of script. Participants must have at least elementary Latin in order to benefit from the course. It would be useful if they could indicate whether they have any previous experience of palaeography when applying.

Books of Hours - Dr Jenny Stratford (Institute of Historical Research and Royal Holloway, University of London): Full day. Books of Hours have survived in great numbers. They contained the most important texts for the private devotions of the laity and were often richly illuminated. The course will look at how Books of Hours developed, at their main textual contents and how they were decorated. Some outstanding manuscripts, such as the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, the Bedford Hours and the Très Riches Heures of duke John of Berry will be the focus of one session. Questions of localisation (liturgical Use), and of ownership will also be considered.

TUESDAY 24 JUNE

Anglo-Saxon Palaeography - Dr Debby Banham (Birkbeck college and Cambridge): Full day. This session will focus on manuscripts made in England before the Norman Conquest, with a brief excursus beyond 1066 to look at further developments in English vernacular writing. The main emphasis will be on script, and on books written in Old English, although Latin ones will not be neglected entirely. We'll look at the development of handwriting in Anglo-Saxon England, its relationship with book decoration and other aspects of manuscript production, the use of different scripts for different purposes, and the connections with cultural and intellectual developments in pre-Conquest England. Different practices in Latin and Old English will be covered, finishing with the afterlife of vernacular usages in Middle English.

Electronic Resources for Manuscript Studies - Ms Mura Ghosh (Senate House Library): Half day morning. This is a practical course exploring resources and search techniques for accessing descriptions and images of medieval manuscripts in electronic databases and manuscript catalogues. Online tools for reading medieval manuscripts will be examined. Bibliographic, full text resources, periodical databases and electronic journals for systematic literature searching and research in manuscript studies will also be discussed. Participants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience during the course therefore a basic understanding of web resources would be an advantage.

Western Scientific Manuscripts - Professor Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute): Half day afternoon. This course will examine manuscripts of texts on arithmetic, geometry, astrology, astronomy, divination and medicine (using facsimiles), showing how scribes dealt with the representation of numbers and the setting out of tables and diagrams. Also to be explored is the didactic use of illustrations (e.g. in surgery), and the adaptation of the manuscript book, parchment and paper to practical exigencies (e.g. the use of paper dials, medical and astrological vade mecums, and scraps of writing paper for sketching horoscopes). More generally, the role of the book in medieval science will be discussed.

WEDNESDAY 25 JUNE

Papal Diplomatic - Professor David d'Avray (University College London): Full day. The course will be a brief introduction to medieval papal diplomatic, understood as the analysis of formal structures of papal documents, and of the settings in life that one needs to know to understand them. Thus some thought about the nature of medieval papal government will be involved. The course will also be the occasion for some general discussion of Diplomatic as a method for medievalists. There will be a certain emphasis on the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. Some Latin is needed for this course.

How Manuscripts Were Made - Ms Patricia Lovett (Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society): Full day. This course will consider the ways in which Western manuscripts were made. From examples of medieval manuscripts together with demonstrations, the tools and materials used in manuscript production will be considered: quills and quill cutting, vellum and parchment qualities and preparation, pigments and the use of gold. The techniques of creating the various letter-forms in scripts from 600-1500 and the ways in which medieval miniatures were illuminated and painted will be shown.

THURSDAY 26 JUNE

German Palaeography - Dr Dorothea McEwan and Dr des Claudia Wedepohl (Warburg Institute): Full day. This German Palaeography class is a reading class. Its aim is to familiarize students with a number of different handwritings. A variety of texts (in photocopies) will be examined and read: private correspondence, official correspondence of German courts and the Habsburg monarchy, petitions by individuals, replies by authorities, appeals, etc., from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The course will be flexible in as much as it will be possible to present documents from different centuries and handwriting styles in order to suit the needs of the participants. It is therefore important to state on the Registration Form which particular research interests the applicant is pursuing.

Manuscript Book Making in Ethiopia -the survival of ancient techniques - John Mellors and Anne Parsons: Full day. The course will start by giving a brief introduction to the history of bookmaking in Ethiopia, its connections to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (one of the oldest of all Orthodox Churches) and how it appears that very early bookmaking techniques seem to have survived relatively unchanged in the country. Some of the influences on, and changes in, writing and decoration style over the centuries will also be discussed. The main emphasis of the course will be to describe the craft of bookmaking in Ethiopia as it is today with descriptions, slides and videos showing the techniques of parchment preparation, pen making, the production of ink and colours, writing, book decoration and binding. Some of the more recent influences on changes of styles and techniques will be outlined. No previous knowledge of Ethiopia or bookmaking required.

Contact: Zoe Holman, SAS-SPACE Co-ordinator, Webmaster & CMPS Administrator, Institute of English Studies, Univ. of London, School of Advanced Study, Room NG17, Senate House, Malet St., London, WC1E 7HU (+44 (0)20 7862 8680; fax: +44 (0)20 7862 8720; zoe.holman@sas.ac.uk; http://ies.sas.ac.uk).

London Rare Books School

The London Rare Books School

In London we are fortunate in having an impressive cohort of tutors of international standing who already teach on the MA; beyond these we have a quite remarkable reservoir of scholarly and practical talent in the form of specialist staff working in the universities, libraries, museums, publishing houses, and literary agencies in and around London.

In its second year the LRBS will be running for two weeks: 30 June to 4 July and 14 July to 18 July. There will be twelve courses on offer:

Week 1: 30 June to 4 July 2008

The Medieval Book Course Tutor: Professor Michelle Brown The course will provide an intensive introduction to manuscript culture during Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The Printed Book in Europe 1455–2000 Course Tutor: Professor John Feather An introductory course suitable for anyone with an interest in the history of books, including historians, literary scholars, librarians, collectors and antiquarian booksellers.

A History of Maps and Mapping Course Tutors: Catherine Delano-Smith and Sarah Tyacke. The course is suitable for historians, art historians, geographers, students of literature, librarians.

An Introduction to Bibliography Course Tutor: Professor Tony Edwards The course aims to give students an introduction to the various elements of bibliography and to set those elements within their appropriate historical and methodological contexts.

Week 2: 14 June to 18 July 2008

Mapping Land & Sea before 1800 Course Tutors: Professor Catherine Delano-Smith and Sarah Tyacke. The course is designed to develop the participants' understanding of the main genres of European terrestrial mapping found between the Middle Ages and 1800 - that is, topographical maps, world maps, marine charts, and globes.

A Community of Learners The LRBS is not just about intellectual excitement; we also aim to create a friendly community of students and tutors. To this end we shall be using the accommodation service of the University to offer cheap, centrally- located student accommodation; there will be a designated common room for the week in which all students will be served coffee, lunch and tea each day; and there will be a series of evening activities including lectures and receptions. Thus there will be plenty of opportunity for students to get to know not only members of their own group Course Director: Simon Eliot More Information and Application Forms Further information about LRBS, the courses on offer, fees, and details about accommodation, can be found at the LRBS website. Contact: Zoe Holman, Room NG17, Senate House (North Block), Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK (+44(0)20 7862 8680; fax: +44-20-7862-8720; cmps@sas.ac.uk; http://ies.sas.ac.uk/cmps/events/courses/ LRBS/index.htm).

Medieval Studies at St. Peter's College, Oxford

Courses in Medieval studies:

Visit Oxford for six hours, let alone six weeks, and you will be faced with the Middle Ages ~ the street layout, the architecture of the Colleges which comprise the University, the flavour of the University rituals. Six hours and you may yet be able to escape; six weeks, on the other hand, creates both the need and the opportunity to confront the medieval era, to investigate both its strangeness and its familiarity. For American citizens there is, or can be, a particular agenda here. What kind of cultural past did the Pilgrim Fathers leave behind? How does the staggering cathedral in Washington compare with English Gothic, in style and function? What are the origins of the constitutional ideas revered by the Founding fathers? Medieval Studies at St Peter's College, Oxford University, will help you to address these questions.

The Structure of the Course Your studies during the Summer School will focus primarily on your chosen tutorial Option. You will, therefore, need to decide carefully between the three available Options:

* Option 1: Culture & Society in Medieval England: 1066-1300

* Option 2: Death, Nature and Change in Medieval Literature

* Option 3: Medieval Women : Representations and Roles

It is important to note that these courses are taught in tutorials - that is, in the traditional Oxford setting of just a small group of pupils (no more than 6 per tutor). You are required to write weekly essays or presentations which may be read out aloud in the tutorial. This may seem a dauntingly intimate procedure but you need to bear in mind that this method gives you, the pupil, the maximum space and time to discuss your interests and to develop your arguments in active partnership with both tutor and tutorial partners. It is an invigorating, rather than intimidating, challenge!

Your second assignment each week will be to participate in an Interdisciplinary Seminar on a medieval theme, linking strands from the various Options. This will give you the chance to savour a different teaching method, frequently used at Oxford at graduate level and with special undergraduate courses, and to exchange ideas with all of the participants of the Medieval Studies programme.

Field Excursions Excursions outside Oxford are arranged for all but the first week of the Summer School. Your experiences and observations on these elements of the programme are not formally assessed and they are more loosely tied to the academic programme. At the same time, there can be no doubt that each excursion can add considerably to the understanding of your academic work. The contributions, for example, of Salisbury, Winchester, Bath and the Cotswold Hills to the intellectual, artistic and political life of medieval England can be more readily appreciated once the topography and monuments of each of these places has been studied.

In addition to these excursions, there is also a 4-Day Field Excursion The Development of British Landscapes - which is for participants on the Medieval Studies and Environmental Studies programmes

Contact: Kenneth Addison, Academic Dir., Summer Schools, St Peter’s College, Oxford OX1 2DL, U.K. (Kenneth.Addison@spc.ox.ac.uk; http://www.spc.ox.ac.uk/text/135/medieval_studies.html).

CUNY Latin/Greek Institute

The Latin/Greek Institute of The City University of New York will offer basic programs in Latin and Greek from 9 June through 19 August 2008. These courses are intended for people with no (or very little) knowledge of the language. Two and a half to three years of college Latin or Greek will be taught in ten weeks of intensive, concentrated study. Twelve undergraduate credits will be awarded through Brooklyn College. The programs are team-taught by six faculty members, who are on 24-hour call. Students are trained in morphology and syntax and read representative ancient texts (through the Renaissance in Latin and Attic, Ionic, and koine texts in Greek). Graduate students are welcome to apply.

Scholarship aid, funded entirely by donations from alumnae/i, is available to partially defray tuition.

For information and application forms, write to: Latin/Greek Institute City University Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10016 (212-817-2081 [10 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays]; rfleischer@gc.cuny.edu; http://web.gc.cuny.edu/Classics/lgi.htm).

Notre Dame Summer Courses in Latin and Paleography

The Medieval Institute is pleased to offer Summer courses in medieval languages and paleography to graduate students and to qualified undergraduates from Notre Dame and all across the country. Occasional offerings are also available in history, English, theology, languages, and other fields. While in summer residence, students have access to the bountiful resources of the Medieval Institute and its renowned library.

Most summer courses run from mid-June to the beginning of August, an ideal time to enjoy the luxury of uninterrupted study in the pastoral setting of the Notre Dame campus. Participants in the summer program benefit both from the expertise and commitment to their disciplines that our summer faculty members bring to their teaching, and from the smaller enrollments and shorter, concentrated duration of most summer classes, which also permit sustained and frequent contact between student and teacher. While graduate students, especially, find the summer program to be an ideal opportunity to acquire the skills they need for their programs, these classes also appeal to others imbued with a love of the Middle Ages.

Medieval Latin and Paleography, both seven-week courses that have been taught in recent summers by Frank A. C. Mantello, professor in the Department of Greek and Latin at the Catholic University of America, regularly figure in our summer program. Several other language courses are also offered at Notre Dame by both the Medieval Institute and the University's Summer Institute in Ancient and Medieval Languages (http://classics.nd.edu/summer-language/).

CARA Scholarships. Two students taking Medieval Latin or Latin Paleography for credit will be awarded full tuition scholarships funded by the Medieval Academy through its Committee on Centers and Regional Associations. Scholarship applicants must be student members of the Medieval Academy. To apply for one of the CARA scholarships, send a letter of intent, two letters of recommendation, and a transcript to CARA Summer Scholarships, Medieval Institute, 715 Hesburgh Library, Univ. of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5629. The deadline for applications is 1 May 2008 (medinst@nd.edu; http://www.nd.edu/~medinst).

The Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University (CEU), Budapest, will offer a course entitled

From Holy War to Peaceful Cohabitation: Diversity of Crusading and the Military Orders

from 14 to 25 July 2008.

Course Director: Jozsef Laszlovszky, Medieval Studies Dept., Central European Univ.

Course Faculty:

Taef Kamal el-Azhari, Helwan University, Egypt

Michel Balard, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

France Jochen Burgtorf, California State University, Fullerton

Ronnie Ellenblum, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

John France, University of Wales

Nikolas Jaspert, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

Hugh Kennedy, St. Andrews University

Jozsef Laszlovszky, Central European University, Budapest

Janus Møller Jensen, University of Southern Denmark

Alan V. Murray, International Medieval Bibliography, Leeds University

John Pryor, University of Sydney

Recently, major international conferences and monographic studies reinterpreted the whole period of the crusades and the emergence of the medieval military orders and proposed fundamentally new concepts for the explanation of this religious and military conflict. They represent an extremely wide range of modern ideas of reinterpretation and many complex issues concerning the concept of holy war, as a new type of warfare and interaction between Christian and Muslim societies, regional development patterns in the Holy Land and other crusader states, and the very general concept concerning the clashes of cultures.

These very important new historical works were also confronted with contemporary political events and with the most recent religious and military conflicts between the Western world and the Islam. "9/11" and the fundamentalist Islam movement confronted the scholars dealing with the problem of crusades and the military orders with the fact that their research agenda is not simply an academic problem, but one of the most difficult political and religious issues of our world.

A fundamentally different explanation and interpretation of this issue can be found in several well-documented and clearly argued studies of scholars, who follow the concept of a gradual transformation and take into consideration the evidence for war and destruction just as the evidence for revival, restructuring or co-habitation.

New research methods and approaches (environmental-historical studies, architectural history of military constructions, art historical interpretations of Christian-Muslim interactions) offer a wide panorama on the fast growing published written source material, the archaeological evidence of this period, which fundamentally changed our understanding of the main issues of the period. Based on these recent studies and the discussions and debates generated by them the summer course wants to focus on these questions and plans to offer an interdisciplinary approach for scholars.

The course is designed for postgraduate students and for scholars with previous knowledge gained in at least one aspect of the course. (http://www.sun.ceu.hu/02-courses/course-sites/medieval/index-holy.php). Application deadline for fee-paying applications: 30 May 2008.

Summer School in Old Irish Language

The aim of the Old Irish Summer Schools is to facilitate students wishing to improve their knowledge of Old Irish but who are not in a position to sign up for full year courses. 3 levels: Beginners, Intermediate or Advanced 60 hours contact time, over 10 days. Venue: Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick

Students opting for the Intermediate and Advanced options will take a short test at the beginning of the course so as to identify the best stream for their needs (http://irishmedievalists.com/).

NB! These summer schools are entirely focused on the acquisition of Old Irish language skills. For a broader exposure to Celtic studies, taught by leading experts in the field, we would like to draw your attention to the Summer School of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (http://www.dias.ie) the dates of which are 14 to 26 July 2008.

Summer School in Mediaeval Irish Language & Literature

Summer School in Mediaeval and Modern Irish Language and Literature, 14–26 July 2008

Old Irish (elementary): Dr Clodagh Downey.

Readings in Classical Irish poetry (grammar, prosody, literary appreciation, manuscript sources).

Old Irish (advanced): Professor Liam Breatnach. Afternoons 14.30 – 15.30

Reading a representative selection of Old Irish texts of various genres in both prose and verse.

Mediaeval and Early Modern Irish Literature and its Transmission: Professor Pádraig Breatnach, Dr Clodagh Downey, Dr Róisín McLaughlin, Dr Aoibheann Nic Dhonnchadha, Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin. 16.00 – 17.00

A variety of aspects of the Irish literary tradition, including manuscripts, sagas and satire.

Early Irish Law and Society, and the Learned Orders: Professors Fergus Kelly and Liam Breatnach.

Outline of the main features of the Early Mediaeval Irish legal system and the nature of the society which it reflects, and examine the status and functions of the learned classes, concentrating on the poetic orders of filid and baird.

Lectures will be held at the School of Celtic Studies, 10 Burlington Road, Dublin 4 (http://www.celt.dias.ie/english/summerschool/).

The University of Cambridge will offer an interdisciplinary program in its Medieval Studies Summer School, 27 July–16 August 2008, for senior undergraduates, graduates, or faculty members. Each week, students will choose one subject for study from a range of courses, concentrating on particular aspects of medieval art, architecture, history, literature, or politics. Course titles have yet to be announced, but information is available on the university website (http://www.cont-ed.cam.ac.uk/IntSummer/).

Contact: Univ. of Cambridge International Programmes, Greenwich House, Madingley Rise, Madingley Rd., Cambridge CB3 0TX, U.K. (+44-1223-760850; fax: +44-1223-760848).

The Sigurður Nordal Institute, in cooperation with the Faculty of Humanities, organizes, on behalf of the University of Iceland, Reykjavík, an annual summer course in Icelandic. In conjunction with the Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch, the Institute also organizes a course in Icelandic, held partly at the University of Minnesota and partly at the University of Iceland.

For further information, visit http://www.nordals.hi.is/page/nordals-english, then Courses in Icelandic.

Marco Institute Summer Latin Program

The Marco Institute offers a Summer Latin Program each year to help prepare graduate students who are working toward a Medieval Certificate for the Toronto MA Latin Examination. This cost-free program is divided into two levels, beginner (Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings) and intermediate (Tuesday and Thursday mornings). Some students may choose to study at both levels simultaneously.

This coming summer's program will run during June and July. For more information, please contact the Marco Institute program coordinator Erin Read (865-974-1859; eread1@utk.edu).

Institute for Historical Research Summer Course

Methods and sources for historical research will be offered 7– 11 July 2008 (course fee: £140).

This long-standing and popular course is an introduction to the sources available in London for historical research, primarily in the modern period (since 1500) and explores historical methodology for carrying out research. Although not dealing directly with medieval history, the course "would be of interest and relevance to medievalists," according to Simon Trafford.

The course is designed around arranged visits and lectures: over a single, intensive, week, the group will visit a wide variety of different types of archive and libraries in London, including the principal national collections.

Students will be introduced to the holdings of each institution by the responsible curators or archivists, and instructed in the use of relevant finding aids and in all the techniques necessary for research on primary sources. The program of visits is reinforced by a number of lectures at the IHR from experts in fields of particular relevance.

The course is organised by the Institute of Historical Research and is open to postgraduate students and all who are interested in using the wealth of archival sources available in London. Numbers are strictly limited for each running of the course, and demand is normally extremely strong, so early application is recommended. Completed registration forms should be returned by e-mail or post to Simon Trafford, Institute of Historical Research, Univ. of London, Senate House, Malet St., London WC1E 7HU (+44 (0)20 7862 8763; Simon.Trafford@sas.ac.uk; http://www.history.ac.uk/training/courses/ms.html).

1–4 September 2008. The École de l’Institut d’histoire du livre (an offshoot of the Rare Book School in Virginia) will offer its Book History Workshop. Courses are based on intensive contact with internationally recognized specialists, with hands-on sessions with original documents of all periods drawn from the rare book collections of the City Library and Printing Museum of Lyons.

Courses offered:

Gothic illuminated manuscripts (course in English)

Typography, lettering and calligraphy 1830-2000 (course in English)

Introduction to study incunabula (course in English)

In order to facilitate access to collections and “hands-on” study of original documents, classes are limited to 12 students. Applications will be taken on a first come first served basis within the limits of the number of available places.

For a brochure, write to Institut d’histoire du livre, c/o Musée de l’imprimerie, 13 rue de la Poulaillerie, 69003 Lyons, France. Information will be posted on the IHL website near the end of the year (http://ihl.enssib.fr/siteihl.php?page=21&aflng=en).