IMC 2016: Sessions

Session 209: Guiding the Mind of the Beholder: The Materiality of Medieval Texts as Determinant of Its Meaning and Use, II - The Arrangement of the Page

Monday 4 July 2016, 14.15-15.45

Organiser:Rüdiger Lorenz, Universität Freiburg, Historisches Seminar, Abt. Landesgeschichte
Moderator/Chair:Dominique Stutzmann, Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes (IRHT), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
Paper 209-aMilanese Early Medieval Psalters and the Occurrence of Stylistic and Iconographic Changes: From Birds to Human Figures
(Language: English)
Francesca Demarchi, Independent Scholar, Turin
Francesca Demarchi, Independent Scholar, Turin
Index terms: Art History - Decorative Arts, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 209-bMoving Books, Changing Contents: A Copy of William of Conches's Philosophia mundi in Altzella
(Language: English)
Michael Schonhardt, Historisches Seminar, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Michael Schonhardt, Historisches Seminar, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Index terms: Education, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Science
Paper 209-cLayout, Scribal Practice, and Reader Reception of Verse as Prose in London, British Library, Harley MS 2253
(Language: English)
Alana Bennett, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
Alana Bennett, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York
Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

How we perceive and use a text is influenced by the way it is visualized and how it is intentionally or unintentionally associated with other texts. Based on the manuscript evidence, three sessions want to explore the different ways how this change of a text’s meaning or usage can be achieved. This includes the (re)organization of a text in a manuscript witness, or how accompanying texts like commentaries, glosses and notes complement, add to or even change a text, as well as the influence of the mise-en-page and the materiality of the manuscript book itself. Through these the session will examine the ways in which the experience of a reader (anticipated or real) is directed to facilitate and constrain their engagement with the text. Furthermore, the broader context of the manuscript will be taken into account: It will be asked, how associating or relating a text with other texts in a manuscript may either conserve traditional interpretations of a text, or generate new readings and new perspectives on the text’s usage. The second session expecially emphasizes the influence of the arrangement of the page on the reception of medieval texts.