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IMC 2012: Sessions

Session 1033: Theology and Liturgy in the Early Middle Ages, I: Rituals and Texts, Words and Practice

Wednesday 11 July 2012, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:Medieval Research Centre, University of Leicester
Organiser:Helen Foxhall Forbes, School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester
Moderator/Chair:Helen Foxhall Forbes, School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester
Paper 1033-aDefining Christian Practice: Funerary Rituals in Early Medieval Ireland
(Language: English)
Alexandra Bergholm, Department of Early & Medieval Irish, University College Cork
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Liturgy, Religious Life, Theology
Paper 1033-bLife, but Not as We Know It: Ælfric's Adaptation of the Book of Kings as Saints' Life
(Language: English)
Stewart J. Brookes, Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Liturgy, Sermons and Preaching, Theology
Paper 1033-cSaint-Making in the 21st Century: Modern Sainthood and Medieval Hagiography
(Language: English)
Máirín MacCarron, PSMG, London
Index terms: Hagiography, Mentalities, Religious Life
Abstract

This session explores liturgy and theology in the early Middle Ages, focussing on the contexts and practice of rituals and texts. The first paper investigates the process of Christianisation in early medieval Ireland by examining rituals of mourning and commemoration. The second paper analyses the Pseudo-Alcuinian De septem sigillis and presents new evidence suggesting that this work is a Hiberno-Latin exegetical text. The third paper considers the rationale for Ælfric's inclusion of the Book of Kings in his Lives of Saints, arguing that the liturgical cycle and Ælfric's lexical choices make this text appropriate for the saint's life model.