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IMC 2016: Sessions

Session 1133: Conceptualizing Community in High Medieval Literature

Wednesday 6 July 2016, 11.15-12.45

Organiser:Thomas O'Donnell, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
Moderator/Chair:Henry Bainton, Department of English & Related Literature, University of York
Paper 1133-aAscesis and Fictions of Community in the Passio Sancti Albani
(Language: English)
Thomas O'Donnell, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
Index terms: Daily Life, Language and Literature - Latin, Political Thought, Religious Life
Paper 1133-bThe Production of Community in the Chansons de geste
(Language: English)
Luke Sunderland, School of Modern Languages & Cultures, Durham University
Index terms: Language and Literature - French or Occitan, Law, Political Thought
Paper 1133-cSuffering the Law: Mourning and the Making of a Communitas Regni
(Language: English)
Jennifer Jahner, Division of the Humanities & Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology
Index terms: Administration, Language and Literature - Middle English, Law, Political Thought
Abstract

This session considers the ways that 12th- and 13th-century literary works in England, France, and the Empire shaped the varied political and religious thought around the concept of community. The three papers explore the consequences of the interpenetration of literature and community thought for literary form in French, Latin, and English writing and for changes in the conception of law, administration, and identity during the 12th and 13th centuries. Genres considered include saints' lives, chansons de geste, chronicles, and philosophical treaties.