IMC 2014: Sessions
Session 621: Fosterage in Anglo-Saxon England and Medieval Ireland
Tuesday 8 July 2014, 11.15-12.45
| Organiser: | Alice Hicklin, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Ryan Lavelle, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Winchester |
| Paper 621-a | Brothers in Christ: Ecclesiastical Fosterage in Medieval England and Ireland (Language: English) Index terms: Hagiography, Language and Literature - Comparative, Politics and Diplomacy, Religious Life |
| Paper 621-b | 'For hire myclon geearnungon': Attitudes to Fosterage in Anglo-Saxon England (Language: English) Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Hagiography, Language and Literature - Old English, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Paper 621-c | A Troubling Childhood: Another Look at the Fosterage of Cú Chulainn (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Celtic, Literacy and Orality, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Abstract | The practice of fosterage was widespread in early medieval Europe, with many noble children placed into a family unit other than their natal one to be cared for and educated. This session will explore the significance of fosterage to Anglo-Saxon and Irish society, drawing on a diverse range of material including poetry, hagiography, law codes, charters, and wills. Each paper will approach the subject from a different perspective: from the ambivalent representations of fosterage in Beowulf and Táin Bó Cúalinge to depictions of the practice in an ecclesiastical setting, and from the role of foster-children as transportable signifiers of political status and connection to the importance of fosterage to the royal West Saxon dynasty. |