IMC 2014: Sessions

This lecture examines the contradictory aspects of the circulation of women across early medieval space and the various perspectives from which these 'foreign' presences were interpreted and represented, as well as the varying geographical and political dimensions in which the concept of 'foreign' was used. Virilocal marriage (that is to say, when the bride moves to live with her husband's family) was the most common practice, and therefore married women spent most of their life in a different environment from that of their birth and family. However, it is clear that this distance didn't necessarily imply a break in relations with their own kin. From the father's perspective, daughters were normally presented as symbolic capital of their own kin group and could even be seen as living evidence of a king's cultural and political supremacy. Women abroad were conceived of as potential bringers of cultural and material novelties: different objects, texts, customs, and habits. Their position was, nonetheless, a fragile one. The intimate relationship between husband and wife could result in positive or, more frequently, negative changes being attributed to the wife's influence over him. A woman could be praised for converting a 'pagan' husband to Christianity or, equally, accused of bringing conflict and disorder into the husband's kin group. If we consider material evidence, this picture can be further complicated: grave goods, inscriptions, and the circulation of objects demonstrate the active and deep involvement of women abroad in local practices. It also shows that 'foreign' women could offer multiple choices of identities to their own children, challenging the traditional view of women as passive and conservative bearers of a static tradition. The different ways our sources deal with the problem of women abroad - as a positive resource, a wicked wife, or simply an agent of their own family - help to define the mental maps of early medieval societies and the changing geography of cultural and spatial frontiers within the empires of this period.

The journal Early Medieval Europe (published by Wiley) is very pleased to sponsor the Annual Early Medieval Europe Lecture at the International Medieval Congress. By contributing a major scholarly lecture to the Congress programme the journal aims to highlight the importance of the Congress to scholars working in the field of early medieval European history and to support further research in this field. Early Medieval Europe is an interdisciplinary journal encouraging the discussion of archaeology, numismatics, palaeography, diplomatic, literature, onomastics, art history, linguistics, and epigraphy, as well as more traditional historical approaches. It covers Europe in its entirety, including material on Iceland, Ireland, the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Continental Europe (both west and east). Further information about the journal and details on how to submit material to it are available at http://eu.wiley.com (the full url is http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291468-0254). All those attending are warmly invited to join members of the editorial board after the lecture for a glass of wine.