IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 548: Saints Crossing Borders

Tuesday 7 July 2020, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:	Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages (CeSMA), University of Birmingham
Organiser:	Giles Connolly, Department of History University of Birmingham
Moderator/Chair:	Daniel K. Reynolds, Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham
Paper 548-a	An Early Medieval English Saint Abroad: Evidence of the Cult of Æthelthryth of Ely outside of the British Isles (Language: English) Ian Styler, Department of History, University of Birmingham Index terms: Hagiography, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Religious Life
Paper 548-b	Becket in the Holy Land: Recording Thomas Becket in William of Tyre's Historia (Language: English) Giles Connolly, Department of History University of Birmingham Index terms: Crusades, Hagiography, Historiography - Medieval
Paper 548-c	For Fear of the Multitudes: Maintaining the Boundaries of Cistercian Sanctity in the 12th Century (Language: English) Georgina Fitzgibbon, Department of History, University of Birmingham Index terms: Hagiography, Monasticism, Religious Life
Abstract	Conceptualising medieval saints within geographical, social, or literary boundaries creates a static view of multifaceted and evolving figures. This panel will address the capacity of saints to transcend these borders and assess the impact of this process on their legacy and perception. The discussion will be structured around papers discussing the spread of St Æthelthryth's cult to new geographical territories, the divergent interpretation of Thomas Becket by William of Tyre, and the creation of borders to prevent Cistercian saints moving across into wider veneration. These papers offer new perspectives on sanctity by engaging with the mutable nature of saints.