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IMC 2023: Sessions

Session 1226: The Natures of the Beast: Medieval Animal Entanglements, I

Wednesday 5 July 2023, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:'Homo Imperfectus' Project, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) / Centre for Religion & Heritage, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Organiser:Sven Gins, Afdeling Geschiedenis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Moderator/Chair:Sven Gins, Afdeling Geschiedenis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Paper 1226-aCurious Camels and Wicked Wolves: The Role of Animals in the Histories of Gregory of Tours
(Language: English)
Heather Duncan, Department of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Index terms: Language and Literature - Latin, Mentalities
Paper 1226-bFrom Corpus to Anima: The Bestiary's Panthera as a Gendered Christ Figure
(Language: English)
Erin A. Sulla, Library - Arts & Humanities, Occidental College, Los Angeles
Index terms: Gender Studies, Religious Life
Paper 1226-cThe Wages of Sin for Man and Beast in Middle English Literature
(Language: English)
Mary Dzon, Department of English, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Religious Life, Theology
Abstract

Medieval history teems with animals, creatures both mundane and fantastic. Much as our historiography would suggest humankind's solitary ascent from simian to sovereign of the world, the reality is that human life and imagination are often intrinsically entangled with nonhuman creatures. As medievalists, we know that our history is not just our own: it is inextricably bound, stitched, and glued together with nonhumans. How were these animal entanglements represented in medieval discourses and what did they signify? To which extent did these entanglements reinforce, reframe, or perhaps even escape contemporary thought categories?