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IMC 2023: Sessions

Session 1321: Networks of Women and Objects in the Early Middle Ages

Wednesday 5 July 2023, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (LaMOP - UMR 8589), Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne / Laboratório de Estudos Medievais, Universidade de São Paulo
Organisers:Justine Audebrand, Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (LaMOP - UMR 8589), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Julie Morgane Renou, Laboratório de Estudos Medievais, Universidade de São Paulo
Moderator/Chair:Justine Audebrand, Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (LaMOP - UMR 8589), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Paper 1321-aWomen, Books, and Networks of Exchange in Early Medieval Europe
(Language: English)
Jessica Hodgkinson, School of History, Politics & International Relations, University of Leicester / School of English, University of St Andrews
Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Gender Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Women's Studies
Paper 1321-bReverentissima et devotissima regina: Queen Ansa and the translatio of the Relics of St Julia
(Language: English)
Maria Elena Aureli, Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere, Università di Pisa
Index terms: Gender Studies, Religious Life, Women's Studies
Abstract

This session proposes to explore how women constructed complex political networks through objects during the Early Middle Ages, between the 5th and the 11th century. Those entanglements between women, artefacts, and the social environment constitute a new way to conceptualise the gendered construction of identity. Our session proposes to use the tools of history and archaeology to understand those gendered networks and the connection between women and artefacts. This deliberately broad definition makes it possible to include any form of material expression, at the various stages of production and life of the artefact. Participants will present reflections on the users' manipulations which generated and/or reinforced networks, from production to use, repair, recycling, and disposal. In a context where the majority of authors are men, objects constitute a privileged means of expression for women, sometimes as a complement to male texts. Therefore, this session aims to offer new ways to understand gender by focusing on materiality and exchanges.