IMC 2026: Sessions

The proposed session focuses on an interdisciplinary exploration of graffiti as an invaluable historical source for understanding evolving conceptions of temporality, from the early Middle Ages to the early modern period. Often overlooked or dismissed as mere “scribbles”, graffiti offer a unique, unfiltered window into how individuals and communities engaged with time and space.

Furthermore, this type of source has rarely been considered in studies of literacy during the medieval and early modern periods. Therefore, a deeper investigation of graffiti presents an opportunity to broaden our understanding of literacy, especially in Italy, during this historical timeframe.

Adopting a cross-cutting perspective, the sessions will investigate a spectrum of inscriptional practices, from the perceived or inherent atemporality of early medieval graffiti to the deliberate temporal anchoring of events of personal or collective relevance in so-called “obituary graffiti” and “chronicle graffiti”. This will also include an examination of how these practices functioned as a form of communication that transcended social hierarchies, revealing a wide range of literacy skills practised by individuals from all social backgrounds.

By considering graffiti as a distinct yet integral part of the broader history of written culture, and by applying interdisciplinary methodologies drawn from palaeography, linguistics, philology, archaeology, and anthropology, the sessions aim to move beyond purely textual analysis. This approach enables the reconstruction of aspects of daily life, mentalities, religiosity, and spatial interaction that are seldom captured so vividly in other written sources.