Cuius patrocinio tota gaudet regio.
Saints’ Cults and the Dynamics of Regional Cohesion
Dubrovnik, 18-20 October 2012
Conference organized by
Croatian Hagiography Society HAGIOTHECA
and
CULTSYMBOLS Project of the ESF EuroCORECODE Programme
Centre for the Study of the Cultural Heritage of Medieval Rituals, University of Copenhagen
Institut für Realienkunde, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Krems
Institute of History, University of Tallinn
Institute for History and Classical Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University – OTKA Saints Project
The topic proposed as the focus of the fourth Hagiotheca conference, in collaboration with CULTSYMBOLS Project of the ESF (www.cultsymbols.net), is the way in which the cults of saints contributed to the creation of spatially delimited (regional) collective identities in the Middle Ages. The notion of regio can be understood broadly, as a flexible category which covers spatial entities of various sizes and kinds. The cult of saints often functioned as a cohesive (or disruptive) forces which helped people to attach to (or detach from) particular regions. The saints belonged to the symbols which helped to bind and break communities. Thus, the study of the cult of saints could offer significant contribution to the study of concepts of regional identity through scrutinising the spatial aspect of the notion of the saintly patrocinium. The conference shall investigate how these cults contributed to the changing internal divisions, the fluctuating evolution or resurgence of local, territorial and national (regional and transregional) identities.
The quotation used in the title is a part of a twelfth-century liturgical hymn for St Denis written by Adam of St Victor, and though we might wonder whether with „regio“ the author refers to the whole Kingdom of France, it is clear that the boundaries of the saint’s patrocinium are inclusive, and suggest cohesion (tota regio). A later medieval attempt at elaboration of the levels of patrocinium, using the term regio rather vaguely, is brought in Henry of Langenstein‘s sermon on St Elisabeth, and shows well the difficulties (apparently not realized by the fifteenth-century German author) of establishing clear connections between various spatially-defined communities and saints:
“It should be known that, in accordance with the general opinion of theological tradition, angels undertook the care and governance of regions [regionum] and races [gentium], cities [urbium] and men. Similarly, the saints of God are entrusted with the spiritual care of and power over peoples [populos], regions, and cities where they happily lived and were buried, and [where] they left their relics, shined forth through miracles and bequeathed their examples of sanctity or, at least, where through the consecration of churches in their honour they had been received as patrons or patronesses. Consequently, when any race [gens], city [urbs] and country [patria] is placed under the rule of these leaders who immediately minister to the supreme governor, with good reason every race venerates its saintly men and women as its own gods and goddesses with enhanced solemnity, prays for them with greater devotion, and fears their anger and resentment more.”
The conference aims at discussing the ways in which various forms of identity are being negotiated, defined and constantly redefined at different levels of communities and societies. We would like to analyse how saintly figures were able to or were subjected to manipulations / appropriations / domestications or transformations that made them easier to identify with and sometimes simply constructed them in ways to make them function as markers of different kinds of spatially defined identity. Finally, we encourage the approach to the cults of medieval saints and their modern appropriations as a vehicle for studying changing cultural values related to social cohesion and identity, to the interactions between centre and periphery, between the medieval Latin culture and regional interests, political and cultural agendas. For examining all this, we welcome the inquiry into the reflections of these cults in different media (texts, images, relics, devotional objects and architecture, liturgy, music).
We invite papers discussing the following questions with respect to the medieval period (or rather from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern Period) addressing various regions of Europe, for example:
- how do hagiography and other media related to saints‘ cults conceive of the geographical aspect, especially the broadly understood notion of “region“?
- what are the mechanisms of construction of the spatially-delimited collective identities through the cult of saints? How do the saints’ cults and related representations (acquisition of relics, advertising the miracles, commission of texts, art objects and architecture…) contribute to the symbolic manifestation of these communities?
- what are the means of spreading intra- and inter-regional influence, and of the transfer of models of sainthood? How can we identify the centres and the promoters of such interactions?
- how do the cults of saints change according to the dynamics of territorial distinctions in the longue durée, and how do they conform to the changes in the organisation of the political territorial units?
We accept proposals for papers of ca. 20 minutes with abstracts of about 300 words until 15 March 2012.
Please, send your proposals to the following address: cuius.patrocinio@gmail.com
The keynote lecture will be delivered by Thomas Head, Hunter College and Graduate Center, City University of New York; the editor of Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology (New York: Garland Publishing, 2000), and the distiguished author of Hagiography and the Cult of Saints: the Diocese of Orleans, 800-1200 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Practical details:
There will be a conference fee of 60 euro, for students reduced to 30 euro. The accommodation is organized in the conference centre in Dubrovnik in single rooms (32 euro per night), with the possibility of having double rooms.
Aufsatzwettbewerb
Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft – Perspektiven der Wagner-Rezeption im 21. Jahrhundert
Im Rahmen des Wagner Jubiläums 2013 veranstaltet die BF Medien GmbH (eine Tochtergesellschaft der Bayreuther Festspiele) einen Aufsatzwettbewerb zu dem Generalthema “Wagner im 21. Jahrhundert.” Gesucht werden innovative Beiträge zu Leben, Werk und Wirkung Wagners. Angesichts der zentralen Bedeutung des Begriffs “Zukunft” für Wagner wie für die Wagner Forschung wird besonderer Wert auf Texte gelegt, die die Frage nach der Relevanz Wagners für aktuelle Entwicklungen auf künstlerischem, sozialem, politischem und wirtschaftlichem Gebiet stellen. Etwa: Welche neuen Möglichkeiten der Wagner-Rezeption ergeben sich in einer nahezu total vernetzten Welt und unter den Bedingungen der Globalisierung? Welche Bedeutung hat die Idee des Gesamtkunstwerks in einer Epoche der Spezialisierung und Fragmentierung der Diskurse?
Einsendungen in deutscher oder englischer Sprache von ausgewiesenen und besonders auch von jüngeren Autoren sind in digitaler Form als E-mail an die folgende Adresse zu schicken (Manuskripte können leider nicht berücksichtigt werden):
perspektiven@wagnerjahr-2013.de
Der Umfang soll 35.000 Zeichen nicht überschreiten. Einsendeschluss ist der 31. März, 2013. Der internationalen Fachjury gehören an: Dr. Sven Friedrich (Direktor des Richard-Wagner-Museums und Nationalarchivs), Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget (Smith College, USA) und Professor Junichi Ikegami (Universität Saitama, Japan).
Die Preisverleihung für den ersten, zweiten und dritten Preis (2.500, 1.500 und 1.000 Euros) findet am 16. August 2013 im Rahmen des Abschlusskonzerts der Festspiel-Meisterklassen in Bayreuth statt. Die BF Medien GmbH unterstützt die Publikation ausgewählter Beiträge in der Reihe “Wagner in der Diskussion” bei Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg.
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The Artwork of the Future: New Perspectives on Wagner for the Twenty-First Century
Call for Papers
To mark the bicentenary of the birth of Richard Wagner, the BF Medien GmbH (BF Media Group), a subsidiary of the Bayreuth Festival, is pleased to sponsor a prize competition for an essay on the general topic of Wagner in the twenty-first century. We welcome submissions that address in an innovative fashion aspects of Wagner’s work, life, and impact. Mindful of the importance to Wagner and Wagner scholarship of the notion of “future,” we encourage authors not to limit themselves to retrospective treatments of their subjects but to explore possible applications of Wagner’s work to current developments in the artistic, social, political, and economic spheres. For instance, authors might ask: What are the prospects for the Wagnerian artwork in the age of the internet and globalization? What is the future of the “Gesamtkunstwerk” in an age of increasingly fragmented and specialized discourses?
We invite submissions from established scholars and we particularly encourage submissions from younger scholars in any field. Essays may be written in English or in German but must not exceed 35000 characters (spaces included). Papers with limited scholarly apparatus, or with none at all, will be warmly welcomed. Papers must be sent in electronic form (and not in print) to:
perspektiven@wagnerjahr-2013.de
and must be received on or before March 31, 2013. The panel of judges consists of Dr. Sven Friedrich (Director of the Richard-Wagner-Museum and –National Archive); Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget (Smith College, USA); and Professor Junichi Ikegami (University of Saitama, Japan).
A first, second, and third prize (of 2500, 1500, and 1000 Euros respectively) will be awarded on August 16, 2013, at the concluding concert of the Festival master class. The BF Media Group will support the publication of selected contributions in the Königshausen & Neumann series, “Wagner in der Diskussion.”
All inquiries should be directed to Dr. Sven Friedrich at the above address.