IMC 2023: Sessions
Session 1326: The Natures of the Beast: Medieval Animal Entanglements, II
Wednesday 5 July 2023, 16.30-18.00
| 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: | Dolores Jørgensen, University of Virginia / Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Trondheim |
| Paper 1326-a | Allegorical Ant-Hills: The Entanglement of Gold-Digging Ants in Medieval Latin Bestiaries (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Language and Literature - Latin, Religious Life |
| Paper 1326-b | The Virtues and Vices of Pigs: The Paradoxes of Swine in the Medieval Imagination (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Mentalities, Religious Life |
| Paper 1326-c | The Lion, the Weasel, and the Doodlebug: Entangled Species and Theriopoiesis in Middle French Encyclopaedias (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - French or Occitan, Mentalities, Religious Life |
| 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? |