| Abstract | Paper -a:
In his Scale of Perfection, Walter Hilton (d. 1396) sought to guide his readers to higher states of contemplation - to 'reform in faith and feeling'. Despite this hook, Hilton has not been tackled from the perspective of the history of emotions. In this paper, I approach Hilton's works as manuals to feeling like a contemplative. I apply the concept of emotional regime, informed by the sociology of religious emotion, to uncover the norms, agents, structures, and dialectics that underlie Hilton's programme of emotional reform, and specifically, the conflicts and emotional difficulties within and between emotional regimes.
Paper -b:
This paper will examine the wider question of the medieval culture surrounding children, by looking specifically at memory and emotion. Using selected examples from three different sources / angles on childhood - medical, legal, and literature - we will look at how the medieval idea of memory is potentially used in relation to the emotions of a child; their capacity to learn and behave morally and according to their position in society; and their interactions with the adults in their life, particularly parents and teachers.
Paper -c:
This paper explores the connection between authority and gender in late medieval Russia. 'Early modern' is a concept which a number of historians are hesitant to apply to 16th and early 17th-century Russia, insisting on the 'long Middle Ages' in the country. The paper argues that the Time of Troubles, an early 17th-century dynastic conflict, was an unprecedented moment in Russian history, when royal women got a significant amount of symbolic power and authority. That power was expressed through ceremonial and ritualised public performance of familial emotions, which was very unusual for Russia, as its royal women were traditionally secluded in a homosocial space, the terem. This paper contributes to our understanding of history of emotions, gender, and authority in pre-modern Russia.
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