Sanctity and Literature

Call for Papers
Sanctity and Literature
A symposium to be held at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany,
12-13 November 2010
Keynote Speaker: Dr Anke Bernau (University of Manchester)
Sanctity is a construct in which text and context each have their roles to play.
It owes its existence and survival to it being accepted by believers. Hagiography
is the prime example of this mutual relationship. As one of the most
prominent genres of the Middle Ages, saints’ lives present themselves as fascinating
texts firmly grounded in people’s everyday lives: they are a means of
edification and entertainment, bearers of popular devotion and religion, vehicles
of their time and culture as well as important testaments to the interface
between Latin and vernacular literature. The different roles texts play in establishing
and preserving sanctity is the topic of this conference.
We welcome interdisciplinary proposals for papers which explore the dynamic
relationship between sanctity and literature, from both scholars and graduate
students (working on the concept of sanctity and/or saints’ lives) from late
Antiquity through Medieval and Renaissance periods. Papers might address,
in particular, the languages of hagiography, questions of gender, genre and
reception, transmission history, theological issues, stylistics and literary art.
Proposals which should not exceed 300 words should be emailed to Eva von
Contzen (Eva.Contzen@rub.de) by 31 December 2009.
Contact details:
Eva von Contzen
Department of English
Universitätsstraße 150
44780 Bochum, Germany
E-mail: Eva.Contzen@rub.de
Phone: +49-234-32-25732
Page taken from the Missale Manuscripta Bruges 1475-1476.
Printed with permission of the Foundation Musick's Monument http://musicksmonument.nl/