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IMC 2018: Sessions

Session 1220: Remembering Troy in the Middle Ages, III: (Re)Narrating Heroes

Wednesday 4 July 2018, 14.15-15.45

Organisers:Sabine Heidi Walther, Abteilung für Skandinavische Sprachen und Literaturen, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
N Yavuz, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, Københavns Universitet
Moderator/Chair:N Yavuz, Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, Københavns Universitet
Paper 1220-aMémoire de Troie à la cour de Bourgogne
(Language: Français)
Florence Tanniou, Département de Lettres Modernes, Université Paris Nanterre
Index terms: Language and Literature - French or Occitan, Learning (The Classical Inheritance), Political Thought
Paper 1220-bA New Light on the Story of the Trojan War's Tapestries
(Language: English)
Anne-Sophie Laruelle, Département des Sciences Historiques, Université de Liège
Index terms: Art History - Decorative Arts, Learning (The Classical Inheritance)
Paper 1220-cImporting Ideals from Burgundy?: On Late Medieval Icelandic Elites and Their Cultural Contacts
(Language: English)
Sabine Heidi Walther, Abteilung für Skandinavische Sprachen und Literaturen, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Learning (The Classical Inheritance), Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

For three millennia, the fall of Troy has been a popular topic in European culture. Not only did the classical texts that were the product of Greco-Roman culture continue to circulate in the Middle Ages, but also many 'new' works were composed on different aspects of the story of Troy, not only in Latin and Greek but also in vernacular languages. These texts, old and new, shaped the perception of the Trojan War and enabled the further production and transmission of narratives on Trojan characters and scenes throughout the Middle Ages. Trojan topics also remained popular in visual imagery, from early Greek vases and Roman sculptures to medieval illuminations and tapestry. With every work written, drawn, sculpted, carved, or copied, the past was reconstructed and renarrated yet again in a different context emphasising different values. These four sessions explore the reasons behind the fascination with the Trojan narrative and the ways in which the story of Troy was employed in the Middle Ages.

The third of these sessions will focus on the late medieval reception of the Troy story, especially the stories surrounding the figure of Hercules. Presenting the corpus of texts available at and written for the court, Florence Tanniou will focus on the story of the Argonauts and the first conquest of Troy under Hercules and discuss the specific relevance of these stories for the Burgundians. Anne-Sophie Laruelle will examine tapestries produced in Tournai, which enjoyed great success with princely patrons from the mid-1460s onwards, and will concentrate on the pre-history of the Trojan War as well as the depiction of Hercules. Finally, engaging again with the story of Hercules and Jason, Sabine Heidi Walther will argue that the Burgundian tradition may have influenced one of the versions of the Old Icelandic Saga of the Trojans.