IMC 2011: Sessions
Session 104: Looking For the Common Voice: New Perspectives on Medieval Graffiti
Monday 11 July 2011, 11.15-12.45
Organiser: | Rebecca Williams, School of History, University of Liverpool |
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Moderator/Chair: | Carly Deering, School of History, University of Liverpool |
Paper 104-a | Filling the Gaps: The Importance of Medieval Graffiti as an Historical Source (Language: English) Index terms: Architecture - Religious, Epigraphy, Lay Piety |
Paper 104-b | 'For those in Peril upon the Seas': The Graffiti of the Churches of the Norfolk Glaven Ports (Language: English) Index terms: Architecture - Religious, Epigraphy, Lay Piety |
Paper 104-c | The Medium is the Message: Lessons from Graffiti in the Durham Prior's Chapel (Language: English) Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Architecture - Religious, Computing in Medieval Studies, Literacy and Orality |
Abstract | Nowadays, the creation of graffiti is widely deemed a destructive and socially unacceptable practise. In the medieval world, however, it is clear that the etching of words and images into stone walls was actually a permissible act. Medieval graffiti are ubiquitous, found most notably upon the walls and piers of churches; often, although not exclusively, in public spaces where all would have seen them. Taking this into account, along with the importance that was placed upon imagery, symbolism, and sacred spaces at this time, it can be inferred that there was undoubtedly some considerable significance or purpose behind their creation. This notion raises many questions, the most important of which concerns their function; just why were the graffiti created? What do they mean? Yet in spite of the large amount of surviving examples, and the questions that they raise, the subject is one that remains relatively unexplored. In this session, three papers shall investigate these questions, taking into account both the graffiti of the everyday person, such as that found in medieval parish churches, and of the wealthy; specifically, that found in the Prior of Durham's private chapel. In the light of these discussions, it shall be shown that graffiti are an important and yet hitherto undervalued source for the study of medieval history. |