The fourth bi-annual conference on Formulas in Medieval Culture (initiated by the research groups GRENDEL and IDEA, based at the University of Lorraine, France) will be held on the 13th, 14th and 15th of June 2018 at the Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale (CESCM) at the University of Poitiers. In the Middle Ages, modes of thought and representation involving repetition and regularity, which were expected and easily identifiable, were sources of rich tensions between individual expression and collective norms, between change and continuity, between creation and convention.

Poitiers (France), 13-15 June 2018.

The fourth biennual conference on Formulas in Medieval Culture (initiated by the research groups GRENDEL and IDEA, based at the University of Lorraine, France) will be held on the 13th, 14th and 15th of June 2018 at the Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale (CESCM) at the University of Poitiers, in the Hôtel Berthelot in the town centre. A half-day visit of historical sites will be organized.

Presentation

In the Middle Ages, modes of thought and representation involving repetition and regularity, which were expected and easily identifiable, were sources of rich tensions between individual expression and collective norms, between change and continuity, between creation and convention. In general terms, all formulas display clearly delineated characteristics of fixity or regularity which make innovation possible. The definition of a formula will necessarily differ from one discipline to another, and this conference will provide a platform for establishing a variety of interpretations and examining their possible points of compatibility, as well as for analysing the pragmatic effect generated by formulaic repetitions between other lines of enquiry and possible developments.

Areas of Discussion

This conference, which is both interdisciplinary and international in character, invites contributions from medievalists working in a wide range of subject areas, thus:

• Literature (poetry, oral-formulaic theory, time-honoured expressions, topoi.
• History of Art (motifs, production procedures, artistic hallmarks)
• History (medicine, culinary concerns, magic)
• Law and Diplomatics (the study of oath-taking, wills, preambles to charters)
• Codicology (the codex, colophons)
• Epigraphy (funerary and dedicatory inscriptions)
• Linguistics (expressions of politeness and ritualized interactions, history of the language, studies of corpora both technical and learned)
• Musicology (writing, and musical themes)
• Daily Religious Life (preaching, liturgical considerations)

To submit a proposition

Please send a summary of no more than 300 words to Elise Louviot (elise.louviot@univ-reims.fr) and Stephen Morrison (stephen.morrison@univ-poitiers.fr)

before 30 October 2017.

 Languages: French, English, Spanish, German

Scientific committee

• Martin Aurell,
• Cécile Treffort,
• Stéphane Boisselier,
• Eric Palazzo,
• Claudio Galderisi
• Stephen Morrison.