Our Kalamazoo Proposal for 2014

Here is the text of our session proposals for next year's Medieval Congress. Wish us luck.

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages was founded in 2004 in a concerted effort, as our web site explains, “to promote and foster scholarship on and teaching and discussion of representations of the medieval in post-medieval popular culture and mass media.” Much of the success of our mission has occurred through our presence at the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies, and we hope that you can look favorably on our proposals organized in commemoration of our upcoming tenth anniversary.

For 2014, we are interested in exploring in more detail the transformations of three popular legends with ties to the medieval period as represented in our contemporary post-medieval culture. Our first session, “The Da Vinci Code and Beyond: The Grail in the Twenty-first Century—A Roundtable in Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages” , will investigate how the story of the Holy Grail has been adapted in recent works both inspired by either the plot of Dan Brown’s 2003 novel or its successful reintroduction of the Grail legend into the popular consciousness in novels, films, television programs, and educational material. Next, our second session, “Dracula in the Twenty-first Century: Vlad Ţepeş and the (Post-)Modern Vampire--A Roundtable in Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages”, will explore how the life of and legends about the historic Vlad III and his transformation by Bram Stoker in Dracula has shaped recent texts—fiction, comics, films, television programs, and electronic games—featuring the Vlad/Dracula character, his relations, and/or un-related figures that appropriate aspects of his character to illustrate the central importance of the medieval figure at the heart of the current vampire renascence. Finally, our third session, “What is the Magic of Merlin? The Appeal of the Wizard in the Contemporary World--A Roundtable in Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages”, will look at the continued popularity of the figure of Merlin and his legend, especially as evidenced by the recent television series Merlin, as well the appeal of other stories of magic-wielders (such as The Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit, The Dresden Files, Harry Potter, The Wizards of Waverly Place, and Legend of the Seeker) to suggest why the legacy of Merlin continues to endure, especially now, despite the passage of centuries.

Beowulf to Shakespeare Area CFP (6/30/13)

Call for Papers
MAPACA 2013
November 7-9, 2013
Atlantic City, NJ

The wealth of material found in the Middle Ages and Renaissance continues to attract modern audiences in the form of with new creative works in areas such as fiction, film, and computer games, which make use of medieval and/or early modern themes, characters, or plots. This is a call for papers or panels dealing with any aspect of medieval or Renaissance representation in popular culture. Topics for this area include, but are not limited to the following:

-Modern portrayals of any aspect of Arthurian legends or Shakespeare

-Modern versions or adaptations of any other Medieval or Renaissance writer

-Modern investigations of historical figures such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Richards, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scotts

-Teaching medieval and renaissance texts to modern students

-Medieval or Renaissance links to fantasy fiction, gaming, comics, video games, etc.

-Medieval or Renaissance Dramas

-The Middle Ages or Renaissance on the Internet

-Renaissance fairs

Panel and Workshop proposals are also welcome. Submit a 250 word proposal including A/V requests along with a CV or brief bio by June 30, 2013 to our online submissions at www.mapaca.net

Diana Vecchio
dmvecchio@widener.edu

 and

Mary Behrman
Behrm5@aol.com

Co-Chairs Beowulf to Shakespeare

SMART for Spring 2013

News on the latest issue from http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=smart&p=currentissueSMART:

STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE TEACHING (SMART)
CURRENT ISSUE INFORMATION

The Spring 2013 issue of Volume 20 of Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching features a unique collection of articles on teaching the Middle Ages at minority-serving colleges and universities, guest edited by James M. Palmer and Pearl Ratunil. These essays originated from two NEH-sponsored roundtables focusing on the exchange of ideas regarding the teaching and study of medieval texts at minority-serving colleges. Their aim is to understand the position of medieval texts, especially those by Chaucer, in classrooms not dominated by one particular ideology of race. The interest of the authors is “not in creating more occasions of alienation for minority students but in empowering students to understand ethnic and racial differences through the acquisition of knowledge.” Special thanks to Professors Palmer and Ratunil for organizing and facilitating the completion of this collection.
This issue of SMART also includes three additional fine pedagogical articles on teaching The Man of Law’s Tale, teaching Milton alongside anti-misogyny literature, and teaching Chaucer out loud, as well as three excellent book reviews.


Teaching the Middle Ages at Minority-Serving Colleges and Universities

James M. Palmer and Pearl Ratunil, Guest Editors
 

JAMES M. PALMER and PEARL RATUNIL Introduction: Teaching the Middle Ages at Minority-Serving Colleges and Universities
PEARL RATUNIL “There the White Folks Go Again”: Medieval Studies and the Minority Student
MARY BEHRMAN Thanne Longen Morehouse Men to Goon on Pilgrimages
DONNA CRAWFORD Crossing the “Grisly Rokkes Blak”: Teaching Chaucer at an HBCU
MARY C. OLSON Is Relevance Relevant? Teaching the Middle Ages at an HBCU
KEN A. GRANT Dispelling the Myths: Medieval Studies at a Predominantly Hispanic University
BARBARA A. GOODMAN Fostering Medieval Studies within “Sondry” General Education Curricula
*****************************************
NICOLE CLIFTON Teaching The Man of Law’s Tale
NATHANIAL B. SMITH The Eve Debates: Teaching Milton alongside Anti-Misogyny Literature
BERNARD LEWIS Teaching Chaucer Out Loud
*****************************************
JAY RUUD Book Review:  Logic and Humour  in the Fabliaux: An Essay in Applied Narratology, by Roy J. Pearcy
ELIZABETH HYDE Book Review:  The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, by Christopher S. Mackay
TRACEY R. SANDS Book Review:  The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman, by Nancy Marie Brown

---

Both spring and fall 2013 issues of SMART are included in the yearly subscription price of $25 for individuals, $30 for libraries and centers, and $30 for subscriptions outside of the United States. Prepayment is required.

SMART for 2012

Been meaning to post an update on Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching. Here are the details for the 2012 volume. A complete back list and ordering information is available at http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=smart&p=backissueSMART.

Spring 2012 (Volume 19, Issue 1)

TEACHING THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK
(guest edited by Michael Johnston)

MICHAEL JOHNSTON Introduction to Teaching the History of the Book

ANDREW TAYLOR Experiencing Authority, Confronting the Cool: Bringing Medieval Book History into the Classroom

DAVID C. MENGEL Teaching the Codex as Writing Technology

ALLISON MURI Teaching the History and Future of the Book

DABNEY A. BANKERT and MARK RANKIN Teaching Medieval and Early Modern Manuscript and Print Culture in Theory and Practice

MICHAEL  JOHNSTON The History of the Book as a Supplement to the Literature Survey

ERIC J. JOHNSON “A closed book is a mute witness”: A Curator’s Approach toward Teaching with Rare Books and Manuscripts

COLLECTION CONTRIBUTORS Annotated Bibliography to Teaching the History of the Book Collection

LESLEY A. COOTE Book Review:  The Harrowing of Hell in Medieval England, by Karl Tamburr

YVONNE BRUCE Book Review:  Women’s Writing in the British Atlantic World: Memory, Place and History, 1550–1700, by Kate Chedgzoy

CHRISTOPHER M. BELLITTO Book Review:  Soldiers, Nobles and Gentlemen: Essays in Honour of Maurice Keen, by Peter Coss and Christopher Tyerman

JUDITH FERSTER Book Review:  Chaucer’s Language, by Simon Horobin

Fall 2011 (Volume 18, Issue 2)

TEACHING ITALY
(guest edited by Barbara Stevenson)

BARBARA STEVENSON Introduction to Teaching Italy

MARY BETH LONG Gum-Poppers Deserve their Own Level of Hell: Teaching the Inferno to Baptists

BARBARA STEVENSON Representations of Saladin in the (New) Middle Ages

KURT M. BOUGHAN Teaching Goro Dati’s Libro segreto

KATHRYN A. HALL Teaching Christine de Pizan and the Text via Late Medieval Book Production in Bologna and Paris

CARL GRINDLEY The Whisper Game: Teaching Stemmatics

DARCI N. HILL Altered Arguments: A Textual Analysis of George Herbert’s “Man”

JAY RUUD “A Great Flash of Understanding”: Teaching Dante and Mysticism

ALEXANDRA COOK “Why Study the Middle Ages?”  On Re-Imagining the Medieval Literature Survey

JOHN M. GANIM Book Review:  Illustrating Camelot, by Barbara Tepa Lupack with Alan Lupack

ANTHONY J. CÁRDINAS-ROTTUNNO Book Review:  The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture, by Jerrilyn D. Dodds, María Rosa Menocal, and Abigail Krasner Balbale

LESLEY A. COOTE Book Review:  Shakespeare Films in the Making: Vision, Production and Reception, by Russell Jackson

GWENDOLYN MORGAN Book Review:  Key Concepts in Medieval Literature, by Elizabeth Solopova and Stuart D. Lee

EDWARD CHRISTIE Book Review:  Imaginary Worlds in Medieval Books: Exploring the Manuscript Matrix, by Martha Dana Rust

ROBERT GRAYBILL Book Review:  The Medieval British Literature Handbook, edited by Daniel T. Kline

Higgins Armory Museum RIP

John Sexton at the MassMedieval blog recently reported on the closure of one of Massachusetts real treasures for the medievalist, the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester. The museum will officially close at the end of the year--so visit now while you still can--and be merged with the collection of the Worcester Art Museum. The official press release can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.higgins.org/integration-worcester-art-museum.

2013 International Conference on Medievalism CFP (7/1/13; 10/17-19/13)

A quick post for the day: 

Call for Papers
28th International Conference on Medievalism
St. Norbert College
(De Pere, Wisconsin)
(October 17-19, 2013)

Medievalism: Its Centers and Margins
Deadline: July 1, 2013

In addition to the authors, texts, and considerations that normally form the core of studies in medievalism, what authors occupy, haunt, or draw the boundaries of what we consider proper matter for this field? What currently lies outside that we should certainly include, and what perhaps lies near the center that doesn't really fit at all? Within the texts we study, what ideas or approaches form the core, and what has lingered at the margins, or what do we need to bring from outside toward center state for careful study and consideration? Participants should feel welcome to submit abstracts directed to the conference theme or on any other aspects of medievalism--the study of later ages' use of the material of the Middle Ages--that they choose to explore.

St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wisconsin) is just four miles from Green Bay and ten minutes from Green Bay Austin Straubel Airport (with daily service to Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cleveland, and Atlanta), about a two-hour dirve north from Milwaukee and four hours' drive from Chicago.

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES: 

Presenters may feel welcome to submit papers to The Year's Work in Medievalism (edited by E. L. Risden). Longer articles (over 6000 words) should be submitted to Studies in Medievalism (edited by Karl Fugelso).

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: July 1, 2013
Please send papers, abstracts, or session proposals to:
Edward Risden, Professor of English
St. Norbert College
100 Grant St.
De Pere, WI 54115
or
edward.risden@snc.edu

Our Kalamazoo 2013 Sessions

My apologies for the inactivity of the blog. Please find below the details for our session for Kalamazoo this year. The complete program can be accessed at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/sessions.html.

Thursday, 9 May 3:30 PM
Session 114: Fetzer 1005

Still Getting Medieval on Television: Medieval-Themed Television of the Twenty-First Century and Its Impact on Medieval Studies (A Roundtable)
 

Sponsor: Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
 

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa, Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
 

Presider: Suanna H. Davis, Abilene Christian Univ.

Hybrid Medievalisms in Arthurian Romance and the Historical Evolution of the Genre from Print to Television
Kevin Teo Kia Choong, Nagoya Univ.

When Bows Don’t Bow: Sherwood and Camelot in Conflict
Elizabeth Bernhardt, Abilene Christian Univ.

Kaamelott/Camelot on the Small Screen
Tara Foster, Northern Michigan Univ.

Medieval Themes in the Contemporary Newsroom
Charlotte A. T. Wulf, Stevenson Univ.

Medievalism in Television’s Popular Series Once Upon a Time
Mikee Delony, Abilene Christian Univ.

Saturday, 11 May 12:00 PM

Valley III Room 303

Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Villains of the Matter of Britain; Institute for the Advancement of Scholarship on the Magic-Wielding Figures of Visual Electronic Multimedia; Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Business Meeting and Reception

Michael

Medieval and Renaissance Forum CFP 2013

34th Annual Medieval and Renaissance Forum (Proposal Deadline 1/14/13)
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, NH, USA
Friday and Saturday April 19-20, 2013
Call for Papers and Sessions
“Travel, Contact, Exchange”
Keynote speaker: David Simon, Art History, Colby College

We invite abstracts in medieval and Early Modern studies that consider how travel, contact, and
exchange functioned in personal, political, religious, and aesthetic realms.

● How, when, where, and why did cultural exchange happen?
● What are the roles of storytelling or souvenirs in experiences of pilgrimage or Crusade?
● What is exchanged, lost, or left behind in moments of contact?
● How do such moments of contact and exchange hold meaning today?

Papers need not be confined to the theme but may cover many aspects of medieval and Renaissance
life, literature, languages, art, philosophy, theology, history and music.

Students, faculty, and independent scholars are welcome.
Undergraduate student papers or sessions require faculty sponsorship.

This year’s keynote speaker is David L. Simon. He is Jetté Professor of Art at Colby College, where he has
received the Basset Award for excellence in teaching. He holds graduate degrees from Boston University
and the Courtauld Institute of Art of the University of London. Among his publications are the catalogue
of Spanish and southern French Romanesque sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The
Cloisters and studies on Romanesque architecture and sculpture in Aragon and Navarra, Spain. He is coauthor of recent editions of Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition and Janson’s Basic History of
Western Art. Since 2007 he has co-directed an annual summer course and conference on Romanesque
art for the University of Zaragoza, Spain.

For more information visit www.plymouth.edu/medieval

Please submit abstracts and full contact information to Dr. Karolyn Kinane, Director or
Jini Rae Sparkman, Assistant Director: PSUForum@gmail.com.
Abstract deadline: Monday January 14, 2013
Presenters and early registration: March 15, 2013

Medievalism Area CFP

Medievalism in Popular Culture
full name / name of organization:
National Popular and American Culture Associations Conference (PCA/ACA)
contact email:
a.kaufman@mtsu.edu
Medievalism in Popular Culture
at the 43rd Annual PCA/ACA Conference
Wardman Park Marriott, Washington, D.C.
March 27-30th, 2013

Call for submissions to the following paper sessions and round table panels:

1) Arthurian Aesthetics - Round Tables:
Inspired by last year’s debate over whether a “good” Arthurian text exists, this series of round table discussions will combine our analysis of Arthurian legends with the recent aesthetic turn in literary studies. Is there an aesthetic case to be made for Arthurian studies, particularly for studying contemporary Arthuriana? How do we justify our scholarship if we are suddenly held accountable for the quality and universality of our texts? Short (10 minute) papers on aesthetics and Arthuriana in any medium and from any historical period are welcome.

2) Medievalism in Politics - Round Tables:
From accusations of corporate feudalism to medieval medical theories alive and well in twenty-first century politics, medievalists have found their time period unexpectedly represented (and misrepresented) in the news these days. This series of round table discussions will explore the way politicians across the globe are ‘getting medieval’ and what it signifies. Short (10 minute) papers on medievalism in contemporary politics are welcome.

3) Popular Culture in the Middle Ages - Paper Session:
Though at the PCA/ACA we typically focus on how the Middle Ages looks through contemporary eyes, this paper panel will focus on cultural studies of the Middle Ages. This panel will explore popular medieval religious practices, legends like Robin Hood or King Arthur, and tales about supernatural beings like fairies, witches, and elves that originated in medieval times but continue to shape popular culture today. Papers that focus on cultural shifts and reception of texts or ideas are especially encouraged, as are papers that draw parallels between medieval culture and medievalism today.

4) The Medieval Frontier - Paper Session:
Critics have long acknowledged that the medieval knight was the inspiration for Owen Wister’s cowboy figure. Even in the current reinvention and subversion of the cowboy represented by films like Unforgiven and novels like The Sisters Brothers, something of this medieval aesthetic remains. This panel will explore this and other ways in which the idea of the Old West has been shaped by cultural memory of the Middle Ages.

5) Men of the North - Paper Session:
From Ulfric Stormcloak to Thor to Ned Stark, recent medievalism has celebrated a very specific brand of masculinity, one more commonly associated with Vikings and Anglo-Saxons than King Arthur’s knights or a chivalric ‘golden age.’ Is 2012 a Viking moment, and if so, why? How does this Norse revival recall earlier obsessions with the men of the north? This panel will explore the very specific cultural appeal (and cultural baggage) of northern-inspired medievalism.

Instructions:
Please submit abstracts of 250 words or less to the PCA/ACA database at http://ncp.pcaaca.org or email your abstract as an attachment to Amy Kaufman at a.kaufman@mtsu.edu. Please include the name and number of the session to which you are submitting within the abstract.

Papers in regular sessions should be limited to a reading time of 15 minutes (7-8 double-spaced pages). Round table contributions should be shorter, no more than 10 minutes (5 double-spaced pages) to allow for extended discussion. Be sure to include your full name, affiliation, mailing address, phone number, and email address on your abstract.

Deadline: December 1, 2012

Send inquiries to:
Dr. Amy S. Kaufman
Middle Tennessee State University
a.kaufman@mtsu.edu

Please note: Membership in the PCA is required for participation. Membership forms and more information about the conference are available online at www.pcaaca.org.

Medieval and Renaissance Drama on Film NeMLA CFP

Filming this Insubstantial Pageant: Medieval and Renaissance Drama on Film (Abstracts due Sept. 30)
full name / name of organization:
Northeast Modern Language Association (conference Mar. 2013)
contact email:
jackiec159@hotmail.com

This panel seeks papers about film adaptations of medieval and Renaissance English drama, both in English-speaking countries and around the world. The NeMLA conference will be held in Boston in March, 2013. Papers might compare different adaptations of the same play, discuss problems associated with the notion of fidelity to text or of relocating a play in a different historical or cultural milieu, or consider the effectiveness for use in scholarly work or in the classroom. We seek investigation of continuities across disciplines: medieval/Renaissance, cinema studies/literature. What is at stake in these adaptations? What do these directors, writers, performers, and audiences bring to the table? This panel should appeal to those interested in film and literary adaptation, world cinema and transnational influences, issues of cultural hegemony and exchange, and Shakespeare on film. Abstracts (250 words) should be emailed in MS format to jackiec159@hotmail.comandmorsed@newschool.edu by Sept. 30.

Corporate Medievalism Contents Update

Corporate Medievalism, volume 21 in the Studies in Medievalism series, has recently been released. An earlier post detailed the basics of the book, but now the contents (below) can be matched with their respective authors.


Contents
1 Editorial Notes (Karl Fugelso)
2 Lives of Total Dedication? Medieval and Modern Corporate Identity (M. J. Toswell)
3 Reincorporating the Medieval: Morality, Chivalry, and Honor in Post-Financial-Meltdown Corporate Revisionism (Kevin Moberly and Brent Moberly)
4 Medievalism and Representations of Corporate Identity (KellyAnn Fitzpatrick and Jil Hanifan)
5 Knights of the Ownership Society: Economic Inequality and Medievalist Film (Harry Brown)
6 A Corporate neo-Beowulf: Ready or Not, Here We Come (E. L. Risden)
7 Unsettled Accounts: Corporate Culture and George R.R. Martin's Fetish Medievalism (Lauryn S. Mayer)
8 Historicizing Neumatic Notation: Medieval Neumes as Cultural Artefacts of Early Modern Times (Eduardo Henrik Aubert)
9 Hereward the Dane and the English, but Not the Saxon: Kingsley's Racial Anglo-Saxonism (Michael R. Kightley)
10 From Romance to Ritual: Jessie L. Weston's Gawain (Helen Brookman)
11 The Cinematic Sign of the Grail (J. Rubén Valdés Miyares)
12 Destructive Dominae: Women and Vengeance in Medievalist Film (Felice Lifshitz)
13 Neomedievalism Unplugged (Pamela Clements and Carol L. Robinson)
14 Notes on Contributors

CFP Princess Cultures

Princess Cultures: Mediating Girls’ Imaginations and Identities
Publication Date: 2012-07-15 (in 5 days)
Date Submitted: 2012-06-02
Announcement ID: 194950

Princess Cultures: Mediating Girls’ Imaginations and Identities Book Editors: Miriam Forman-Brunell, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City Rebecca Hains, Ph.D., Salem State University

Publisher: Peter Lang Press “Mediated Youth” series, edited by Sharon Mazzarella

Description: Princesses are significant figures in girl culture, and they have been for at least the last two centuries. This anthology brings together international and interdisciplinary perspectives on the meanings of princesses in girls’ lives historically, currently, and comparatively: We consider how and why princess culture continues to play a role in girls’ lives. Encompassing pop culture princesses (such as the Disney Princesses and Princess Barbie), fairy tales (and their more recent feminist revisions), and contemporary royal figures (such as Princess Diana and Kate Middleton), among others, this book illuminates the many forms that princess culture has taken across time and space—continuously redrawn and recast, but always enjoying a prominent and privileged position in girls’ everyday lives and fantasy worlds and women’s collective memories.

Call for Papers: The editors are seeking additional scholarly essays that examine the princess as mediating figure in the imaginations and identities of girls in the US and around the world. We are especially interested in essays by scholars researching:
1) princess cultures outside the US
2) historical or contemporary royal figures

Please send a 300-word proposal, a brief bibliography, CV, and contact information to: Miriam Forman Brunell at forman-brunellm@umkc.edu and Rebecca Hains atrhains@salemstate.edu by July 15, 2012.


Due Dates:

July 15, 2012: 300-word Proposal deadline

August 1, 2012: Notification of accepted proposals

January 15, 2013: Chapter drafts (7,000-9,000 words)


Miriam Forman-Brunell University of Missouri-Kansas City Dept of History 816-235-5220
Email: forman-brunellm@umkc.edu

CFP Chivalry Collection

Chivalry and the Medieval Past, call for submissions of essays 
Publication Date: 2012-08-31
Date Submitted: 2012-07-02
Announcement ID: 195520

This is a call for contributions to a volume of essays on the theme of chivalry and the medieval past, to be co-edited by Dr Barbara Gribling and Dr Katie Stevenson of the University of St Andrews. The volume will consider chivalry (in its broadest conception, inc. war, iconography, culture, material culture etc) across all periods but from the perspective of its roots in the Middle Ages. The emphasis of this volume is historical: we are not excluding literature, but ‘medievalism’ is well-served by scholars of literature. By drawing together the work of historians (medievalists, early modernist and modernists alike), we hope to open new vistas to the study of the medieval past. We are encouraging a diverse a collection as possible and we would also encourage you to think ambitiously and experimentally! If your work lends itself to some interesting ideas on this topic and you might be willing to contribute to the volume, please get in touch to find out more.

Email Katie Stevenson on kcs7@st-andrews.ac.uk

Dr Katie Stevenson School of History University of St Andrews Email: kcs7@st-andrews.ac.uk

Terry Jones and the Medieval

The Medieval Python: The Purposive and Provocative Work of Terry Jones (with additional information in the center from WorldCat)
The New Middle Ages
Edited By R. F. Yeager and Toshiyuki Takamiya

Palgrave Macmillan, May 2012
ISBN: 978-0-230-11267-4, ISBN10: 0-230-11267-6
6.000 x 9.250 inches, 278 pages, 1 figures,

Hardcover $95.00

No one working today in Middle English studies or in period-related film and/or documentary can proceed untouched by Terry Jones' thought-provoking views. Through films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, educational television series for BBC and the History Channel, and books such as Chaucer's Knight and Who Murdered Chaucer?, Jones has applied his unique combination of carefully researched scholarship, keen intelligence, fearless skepticism of establishment thinking, and broad good humor to challenge, enlighten, and reform. The Medieval Python: The Purposive and Provocative Work of Terry Jones collects original essays by prominent and diverse medievalists in literature and history to celebrate the work of a dedicated independent scholar whose criticism has redirected how we understand the world of Chaucer and life in the Middle Ages.

"The Medieval Python: Essays presented to Terry Jones on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday collects original essays by eighteen prominent medievalists in literature and history to celebrate the work of a dedicated independent scholar whose consistently independent literary and historical criticism has several times redirected how we understand the world of Chaucer and his contemporaries. His film and television productions have entertained and educated generations of viewers about life in the Middle Ages"

The Medieval Works of Terry Jones--S.Ikeda

Young Jones at Oxford 1961-62--V.A.Kolve

The Earl of Arundel, the War with France, and the Anger of King Richard II--C.Given-Wilson

Terry Jones's Richard II--N.Saul

Terry Jones: The Complete Mediaevalist--M.Palin

Medieval Monks and Friars: Differing Literary Perceptions--D.Pearsall

Gower's Manuscript of the Confessio Amantis--P.Nicholson

Gower in Winter: Last Poems--R.F.Yeager

The Naughty Bits: Dating Chaucer's House of Fame and Legend of Good Women--J.M.Bowers

Honi soit qui mal y pense: Adultery and Anxieties about Paternity in Late Medieval England--M.Bennett

Needy Knights and Wealthy Widows: The Encounters of John Cornewall and Lettice Kirriel, 1378-1382--W.M.Ormrod

Making Medievalism: Teaching the Middle Ages through Film--M.Driver

The Silly Pacifism of Geoffrey Chaucer and Terry Jones--W.A.Quinn 

Legs and the Man: The History of a Medieval Motif--R.F.Green 

Chaucer, Langland, and the Hundred Years War--D.Wallace 

Jack and John: The Plowman's Tale--P.Martin

A Prayer Roll Fit for a Tudor Prince--J.J.Thompson 

Macbeth and Malory in the 1625 Edition of Peter Heylyn's Microcosmus: A Nearly Unfortunate Tale-- T.Takamiya

 

About the Editors:

R.F. Yeager is a professor of English and Foreign Languages and chair of the department at the University of West Florida. He is President of the International John Gower Society and the editor of JGN: The John Gower Newsletter. He has written and edited more than seventeen books and collections of essays, including John Gower's Poetic: The Search for a New Arion; A Concordance to the French Poetry and Prose of John Gower; Who Murdered Chaucer? A Medieval Mystery, with Terry Jones, Terry Dolan, Alan Fletcher and Juliette Dor; John Gower: The Minor Latin Works; John Gower: The French Balades and Approaches to Teaching John Gower's Poetry, with Brian W. Gastle.

Toshiyuki Takamiya, MA, HonLittD (Sheffield), HonDLitt (Glasgow), FSA, is Professor Emeritus at Keio Univeristy. He co-edited Aspects of Malory, with Derek Brewer, and has published many books and articles on Malory, Hilton, and the history of the book. He is Director of the Early Book Society and the Editor-in-chief of Poetica. 

Kalamazoo CFP Link

The official CFP for our roundtable session for next year's International Congress on Medieval Studies is now live and can be viewed at http://medievalstudiesonscreen.blogspot.com/2012/06/still-getting-medieval-on-television.html.

Medieval Studies on Screen

Released 1 June 2012:

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages is pleased to announce that the Medieval Studies at the Movies website is now and forever Medieval Studies on Screen(and now available at http://medievalstudiesonscreen.blogspot.com/), a change designed to better reflect the realities of our access to medieval-themed texts on film, television, computers, and portable electronic devices.

We inagurate this change with the announcement of our proposal for next year's sessions for the International Congress on Medieval Studies: "Still Getting Medieval on Television: Medieval-Themed Television of the Twenty-first Century and Its Impact on Medieval Studies (Roundtable)". Full details at http://medievalstudiesonscreen.blogspot.com/2012/06/kalamazoo-2013-proposal.html.

Michael Torregrossa
Co-Founder, The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

Kalamazoo 2013 Ideas

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages is now in the planning stages for two sponsored sessions for inclusion at next year's International Congress on Medieval Studies:

• Medieval-themed television since 2007 (the date of our last sessions on the topic)
• The impact of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings on Medieval Studies

Interested individuals should email us at Popular.Culture.and.the.Middle.Ages@gmail.com of their willingness to present and/or preside. Please use "Kalamazoo 2013" as your subject line. Please reply by 25 May 2012 as our proposals will be completed over the weekend. 

The Medieval Review

I just realized that I had never provided a link to The Medieval Review on the blog.

Begun in 1993 (!), The Medieval Review (originally the Bryn Mawr Medieval Review) provides timely reviews of works of scholarship, editions and translations of interest to medievalists. The e-journal can be accessed online at https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/3631 and/or received via email per the instructions on the website.

CCRI Modern-Day Knights

I came across this information about modern-day knights on the website for the Community College of Rhode Island (http://it.ccri.edu/documentation/live/what-is-knight-acct.shtml):

The CCRI Knight account is about to become your new best friend!

What is the Knight account?

CCRI students have a login account called the Knight account. This account is used to login to MyCCRI, Blackboard, lab and library computers, and gain access to print management, wireless services and e-mail. These computer resources are essential to your College experience. 

Why is it called the Knight account?

When the Community College of Rhode Island launched its athletic program in 1965, the “Knight” became the official college mascot. The mascot symbolizes many different elements of the college community. A multi-color plume represents the diversity of CCRI students; the shield represents the State of Rhode Island; the knight, steed and armor stands for the commuting CCRI student and the knowledge and experience that will carry them into future success. The final element, the lance, represents the implements or tools used to achieve success.

Although not stated here, the name itself derives from that fact that the first campus of the college (then called Rhode Island Junior College) was built on the remains of the Knight Estate in Warwick, Rhode Island, part of a vast tract of land held by textile magnate Robert Knight (1826–1912), who, at the time of his death, was heralded by The New York Times as the "largest owner of cotton mills in the world" with a number of mills across the state. Knight, along with his brother Benjamin Brayton (1813–1898) owned the internationally renowned B. B. and R. Knight Company (founded in 1852), and he conceived of the Fruit of the Loom brand (now owned by Hanes) in 1851. In October 1964, Royal Webster Knight, Robert Knight's great grandson, was looking to get rid of the property and gave it to the college, and the location was referred to as the Knight Campus, after their family. The Knight Campus itself, an all-inclusive structure, was opened in September 1972, while the former home of the Knight family (at one point the home of Rhode Island Governor William Sprague) became (and still serves as) the residence of the college's president beginning in 1978. 

Further details from Wikipedia:

Benjamin Knight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Knight

Robert Knight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Knight_(industrialist)

Community College of Rhode Island:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_College_of_Rhode_Island

Fruit of the Loom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_of_the_Loom

Knight Estate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Estate

And, especially, The Warwick Rhode Island Digital History Project:

Knight Estate: http://www.warwickhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=46&Itemid=99

Beowulf to Shakespeare Area CFP MAPACA (6/15/12; Pittsburgh 11/1-3/12))

CFP MAPACA Conference November 3-5 Pittsburgh
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Call for Papers Date: 2012-06-15
Date Submitted: 2012-04-19
Announcement ID: 194063

Beowulf to Shakespeare:
The wealth of material found in the Middle Ages and Renaissance continues to attract modern audiences in the form of with new creative works in areas such as fiction, film, and computer games, which make use of medieval and/or early modern themes, characters, or plots. This is a call for papers or panels dealing with any aspect of medieval or Renaissance representation in popular culture. Topics for this area include, but are not limited to the following:

-Modern portrayals of any aspect of Arthurian legends or Shakespeare

-Modern versions or adaptations of any other Medieval or Renaissance writer

-Modern investigations of historical figures such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Richards, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scotts

-Teaching medieval and renaissance texts to modern students

-Medieval or Renaissance links to fantasy fiction, gaming, comics, video games, etc.

Medieval or Renaissance Dramas

-The Middle Ages or Renaissance on the Internet

-Renaissance fairs

Panel and Workshop proposals are also welcome.



Diana Vecchio
Email: dmvecchio@widener.edu