IMC 2007: Sessions

Session 1305: Transforming Texts: Adapting Past Knowledge for New Purposes

Wednesday 11 July 2007, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:	Universiteit Leiden
Organiser:	Esther Jonker, Pallas Institute for Art Historical & Literary Studies,Universiteit Leiden
Moderator/Chair:	Arnold Otto, Erzbischöfliches Generalvikariat Erzbistumsarchiv, Paderborn
Paper 1305-a	Long Live the Middle Ages! The First ‘Lutheran’ Psalter Translation was made in Holland Before 1500 (Language: English) Youri Desplenter, Vakgroep Nederlandse literatuur, Universiteit Gent Index terms: Biblical Studies, Language and Literature - Dutch, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Religious Life
Paper 1305-b	Copying the Middle Dutch Historia Scholastica (Language: English) Karina H. van Dalen-Oskam, Huygens Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis, Koninklijke Nederlandse Academie van Wetenschappen (ING - KNAW), Den Haag Index terms: Language and Literature - Dutch, Lay Piety
Paper 1305-c	Showing Wisdom: Expositions in the Amsterdam Lectionary, 1348 (Language: English) Esther Jonker, Pallas Institute for Art Historical & Literary Studies,Universiteit Leiden Index terms: Language and Literature - Dutch, Liturgy, Religious Life, Sermons and Preaching
Abstract	In the Middle Ages, traditional knowledge was constantly recycled in new texts. During this process, knowledge was adapted in order to serve the specific purposes of these new texts. Knowledge was selected, but it could also be translated, rephrased, or interpreted differently. Or writers could comment and elaborate on it. We would like to reflect on the nature of these adaptations and on the relation between the past knowledge and the new texts. How did the traditional elements determine the overall character of the text and its reception by an audience? And how did that audience and the new textual environment determine the manner in which the past knowledge was presented?