Project Summary
This project is hosted by: Institute of English Studies
- Research interests:
- Manuscript studies, Medieval History
- Project period:
- 12-Apr-2022 - 19-May-2022
- Project categories:
- Events grant
- Project summary:
Medieval diagrams typically combined text and visual features, ranging from geometric forms to elaborate imagery, in order to communicate complex ideas in a powerful and memorable way. As such they constitute important evidence for attitudes to design in the transmission of knowledge in the Middle Ages. The complex forms of diagrams have traditionally made them difficult to edit and publish, however, recent digitisation has both made diagrams more accessible and raised new questions about how users, medieval and modern, might engage with this material. Rather than seeing diagrams as secondary to, or supporters of, texts, this series of workshops will examine medieval diagrams as autonomous objects, and the visual and material features that allow them to function as independent entities. In the Middle Ages, various words were used to define what we now call a ‘diagram’, including imago (image), figura (figure), pictura (picture), descriptio (description) and tabula (table/chart). The meaning of these terms could encompass a variety of forms and content and suggest different emphases for these complex works that often combined images and text in inventive and unexpected ways. The workshops will consider diagrams on all subjects and across different media in medieval visual culture, to address their design, function and reception. Bringing together twenty speakers from univeristies and museums in seven countries, the workshop series aims to lay the foundations for future international collaborative research in this area.
One of the advantages of diagrams in the Middle Ages was that they could help communicate ideas across language and cultural barriers. For example, Peter of Poitiers’ compendium of biblical history, based around a diagram setting out Christ’s genealogy, originated in Paris, but was soon copied across Europe. Although material from Britain (which was itself represented in diagramatic form as a heptarchy or unit of seven kingdoms) will be a major strand of the discussions, this will be contextualised through papers that explore relevant diagrams produced elsewhere in Europe. The speakers have been selected from responses to a call for papers that was circulated in 2021. The response to the call was much larger than expected, prompting the original plan for a small workshop to be expanded to create a series of workshops, and hence additional funding to be sought.
The series of workshops is prompted, in part, by synergies in the current research of the three organisers. Dr Laura Cleaver (Senior Lecturer in Manuscript Studies, Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London), has published widely on diagrams made in England in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that set out versions of the nation’s past. Dr Sarah Griffin is currently the Frances Yates Long-Term Fellow at the Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Having completed her PhD at the University of Oxford on the diagrams of Opicinus de Canistris, she is currently researching how concepts of time were represented in a wide range of forms and media in the Middle Ages. Finally, Dr Jenny Shurville is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Paul Mellon Centre working on the transmission contexts of diagrams associated with English manuscripts of Peter of Poitiers’ Compendium. She completed her doctoral research at the University of Oxford on a group of diagrams on large sheets of parchment, of diverse origin (including a map possibly made in England), preserved at the Cathedral Archive in Vercelli. The workshops therefore provide a forum to build on the organisers’ combined experience and to start a conversation with other scholars (at different career stages) working in this field.
The global pandemic has provided new opportunities for collaborative research, but continues to offer challenges for in-person events. The organisers have therefore decided to minimise the risk of cancellation and disruption by holding the workshops as hybrid events. The organisers will meet in person at the University of London, together with speakers, students and interested researchers who would prefer to attend in person, but other speakers and participants will join online. This also makes it possible to allow discussions between an international group of participants to develop over five weeks, laying strong foundations for future collaborations. Laura Cleaver has previous experience of hosting successful hybrid events at Senate House, and an appropriate room has been booked for this purpose.
The aims of the workshop series are:
1. To identify scholars working on medieval diagrams and areas of synergy in current research.
2. To facilitate knowledge exchange of current research on medieval diagrams and develop ideas through discussion.
3. To lay foundations for an international network of scholars working on medieval diagrams.
4. To explore potential international research collaborations around issues raised by medieval diagrams.
5. To consolidate expertise on medieval diagrams and related topics at the University of London and other UK institutions
Management Details
Lead researcher & project contact:
| Name | Position | Institute | Organisation | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Laura Cleaver | Senior Lecturer in Manuscript Studies | Institute of English Studies | School of Advanced Study, University of London | laura.cleaver@sas.ac.uk |
Funding:
| Funder | Grant type | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Mellon Centre | Event Support Grant | £2,000.00 |