Skip to main content

IMC 2023: Sessions

Session 126: Networks and Entanglements of Border Identities, I: Historical Perspectives

Monday 3 July 2023, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Medieval & Early Modern Centre, University of Sydney / Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Bristol
Organisers:Emma Knowles, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Jan Shaw, Department of English, University of Sydney
Moderator/Chair:Jan Shaw, Department of English, University of Sydney
Paper 126-aWelsh Marcher Lords and British History in the Late Middle Ages
(Language: English)
Helen Fulton, Department of English, University of Bristol
Index terms: Language and Literature - Celtic, Local History, Social History
Paper 126-bThe Plight of the Poor: The Entanglements of Border Identities in the Work of William Langland
(Language: English)
Gabrielle Baalke, Department of Theology & Religious Studies, University of Nottingham
Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Social History
Paper 126-cProgenies of the High Fire: Legendary Identities in Borderland Scandinavia according to Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar
(Language: English)
Piergiorgio Consagra, Department of Icelandic & Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Iceland, Reykjavík
Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

What kinds of historical borderland identities are inscribed in the medieval historical (and pseudo-historical) record? How do borderland locations influence identity formation over time? This session highlights the importance of geographical and space-based locations in identity formation, focusing on examples from specific historical locations. It reflects on the complexity of such identities, as evidenced by local entanglements across social and cultural divisions. The processes of identity formation will also be considered within the context of networks of transmission across space and time that come together in these borderland locations.