IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 250: Abbatial Identities within and without the Cloister, II: The View from within
Monday 6 July 2026, 14:15-15:45
| Sponsor: | Network for the Study of Late Antique & Early Medieval Monasticism |
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| Organisers: | Rutger Kramer, Departement Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht Ingrid Rembold, Department of History, University of Manchester |
| Moderator/Chair: | Sven Meeder, Departement Geschiedenis, Kunstgeschiedenis en Oudheid, Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen |
| Paper 250-a | The Abbot as Coach: Athletic Virtues inside and outside the Monastery (Language: English) Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Hagiography, Monasticism, Religious Life |
| Paper 250-b | Invisible Faith or Visible Splendor?: Questioning Bodily Adornment in the Early Frankish Monastery (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Hagiography, Monasticism, Religious Life |
| Paper 250-c | Don't Wear It Out: Clothing and the Perception of Abbots in the Carolingian World (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Monasticism, Religious Life |
| Abstract | The papers in this session will examine various ways abbots and other ecclesiastical leaders expressed (but by the same token, internalized) the qualities they had as overseers of the monastic communities. Anne Greule will first study how Hrabanus Maurus and his contemporaries employed depictions of athletic excellence to express a monk’s adherence to the Carolingian project aimed at the continuous improvement of all individuals, be it in the monastery or beyond. Then follow Rachael Vause, who will look at attitudes toward jewellery – especially gold crosses – worn by abbesses and the royal women who often established their foundations, and Valerie Garver, who will consider the ways clothing and textiles shaped perceptions of abbots within and without the cloister in Carolingian lands. All three speakers will explore how both external and internal adornments reinforced existing standards within Frankish monastic communities. |