CfP: The Maladies, Miracles and Medicine of the Middle Ages, II. Places, Spaces and Objects
As
medievalists, we access our period through the written records, sites,
and items that survive in order to form a deeper understanding of the
period, one that goes beyond the page or the ruinous buildings that
remain today. Using a wide range of sources is particularly valuable
when considering the miraculous and the medicinal. After all, it is not
just the writings, but the spaces, places and objects of both
healthcare and of the holy which can inform and shape our research, and
thus of understanding. Indeed, in many instances these two elements
combine, as can be seen through the production of miracle cures, the
monastic collections of medical treatises, and medieval hospitals and
monastic infirmaries.
But, what can these sources tell us of
miracles, of medicine, of maladies? How did the miraculous and the
medicinal relate to and/or oppose each other? What can we learn of
faith and the faithful, and of ill-health and healing? It is questions
such as these which the second ‘Maladies, Miracles and Medicine’
conference considers by bringing together post-graduate and early-career
researchers who work on all aspects of the healing and the holy. The
conference welcomes papers on all aspects of this theme whether your
interests lie in archaeology, art, literature, medicine and science, or
miracles and theology (or a little bit of everything). Particular
themes to consider are:
- Pilgrims as ‘patients’ and miraculous medicine
- Hospitals, hospices and infirmaries as places of cure and places of piety
- Objects of healing and/or objects of faith
- Landscapes and locations of religion and remedy
- The written word as place, space, or object of cure or of faith
- Personal devotion and home-based healthcare
Proposals
for twenty-minute papers fitting broadly into one of the above themes
are welcomed from all post-graduate and early-career researchers before
the deadline, 5th January 2018. Proposals
of no more than 200 words, and further enquiries are to be sent to the
organisers, Dr Ruth Salter and Frances Cook, via: gcms.reading@gmail.com. Please be aware that further details will be released closer to the date.
Contact Email: gcms.reading@gmail.com