Event Date: 28 Aug 2013

Event Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Submission Deadline: 31 March 2013

From antiquity to modernity, pre-modern ruling systems in different parts of the world often shared a common feature: the participation of men who were either physically unable or normatively forbidden to father children. One the one hand, there were the childless eunuchs who fulfilled a variety of functions at courts in the Middle East, Byzantium and China; they were much more than simply guardians of the harem. Due to their specific “gender”, the eunuchs formed an integral part of the different ruling systems; indeed, they held a central position in court politics, and their loyalty towards the reigning dynasty was not conditional on nepotism or favouritism towards their family, since they were childless. On the other hand, we have the ruling priests: the celibate bishops both in the Byzantine Empire and Latin Europe. Whereas the Eastern Church tolerated eunuchs as priests, the Western Church demanded that a priest was not castrated, and that instead he needed to have the willpower and resolve to remain celibate. Bishops, who formed an integral part of the ruling elites in both the Western and Eastern were subject to the same rules surrounding celibacy, and were prevented in theory from fathering legitimate children.

Without aiming at a strict comparison between the two groups, this conference wants to take the phenomenon of pre-modern ruling systems that incorporate celibate or childless men, as a starting point in order to address the following questions:

(1)  What were the political and economical consequences of integrating men who were childless or without any legitimate children into the ruling elites and the respective networks of family and kinship?

(2)  If we take the definition of gender by R. Connell in his classic study on Masculinities (Gender as a social practice in relation to the “reproductive arena”), we might expect specific gender conceptions for both priests and eunuchs. How should we view these men: as a third gender; a hybrid gender; or as an asexual gender? Were they always gendered in a specific way or only in certain contexts or environments? And how did the actors perceive their own role in this respect? Is gender still “a useful tool of historical analysis” (Joan Scott) even, or should we adopt different approaches?

(3)  What was the relationship between these men and a divinely legitimized rule in respect to sacredness?

In asking these questions, this conference aims to shed light on the culture of political rule in a period before a strict biological dichotomy of the sexes might be said to have existed. We hope that the ensuing discussion and debate will open up new perspectives on the connections, parallels and peculiarities that can be discovered between rule and gender on a pre-modern global level. The papers will explore such themes within the Middle East, the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity and Byzantium, Latin Europe, China and other geographic areas.

Currently there is space for two doctoral candidates to deliver a 25-minute paper on any geographical area. Financial support will include accommodation and travel costs to and from the conference.

If interested please send a 1 page CV along with an abstract of not more than 300 words to matthew.mesley@uzh.ch, by March  31st 2013.

The conference will be held at the University of Zurich between Wednesday 28th August – 30th August, 2013. Registration, which will be free, will begin at 2.30pm on Wednesday.

Questions and queries about the conference programme or the call for papers can be directed to Matthew Mesley, University of Zurich, (matthew.mesley@uzh.ch)

Accommodation and transport queries should be sent to Serena Tolino, University of Zürich, (serena.tolino@uzh.ch)

Registration details will be forthcoming.

For more information, visit http://events.history.ac.uk/event/show/8993

Event Date: 7-10 November 2012 (Girona/Vic (Catalonia – Spain)

A program for Les catedrals catalanes en el context Europeu (s. X-XII): Escenaris i escenografies / Las catedrales catalanas en el contexto Europeo (s. X-XII): Escenarios y escenografias / Catalan Cathedrals in the European Context (10th-12th c.): Stages and Sceneries is available here as a PDF.

Deadline: December 1, 2012

Event Information: Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Consociatio / The International Society for Medieval Canon Law (ICMAC) is sponsoring a session entitled “‘It Sounds Great, in Theory’: Crusading, Inquisition, and the Juxtaposition of Academic Discussion and Legal Practice” at the Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies being held at St. Louis University June 17-19, 2013.

The crusades and the inquisition afforded the papacy the opportunity to extend its influence. With that said, canonical notions of natural law led to questions regarding the dominium of the infidel. Canonical notions of due process led to protections in judicial proceedings; it protected defendants from being coerced to give testimony and to incriminate themselves; it granted them the absolute right to be summoned, to have their case heard in an open court, to have legal counsel, to present evidence in their defense, and to have their sentence pronounced publicly. Such discussion remained neither confined to the writings of the canonists nor within the confines of classroom walls. Such discussion came face-to-face with threats that challenged notions of natural law and due process. For instance, the legality surrounding the conquest of the New World abounded. Deviations from due process—such as suppression of witnesses’ names, the withholding of formal charges, and torture—became standard practice. This session seeks to continue the work of scholars such as James Muldoon, Edward Peters, James Brundage, and others by exploring how secular rulers, bishops, and inquisitors translated, justified, and applied their use of the law in real-life situations. How did those “on the ground” interpret and apply the law to the circumstances in which they faced, be it in the Holy Land or in the fight against heresy?

All proposals—or requests to preside—received before December 1, 2012 will be considered. Send name and contact info as well as the paper title and a brief abstract to:

Melodie H. Eichbauer
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
meichbauer@fgcu.edu

For more information on the Symposium visit http://smrs.slu.edu/home

For more information on Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Consociatio / The International Society for Medieval Canon Law visit http://medieval.utoronto.ca/icmac/

Deadline: 15 December 2012

Event information: 17-19 June 2013, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

The Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies (June 17-19, 2013) is a convenient summer venue in North America for scholars to present papers, organize sessions, participate in roundtables, and engage in interdisciplinary discussion. The goal of the Symposium is to promote serious scholarly investigation into all topics and in all disciplines of medieval and early modern studies. This year’s plenary speakers are Peter Brown, Princeton University and Andrew Pettegree, University of St. Andrews.

The Symposium is held annually on the beautiful midtown campus of Saint Louis University. On campus housing options include affordable, air-conditioned apartments as well as a luxurious boutique hotel. Inexpensive meal plans are also available, although there is a wealth of restaurants, bars, and cultural venues within easy walking distance of campus.

While attending the Annual Symposium participants are free to use the Vatican Film Library, the Rare Book and Manuscripts Collection, and the general collection at Saint Louis University’s Pius XII Memorial Library.

The Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies invites proposals for papers, complete sessions, and roundtables. Any topics regarding the scholarly investigation of the medieval and early modern world are welcome. Papers are normally twenty minutes each and sessions are scheduled for ninety minutes. Scholarly organizations are especially encouraged to sponsor proposals for complete sessions.

The deadline for all submissions is December 15, 2012. Decisions will be made in January 2013 and the final program will be published February 15.

For more information and to submit your proposal online go to http://smrs.slu.edu or submit by email to smrs@slu.edu

Deadline: 15 September 2012

Event information: 1-4 July, 2013, Leeds, England, UK

Episcopus and Conventus are co-sponsoring three sessions at the 2013 Leeds International Medieval Congress on the following topics:

1. Editing bishops: challenges and new approaches
2. Remembering the bishop: commemorative strategies
3. Shaping episcopal ideology: episcopal libraries and their active use in the Central Middle Ages

Interested scholars should send brief abstracts to both Diane Reilly (dreilly@indiana.edu) and Steven Vanderputten (Steven.Vanderputten@UGent.be) by September 15, 2012.

Deadline: 15 September 2012

Event information: 9-12 May, 2012, Kalamazoo, Michigan; 1-4 July, 2013, Leeds, England, UK

The Bishop’s Eye, a University of Huddersfield and University of Lincoln Research Network, is sponsoring sessions at Leeds IMC in 2013 on medieval masculinities and on the city and diocese of Lincoln, and will be looking to sponsor further sessions at Kalamazoo in 2014

The network builds on previous research publication and conference activity including the Virtue, Vice and Virility: High Status Men in the Middle Ages conference held at the Newcastle University in 2009, and the Religious Men in the Middle Ages conference held at the University of Huddersfield in 2012. We invite colleagues with related interests to join our network, to work towards the development of joint research projects and grant applications. We are particularly eager to encourage postgraduate and early career academics to become involved and anticipate that it will help them to develop international contacts and partnerships.

The network builds on previous research publication and conference activity including the Virtue, Vice and Virility: High Status Men in the Middle Ages conference held at the Newcastle University in 2009, and the Religious Men in the Middle Ages conference held at the University of Huddersfield in 2012. We invite colleagues with related interests to join our network, to work towards the development of joint research projects and grant applications. We are particularly eager to encourage postgraduate and early career academics to become involved and anticipate that it will help them to develop international contacts and partnerships.

We plan to run a biennial conference on medieval men, covering a broad chronological and geographical range. We anticipate that conferences will have a broad theme, varying from year to year, and will seek to publish edited volumes related to selected conference papers. Additionally we hope to develop conference and networking opportunities specifically for postgraduate and early career scholars.

In order to support the early stages of the network the University of Huddersfield is pleased to award two full fee-waiver PhDs on medieval masculinity to highly qualified candidates.

For further details of the network please contact Dr Pat Cullum (p.c.cullum@hud.ac.uk), Dr Philippa Hoskin (phoskin@lincoln.ac.uk), Dr Joanna Huntington (jhuntington@lincoln.ac.uk), or Dr Katherine Lewis (k.lewis@hud.ac.uk)

For further details of the PhD bursaries please contact Dr Pat Cullum (p.c.cullum@hud.ac.uk).