IMC 2020: Sessions
Session 241: The Borders of Life and Death: The Supernatural World, II - Communicating with the Dead
Monday 6 July 2020, 14.15-15.45
| Sponsor: | Wellcome Collection |
|---|---|
| Organisers: | Joanne Edge, Department of History & Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge Jude Seal, Independent Scholar, York |
| Moderator/Chair: | Jude Seal, Independent Scholar, York |
| Paper 241-a | Blurring Boundaries: Visions of, and Engagement with, the Holy Dead in High Medieval England (Language: English) Index terms: Hagiography, Lay Piety, Medicine, Social History |
| Paper 241-b | Exorcisms: Part of the Medical Curriculum in Early Medieval Europe? (Language: English) Index terms: Education, Medicine, Religious Life |
| Paper 241-c | Books of the Dead: Clerical Hermeneutics, Reading, and the Interpretation of Spirits in the Middle English Gast of Gy (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Theology |
| Paper 241-d | 'Die Another Day': Sir Gawain and the Instability of Death (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Mentalities |
| Abstract | In the records and narratives of the Middle Ages, death was not only of huge significance, but also not necessarily as permanent as one might otherwise believe. These sessions will explore the borders between life and death: how did medieval people (in a broad geographical and chronological range) navigate the uncertainties and liminal spaces between the living and the dead, and between being alive and being dead? In what ways did medieval people conceptualise near death experiences? How did people attempt to predict their own death or that of others? In what ways did the rituals around death represent a syncretism of cultures as religious conversions spread through populations? |