Our Sessions at the International Medieval Congress, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 2012

Sessions at the 47th International Medieval Congress, 10–13 May 2012

In keeping with our mission to "apply an integrated, holistic approach to manuscripts and texts in all forms," our four Sessions for this year have examined the material culture and production of written records in Western Europe and beyond, and the dispersal, recovery, and preservation of those works in various forms and widespread locations.   Besides these interlinked subjects, our highlighted genre was “Dream Books,” appearing in multiple manifestations in both manuscript and print.  We co-sponsored sessions with (1) the Societas Magica, as in previous years, and, for the first time, (2) with King Alfred’s Notebook LLC.

We report the programs for our sessions, and we prepare to post the abstracts for their papers.

• I.  Session 92 (Thursday 10 May, 1:30–3:00 p.m.)  
  “Medieval Manuscript Discoveries in North America:  Texts, Illuminations, Collections”
  Co-sponsored with King Alfred’s Notebook (kingalfredsnotebook@gmail.com)
  Organizer:  Scott Gwara (University of South Carolina and King Alfred’s Notebook) gwaras@mailbox.sc.edu
  Presider:  Mildred Budny (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)

  The dispersal of Western European manuscript materials in North American collections entails painstaking examination, and sometimes serendipitous discovery, so as properly to assess and, if possible, to identify the nature, origin, and provenance of these materials.  The unexpected richness of the medieval manuscript resources on this continent continues to challenge the individual scholar or collector as well as scholarly awareness at large.  Our session contributed to this ongoing investigation — and celebration — of the trashed or treasured books and scraps which have found their way, by one means and another, into various hands, both private and public, prepared to give them a home or shelter of some kind.  We rightly expected the revelation of unsuspected surprises.

  • 1.  Scott Gwara (Department of English, University of South Carolina), "Composite Books of Hours in American Collections"

  • 2.  David Sharron and Stacey Morris (Brock University, Ontario), "The Budding Medieval Document Collection at Brock University and the Study of a Letter from the Scottish Throne in 1579"

  • 3.  Anna Dysert (McGill University, Montreal), "In hoc antiquo libro:  A Study of Osler Library MS 480 (De anima in arte alchemiae)"

  Also, King Alfred's Notebook had an Exhibitor's Display during the Congress.  The current catalogue is available upon request.

  *****

• II.  Session 366 (Saturday 11 May, 10:00–11:30 a.m.)  
  “Dream Books”
  Co-sponsored with the Societas Magica (www.societasmagica.org)
  Organizer:  László Sándor Chardonnens (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands) s.chardonnens@let.ru.nl
  Presider:  David Porreca (University of Waterloo)

  The compelling nature of dreams, both mysterious and fantastical, which persistently combined with the notion of a revelatory potential between these envisioned events and conscious life, ensured a widespread interest during the medieval period (as at other times) in any means of understanding or “reading” dream phenomena.  This session examined the characteristics, approaches, and transmission of such knowledge, emphasizing the interaction between the texts and their material contexts of manuscripts and early printed books.

  • 1.  Valerio Cappozzo (Department of Modern Languages, University of Mississippi), "Editing the Somniale Danielis:  Vox Populi and Dream Culture in Medieval Italy"

  • 2.  Dimitri Drettas (Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale, Paris), "Classified Dreams:  Oneirocritical Manuscripts from Dunhuang (9th-10th centuries) and Their Place in the Mantic Culture of Medieval China"

  • 3.  László Sándor Chardonnens (English Department, Radboud University, Nijmegen), "Dream Divination in Manuscripts and Printed Books:  Patterns of Transmission"

  *****

• III.  Session 430 (Saturday 12 May, 1:30–3:00 p.m.)
  “Material and Craft Aspects of Manuscript Production”
  Organizer:  Sean Winslow (University of Toronto) sean.winslow@utoronto.ca
  Presider:  Mildred Budny (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)

  This session focused on physical codicology and the study of the craft of book production.  It examined and compared a range of areas and periods of production across the medieval world and its heritage, so as better to distinguish modes, regions, and styles in crafting the manuscript book throughout its development, transmission, and transformation across time and place.  The papers considered the materials, construction, and processes involved in bookmaking and the craft aspects of production, including the archaeological evidence for manuscript production.

  • 1.  Sarah J. Biggs (The British Library and the Courtauld Institute of Art), "Pigments, Painters and the Parc Abbey Bible:  A Multispectral Imaging Study"

  • 2.  Jacob Thaisen (Department of Cultural Studies and Languages, University of Stavanger), "How Middle English Scribes Avoided Eyeskip When They Copied Texts"

  • 3.  Sean M. Winslow (Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, Ontario), "Contemporary Ethiopic Scribal Practice as an Informant for the Study of Antique and Medieval Manuscript Production"

  Sarah's post (07 May 2012) to the British Library blog on Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts gives an illustrated preview of her talk and this session.  Have a look:  Beneath the Surface

  *****

• IV.  Session 488 (Saturday 12 May, 3:30–5:00 p.m.)  
  “Medieval Writing Materials:  Manufacture, Use, and Trade”
  Organizers:  Mildred Budny (RGME) and Eleanor Congdon (Youngstown State University)
  Presider:  Mildred Budny (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)

  The survival of medieval records of any kind depends upon the media which carry them, which comprise two general classes:  (1) the media upon which records were written and (2) the materials used to write them.  Our session considered both classes, as an aid to discourse between different fields of research in rapid development.  The writing surfaces themselves present researchers with challenges ranging from the steps and equipment of manufacture to the ranges of trade and use, including redeployment at the hands of collectors.  Likewise, the scribing tools, pigments, and ingredients which allow the media and pigments to bind together offer further avenues for exploration.  Examining these subjects in combination may prove invaluable for the study of medieval records in many areas.

  • 1.  David W. Sorenson (Independent Scholar, Quincy, Massachusetts), "Varities of Islamic Paper:  Laid-Lines Only"

  • 2.  Eleanor A. Congdon (Youngstown State University, Girard, Ohio), "Venetian Trade in Writing Materials in the Datini Letters:  Paper, Pigments, and Other Chemicals"