IMC 2014: Sessions
Session 325: Networks of Knowledge and the Transmission of Empire
Monday 7 July 2014, 16.30-18.00
Sponsor: | Department of English Literature, University of Edinburgh |
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Organiser: | Phoebe Catherine Linton, School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures, University of Edinburgh |
Moderator/Chair: | Elizabeth Elliott, School of Language & Literature, University of Aberdeen |
Paper 325-a | Governance, Marriage, and the Kingis Quair (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Other, Philosophy |
Paper 325-b | Magic, Literacy, and Empowerment in the Arthurian Empire (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Middle English, Literacy and Orality, Sexuality |
Paper 325-c | Empire of Knowledge: Scholarship, Universal Authority, and the Kingship of Tara (Language: English) Index terms: Education, Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Celtic, Political Thought |
Abstract | Empires operate through networks of knowledge which parallel conventional modes of power constructed by rulers. This panel will explore both the authoring and transmission of history between individuals or groups and its impact on their identity in three texts: the Kingis Quair interrogates love and philosophy as forms of knowledge passed between authors across time; in the 15th-century Prose Merlin, the narrative focuses on the transition from masculine to feminine empowerment through the accruing of knowledge in Arthur's kingdom and thus the movement of gender relations within a state; and, in a series of texts promoting the Uí Neill dynasty, a symbiotic relationship is articulated between rulers and scholars involved in the preservation of knowledge. |