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IMC 2017: Sessions

Session 513: Origo gentis: The Origin Legends of Medieval Europe, I

Tuesday 4 July 2017, 09.00-10.30

Organisers:Ben Guy, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Rebecca Thomas, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Moderator/Chair:Ben Guy, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Paper 513-aOrigin Stories of the Lex salica
(Language: English)
Magali Coumert, Département d'histoire, Université de Bretagne Occidentale / Institut Universitaire de France, Paris
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Latin, Law, Political Thought
Paper 513-bBede and 410: Myth-Making and the Creation of the gens Anglorum
(Language: English)
Paul Gorton, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Latin, Political Thought
Paper 513-cOrigin Legends of Transmarine Settlement within the Irish Sea Cultural Zone
(Language: English)
Lindy Brady, Department of English, University of Mississippi
Index terms: Geography and Settlement Studies, Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Celtic, Language and Literature - Latin
Abstract

It was a universal practice to record stories about the origins of peoples, kingdoms, and dynasties in the Middle Ages. These stories enabled individuals to locate themselves and their societies within a larger historical and mythological context. There are certain features common to the origin legends of different peoples and regions, such as genealogy and migration, which served an aetiological function in helping people understand the present as an outcome of the past. Origin legends were not always consistent with each other however, as they were often used to press conflicting claims. These three sessions explore aspects of origin legends from across medieval western Europe.