medievalism-medievalismo-mediävalismus-médiévalisme

Medievally Speaking reviews TV ad and publishes interview

2013-05-21T22:54:00.000-04:00

Medievally Speaking

Two new publications on Medievally Speaking, our first review of a TV Commercial: Claudiu Mesaroș's take on Tarsem Singh, dir., Medieval Fighting for Pepsi; and our first interview: "I see medievalism as a pretty promiscuous thing": an Interview with Louise D'Arcens, by Helen Young.

Kevin Harty Reviews Pippin, dir. Diane Paulus

2013-04-30T23:19:00.002-04:00

Another "first" for Medievally Speaking this year, our first review of a live performance, here Kevin Harty's review of Pippin, directed for the American Repertory Theater by Diane Paulus:

Pippin comes to Broadway by way of Cambridge, Mass., where the production was first developed for the American Repertory Theater and ran from December 5, 2012, to January 20, 2013. The Broadway production opened on April 25 at The Music Box on West 45th Street. Both the Cambridge and New York productions were directed by Diane Paulus, known for her previous Broadway revivals of Hair (originally for the Public Theatre in Central Park) and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.

The original Broadway production of Pippin, directed by Bob Fosse (who also choreographed and contributed to the libretto) with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson, ran for almost 2000 performances from 1972 to 1977 and spawned a several-year long road tour. READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

Leah Haught Reviews Armitage, The Death of King Arthur

2013-04-28T22:53:00.003-04:00

Simon Armitage, trans. The Death of King Arthur. New York: Norton, 2012.

Reviewed by Leah Haught (leah.haught@lmc.gatech.edu)

Originally released as a hardcover edition in December 2011, Norton’s December 2012 publication of Simon Armitage’s verse translation of the Alliterative Morte Arthure (The Death of King Arthur) as a paperback will undoubtedly cause this edition of the poem, which aims to make the late fourteenth or early fifteenth-century poem accessible to modern audiences “in unflinching and gory detail,” to be more broadly circulated among scholars and poetry aficionados alike [1]. Presented as a facing-page translation alongside Larry D. Benson’s 1974 transcription of the Middle English text, Armitage’s rendition is a handsome addition to the relatively short list of texts that place their translations of the Alliterative Morte in continuous dialogue with the language and style of the original poem. Of equal if not more interest for scholars of medievalism, the edition also sheds light on the processes through which modern poets engage with and represent the medieval past in their work. READ FULL REVIEW HERE.

Tracey-Anne Cooper Reviews Lavelle, Alfred's Wars

2013-04-18T10:23:00.004-04:00

Ryan Lavelle, Alfred’s Wars: Sources and Interpretations of Anglo-Saxon Warfare in the Viking Age. Woodbridge and Rochester, N.Y.: Boydell Press, 2010.

Reviewed by Tracey-Anne Cooper (coopert@stjohns.edu)

Ryan Lavelle’s splendid treatment of the significance and consequences of warfare and its organization for the late Anglo-Saxon state exceeds in scope the somewhat limited expectations set up by the title. This is not a book only concerned with warfare in King Alfred’s time, but about the consequences of that king’s policies from the ninth to the eleventh centuries, as they were shaped by, and responded to, Viking assaults, settlement, renewed assaults and then conquests, as well as warfare with neighboring Celtic and British polities. Lavelle’s book will surely become a go-to-guide for those seeking to represent “authentic” medieval warfare of the period in all its facets, as well as those who want to authoritatively critique such depictions. READ ON AT MEDIEVALLY SPEAKING

Kellie Meyer reviews Castles: An Anthology

2013-03-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

Kellie S. Meyer recently reviewed the British Library's Castles: An Anthology for Medievally Speaking:

While Dicken’s Dombey and Son is not one of the books included in Castles: an Anthology, Mrs’ Skewton’s medievalist rhapsody may well have been the guiding principle behind the selection of the 160 items included in this online collection from the British Library, which includes archaeological treatises, antiquarian histories, images, Gothic romances and pseudo-histories featuring picturesque dungeons, sieges, knights and fair maidens. With three exceptions from the 18th-century and one from the 17th-century (Dryden’s King Arthur, 1691), all of the items in the Castles Anthology are digitized 19th-century primary sources. The reader is therefore introduced not only to histories, images and fiction associated with medieval castles, but experiences these sources through the lens of Victorian culture and taste. Hence the result is a fascinating glimpse of Victorian medievalisms, viewed through a 21st century interface.

You can find the full text of the review HERE.

Fugelso on Continuity and Medievalism Studies

2013-03-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

As can be seen in almost any field of academia, continuity and its antitheses are deceptively difficult to define. Mathematicians have long struggled to pin down a real-number continuum that can do the work required by limit theory. Literary critics continue to grapple with the relationship between narrative flow and the changes that lend it momentum. And scholars from many areas of the humanities and social sciences have attempted to clarify the blurred distinctions between historical continuity and discontinuity. This elusiveness is particularly problematic for medievalism studies, whose subjects are often described as post-medieval responses to the Middle Ages.

So begins Karl Fugelso's recent essay in Perspicuitas (U of Essen-Duisburg, Germany), "Problems with Continuity: Defining the Middle Ages for Medievalism Studies." Together with David Matthews' recent essays, "From Mediaeval to Mediaevalism: A New Semantic History," Review of English Studies 62 (2011): 695-715, and "'Chaucer's American Accent'," American Literary History 22.4 (2010): 1-15, and Richard Utz's "Coming to Terms with Medievalism," European Journal of English Studies 15.2 (2011): 1-13, Karl's essay provides a critical perspective on the salient issues of temporality and periodization in Medievalism Studies.

Alan Lupack reviews George Tyson, The Never King

2013-03-11T21:32:00.004-04:00

Medievally Speaking just published Alan Lupack's review of George Tyson, The Never King (2013):

The Never King by George Tyson opens with an iconic scene from the Arthurian legends: the pulling of the sword from the stone. But rather than taking place in early Britain or in some undefined time in the Middle Ages of romance, it occurs at a time in the near future at a carnival in Cornwall. In this case, the sword—which has been cut off and super-glued to a stone—is part of a rigged carny game. But a man named Arthur wins the game when he mysteriously pulls not the truncated sword of the trick but a complete sword from the stone. READ the FULL REVIEW.

Kevin and Brent Moberly Review Simony, by Ian Bogost

2013-03-04T17:33:00.000-05:00

Brent and Kevin Moberly recently reviewed Ian Bogost's Simony. To read the review, click HERE.

Tech Gets Medieval Fall 2012 Symposium now Viewable

2013-02-15T20:55:00.004-05:00

In the fall semester of 2012, Brittain fellow Dr. Kellie Meyer and colleagues from different areas of specialty at Georgia Tech organized a symposium, Tech Gets Medieval: How Medieval Technology Can Teach the Past.

The complete symposium is now available at Georgia Tech's SmarTech repository: https://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/46004/browse?type=title

Here is a list of the presenters and their paper titles:

Opening Remarks: Burnett, Rebecca; Meyer, Kellie; Utz, Richard

The Afterlives of Gawain: Illustration as Annotation in the Cotton Nero Ax Manuscript: Haught, Leah

Biology and Germ Warfare: Spencer, Chrissy

Blacksmithing and Timber-Framed Houses: Pedagogy of Risk: Crawford, T. Hugh

Medieval Construction – Foundation of Today's Industry: Bowen, Brian

Neo-Medieval Fantasy in Video Games: Pearce, Celia

Tried and True Methods: Madej, Krystina

Your Mission is to Rescue Lorenzo di Medici: A Demonstration of the Pedagogical Potentials of Using Assassin's Creed II for Teaching the Italian Renaissance: Madden, Amanda

Fugelso reviews Resonances: Historical Essays on Continuity and Change

2013-02-11T17:09:00.001-05:00

Karl Fugelso, editor of Studies in Medievalism, recently reviewed Resonances: Historical Essays on Continuity and Change, ed. Nils Holger Petersen, Eyolf Østrem, and Andreas Bücker (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011), for Medievally Speaking.

Murdoch Purchases Richard III's Bones

2013-02-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

Will Jurassic Park and Timeline become one? Wherever there is money, there is a way:

LONDON (The Borowitz Report)—The media mogul Rupert Murdoch stunned the world of British antiquities today by purchasing the newly discovered remains of Richard III for a hundred million dollars. READ MORE

Icons of Irishness published

2013-01-17T19:11:00.002-05:00

Maggie M. Williams' Icons of Irishness from the Middle Ages to the Present was recently published in Palgrave's New Middle Ages series.

The publisher's description: From majestic 'Celtic' crosses to elaborate knotwork designs, visual symbols of Irish identity abound in contemporary culture. In jewelry, souvenirs, tattoos, and even graphic novels and massive public murals, Irishness is depicted in its most medieval garb. Looking back to a mythical past, such images conjure up ancient realms of mystical druids, warrior Celts, and pious Christian monks. Icons of Irishness offers a commentary on the blending of pasts and presents that finds permanent visualization in these contemporary signs of Irish cultural identity. Williams considers both scholarly and popular perspectives, exploring the spaces where Irish modernity meets its 'Celtic' past.

Making the Past in the Present

2013-01-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

Recently published: Medievalisms: Making the Past in the Present, by Tison Pugh and Angela Jane Weisl (Routledge, 2012). Publisher's description:

From King Arthur and Robin Hood, through to video games and jousting-themed restaurants, medieval culture continues to surround us and has retained a strong influence on literature and culture throughout the ages. website

Happy SIM Year 2013

2012-12-31T16:28:00.002-05:00

Ganim translated into Arabic

2012-12-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

Good news: John Ganim's Medievalism and Orientalism is out in Arabic, translated by Abla Aouda.

Call for Papers: Ethics and Medievalism

2012-12-20T08:50:00.002-05:00

Studies in Medievalism, a peer-reviewed print and on-line publication, seeks 3,000-word essays discussing ethics in medievalism. What role do ethics play in post-medieval responses to the Middle Ages? In interpretations of those responses? How is moral behavior portrayed (or not)? How is the audience treated? Who is the audience? SIM’s audience is wide-ranging, and potential contributors should anticipate that their readers will include not only specialists but also generalists, including non-academics. Submissions should be sent in English in Word as an e-mail attachment on or before June 1, 2013 to the editor, Karl Fugelso (kfugelso@towson.edu). For a style sheet, please visit the website http://www.medievalism.net/sim.html.

Six colleagues join Medievally Speaking as asst. editors

2012-12-18T10:22:00.002-05:00

Dear Medievally Speaking colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce some excellent news for the future of Medievally Speaking, our review journal organized under the auspices of the International Society for the Study of Medievalism. For about two years, MS has been contributing to the study of medievalism with sporadic reviews of some of the numerous annual publications related to the reception of medieval culture in postmedieval times. The steadily increasing interest in medievalism has me convinced that we should step up our activities, expand linguistically, culturally, and include fiction, games, performances, exhibits, and film among the 'texts' we review. Following a competitive international application process, the following colleagues will be joining us as assistant editors to help me reach these goals:

Teodora Artimon is a Ph.D. student in Medieval Studies at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Her dissertation deals with the reception of a 15th-century Romanian myth (that of voivode Stephen the Great) in the 16th century. She is interested in medieval myth creation, medieval imaginary and otherness, and today's perception of the Middle Ages.

Michael Evans holds a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham (1997). He is the author of The Death of Kings (Continuum, 2003) and his research interest includes the crusades and medieval king- and queenship. He currently works as an instructor and advisor at Mid Michigan Community College.

Leah Haught holds a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester (2011). Her research interests include Arthurian romance and historiography, medieval and early-modern conceptions of authorship, and literary representations of gendered behavior. She is currently a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Literature, Media, and Communication.

Bram Mathew is a Ph.D. student in modern history at the University of Aberdeen, where he is exploring perceptions of the Vikings in 19th-century newspapers from Britain and Ireland. His other research interests include Vikingism, Viking history and antiquarianism.

Ilse Schweitzer VanDonkelaar is a Ph.D. student in English at Western Michigan University, where she focuses on environmental readings of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse literatures and cultures. Her other research interests include landscape studies, world mythologies, and Anglo-Saxon manuscript art and sculpture.

Helen Young is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the English Department at the University of Sydney, Australia. She is currently working on a three year project exploring discourses around race and diversity in contemporary popular fantasy which draw strongly on medievalism. Her other interests include postcolonialism in Middle English literature.

Please welcome our new colleagues and support them in their future work. In January, I will send out more news, including a call for titles/events for review.

I hope you have a happy and relaxing holiday,
Richard

PS: Our 28th International Conference on Medievalism will be hosted by Ed Risden at St. Norbert College, in De Pere, WI, on October 17-19, 2013, and its topic will be "Medievalism: Its Centers and Margins."

Women Religious, Then and Now

2012-12-16T13:53:00.002-05:00

Richard Utz recently reviewed Director Mary Fishman's documentary, Band of Sisters, from the perspective of medievalism. The 2012 film surveys the path of U.S. women religious, focusing specifically on their reaction to Vatican II. Read the review HERE.

Vincent Ferré on Tolkien, The Hobbit, and more

2012-12-13T16:09:00.001-05:00

Medievally Speaking's Vincent Ferré on Tolkien, The Hobbit, and more, on France5 .

Medieval Afterlives in Popular Culture

2012-12-11T12:49:00.001-05:00

Medieval Afterlives in Popular Culture, expertly edited by Gail Ashton and Daniel T. Kline, has now been published in Palgrave's The New Middle Ages Series. Drawing from an eclectic mix of scholars from the US, UK, and Australia, Medieval Afterlives in Popular Culture examines the persistence of medieval themes, characters, and situations in a variety of media from reality television to Virginia Woolf, Arthurian film to Disney animation, Shrek to historical fantasy. Each essay demonstrates that the Middle Ages are not relegated to a static past but continue to fashion a vital presence in contemporary popular culture, changing our assumptions about the flow of history and the creation of the present. See HERE for more information.

Medievalism in Popular Culture @ PCA

2012-11-28T10:01:00.002-05:00

PCA has extended its official deadline for submissions to December 7, 2012 , so you have a little extra time on those abstracts. I'll include the medievalism panel information below. Please note that if you have submitted since my last reminder, I may not be able to accept your proposal until all of the abstracts are in so that I know how many panels are filling. You will hear back from me no later than December 11th.

You may upload your proposals to http://ncp.pcaaca.org. Please select the "Medievalism in Popular Culture" area and remember to include the name of the session or round table to which you are submitting on your abstract. As always, feel free to email me with any questions.

I hope to see you in D.C.!

Best Wishes,

Amy

Amy S. Kaufman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Middle Tennessee State University
341 Peck Hall; MTSU Box 0070
1301 East Main Street
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
http://works.bepress.com/amy_kaufman

Zrinka Stahuljak, Pornographic Archaeology

2012-11-20T22:30:00.002-05:00

Zrinka Stahuljak just published Pornographic Archaeology: Medicine, Medievalism, and the Invention of the French Nation (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012); 368 pp.http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15046.html

The publisher's description: In Pornographic Archaeology: Medicine, Medievalism, and the Invention of the French Nation, Zrinka Stahuljak explores the connections and fissures between the history of sexuality, nineteenth-century views of the Middle Ages, and the conceptualization of modern France. This cultural history uncovers the determinant role that the sexuality of the Middle Ages played in nineteenth-century French identity.
Stahuljak's provocative study of sex, blood, race, and love in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century medical and historical literature demonstrates how French medicine's obsession with the medieval past helped to define European sexuality, race, public health policy, marriage, family, and the conceptualization of the Middle Ages. Stahuljak reveals the connections between the medieval military order of the Templars and the 1830 colonization of Algeria, between a fifteenth-century French marshal and the development of Richard von Krafft-Ebing's theory of sadism, between courtly love and the 1884 law on divorce. Although the developing discipline of medieval studies eventually rejected the influence of these medical philologists, the convergence of medievalism and medicine shaped modern capitalist French society and established a vision of the Middle Ages that survives today.

Medievally Speaking seeks Assistant Editors

2012-11-19T20:57:00.002-05:00

Medievally Speaking, an online journal operating under the auspices of the International Society for the Study of Medievalism and dedicated to reviewing all academic and creative reinventions and reimaginations of medieval culture in postmedieval times, seeks two enthusiastic scholars to serve as its Assistant Editors, beginning ASAP and ending May 1, 2014. In collaboration with the Editor, the Assistant Editors will manage the journal website (currently in blog format), request review copies from publishers, producers, etc., solicit reviews from colleagues, and edit and post reviews. On average, these responsibilities should require a commitment of two hours or less per week per Assistant Editor. PhD preferred; Master's degree minimum.

We are seeking individuals who would help us significantly increase the number of reviews and strengthen the journal’s linguistic, cultural, and thematic inclusiveness. Medievalists and postmedievalists are encouraged to send expressions of interest and a recent curriculum vitae to Richard Utz, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology (richard.utz@lmc.gatech.edu) by December 12, 2012.

Tech Gets Medieval

2012-11-07T19:02:00.005-05:00

Title: Tech Gets Medieval Symposium
Time: Tuesday, November 13, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Student Success Center, Press Room B
Hosted by GT/LMC Writing and Communication Program

This symposium highlights the connections between 21st-century and medieval/early-modern technologies, showcasing Georgia Tech faculty who have found innovative ways to teach the past in their classrooms. Faculty speakers include Brian Bowen (College of Architecture), Hugh Crawford (LMC), Krystina Madej (LMC), Celia Pearce (LMC), Chrissy Spencer (School of Biology), Richard Utz (LMC), and Brittain Fellows Leah Haught, Diane Jakacki, Amanda Madden, and Katherine Tanski.

Program:

Opening Remarks: 12:00-12:30 (Richard Utz, Chair, LMC)

SESSION 1 (12:30-1:45): Modern Ramifications of Medieval Traditions:
Medieval and early modern events and traditions have lingering, visible effects in the contemporary world.

Medieval Construction – Foundation of Today’s Industry (Brian Bowen, Professor of Practice, School of Building Construction, College of Architecture): A major transformation in the organizational framework of modern construction practices has interesting echoes of its medieval origins, which are relevant to understanding today’s challenges.

Blacksmithing and Timber-Framed Houses: Pedagogy of Risk (Hugh Crawford, PhD, Associate Professor, LMC):This presentation focuses on two forms of medieval technological practice--timber-frame construction and blacksmithing, and how teaching students how to forge iron and chop timber is an invaluable pedagogical tool, especially in the literature classroom.

Biology and Germ Warfare (Chrissy Spencer, PhD, Academic Professional, School of Biology): This presentation argues that biological or “germ” warfare is by no means a modern invention and explores the evidence for whether germ warfare may have contributed to the devastating spread of the “Black Death” in the middle ages.

SESSION 2: (2:00-3:15): Technical Communication in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods: The traditions and conventions of medieval and early-modern technical communication connect with contemporary technical communication.

Tried and True Methods (Krystina Madej, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor, LMC): This talk exemplifies how two modern teaching methods; conversational role-playing and practical application, were successfully premiered in 1000 AD by Aelfric of Eynsham, who wrote The Colloquy to help students learn Latin.

The Afterlives of Gawain: Illustration as Annotation in the Cotton Nero Ax Manuscript (Leah Haught, PhD, Brittain Fellow, Writing and Communication Program): This presentation illuminates the relationship between text and image within one of the most-well known medieval tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, adding much needed information about the context of its composition and reception.

Bind Him Together and Say, “God speed”: Mnemonic Devices in a 15th-Century English Fencing Poem (Kate Tanski, Brittain Fellow, Writing and Communication Program):This paper discusses the rhyming verse poem “On Fencing With the Two-Handed Sword,” an example of 15th-century technical communication that offers a historical precedent for modern military instruction in today’s “popular” forms.

SESSION 3 (3:30-4:45): Using Modern Technology to Analyze and Teach the Past
Modern technology not only incorporates medieval and early modern tropes but also has revolutionized the way we research and teach historical content.

Tracing the Steps of Touring Actors: Using REED Records and GIS to Illuminate Sixteenth-Century Performance Practices (Diane Jakacki, PhD, Brittain Fellow, Writing and Communication Program)
This paper addresses how historical records can be combined with geospatial information systems (GIS) to generate touring patterns by acting troupes; an invaluable new temporo-spatial methodology for generating a robust model of the movements of the 16th-century Queen’s Men.

Neo-Medieval Fantasy in Video Games (Celia Pearce, PhD, Associate Professor of Digital Media, LMC) This paper will explore the prevalence of neo-medieval themes in video games and pose some potential reasons why these themes are so pervasive in modern-day, high-tech media.

Your Mission is to Rescue Lorenzo di Medici: A Demonstration of the Pedagogical Potentials of using Assassin’s Creed II for Teaching the Italian Renaissance (Amanda Madden, PhD, Brittain Fellow, Writing and Communication Program)
Based on teaching Assassin’s Creed II in an undergraduate composition classroom during the Spring and Fall semesters of 2012, this presentation explores the pedagogical potentials of a game as text to bring alive for students the social and cultural world of the Italian Renaissance.

28th Intl. Congress on Medievalism to be Hosted by Ed Risden at St. Norbert College

2012-10-30T21:43:00.002-04:00

After a fabulous conference hosted by Carol Robinson at Kent State Stark, get ready, medievalismists, because our next (28th) annual conference will take place at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI, October 17-19, 2013. The conference host is Ed Risden, who is also editor of The Year's Work in Medievalism. Do contact Ed if you are interested in participating, organizing sessions, sponsoring sessions, etc. Here is Ed's e-mail: edward.risden@snc.edu .