IMC 2020: Sessions
Session 854: Quick! Hurry! Late!: Urgency in the Medieval World
Tuesday 7 July 2020, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Exeter / Traveler's Lab, Wesleyan University |
|---|---|
| Organiser: | Helen Birkett, Department of History, University of Exeter |
| Moderator/Chair: | Justine Firnhaber-Baker, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews |
| Paper 854-a | Managing Time: Making and Breaking Appointments in Medieval England (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Archives and Sources, Daily Life, Ecclesiastical History |
| Paper 854-b | Expectations and Failures of Urgent Communication in the Crown of Aragon, 14th Century (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Archives and Sources, Daily Life, Language and Literature - Spanish or Portuguese |
| Paper 854-c | 'Hurry and do not delay': Sending and Receiving Urgent News in the Middle Ages (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Archives and Sources, Language and Literature - Latin, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Paper 854-d | The Diffusion of Foreign News in the 11th Century: Did the Speed Matter? (Language: English) Index terms: Archives and Sources, Historiography - Medieval, Politics and Diplomacy |
| Abstract | Medieval people operated within condensed, high-pressure timeframes in similar ways to people today. However, the logistics of mobility and communications in the Middle Ages meant that it took far longer to travel and to exchange messages. This session investigates the concept of urgency in the context of these slower journey times and more convoluted communication systems. Speakers will explore the following questions: How is urgency expressed in our sources? What was deemed urgent and in what circumstances? At what point did a delay become unacceptable? And what does this tell us about the experience of time in the medieval world? |