Monasteries and Secular Authorities in the pre-Millennial Medieval World
In association with EMERGE
University of St Andrews, School of History
8-10 July 2009
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The history of early medieval monasticism crosses many of the boundaries that we use to discuss the period between the years that saw the Roman Empire recede and the dawn of the new millennium, whether they be literal or theoretical, fixed or shifting. Monasticism has played a part in the spread of people and ideas across physical boundaries and has helped to define those boundaries. It has provided the impetus for new avenues of learning and for the expression of thought and has been a constantly evolving organism. Alongside these concerns, and in part because of them, monastic communities have repeatedly become allied to power structures in the areas that they have inhabited and into which they have entered. They have often established themselves as a coherent and integral part of those power structures, but more often have shared a symbiotic relationship with the incumbent authorities in which both have gained from the support or control of the other.
This conference aims to examine the relationships that monastic communities have formed with secular authorities across a range of criteria that includes political, economic and cultural concerns. It also aims to take a wide geographical view that incorporates the Continent, the Byzantine Empire, Ireland and the British Isles. By considering monasteries as institutions, but also their members as individual actors, the conference will help to define the various settings in which they operated within the political landscape, as well as in reference to one another. It will aim to provide a framework in which we can consider the importance of the monastery as a focal point of power and how that power provided the foundations for lasting relationships or for the genesis of conflict.
SPEAKERS
The conference will take place over two and a half days between 8-10 July and will be made up of sessions including two papers, each of thirty minutes in length. The speakers will be:
| Tom Brown (Edinburgh) | Alexander O’Hara (St Andrews) |
| Warren C. Brown (Caltech) | Christian Harding (St Andrews) |
| Thomas Owen Clancy (Glasgow) | Hans Hummer (Wayne State) |
| John Davies (Glasgow) | Melanie C. Maddox (St Andrews) |
| Albrecht Diem (Syracuse) | Federico Marazzi (USOB – Napoli) |
| Charles Doherty (UCD) | Rosemary Morris |
| David Dumville (Aberdeen) | Sarah Tatum (Manchester) |
| Colmán Etchingham (NUI, Maynooth) | Ann Williams (East Anglia) |
| Roy Flechner (Cambridge) | Alex Woolf (St Andrews) |
| Leanne Good (UCLA) | Matthew Zimmern (OU) |
8 July - Day One
Registration: 8:45-9:45
Welcome: 9:45-10:00
Session 1: 10:00-11:30
1- Charles Doherty (UCD) - 'The monastic town of Armagh and her political relations c.600-1000.'
2- Colmán Etchingham (NUI, Maynooth) - ‘Church and people: how Christian was ‘Early Christian Ireland’?’
Break: 11:30-11:45
Session 2: 11:45-1:15
1- Warren C. Brown (Caltech) - ‘Monasteries and secular authority in the formulas of Notker the Stammerer.’
2- Hans Hummer (Wayne State) - ‘Archiving power: Monasteries and lordship in medieval Europe.’
Lunch: 1:15-2:15
Session 3: 2:15-3:45
1- Sarah Tatum (Manchester) - ‘Patron and monastery in the seventh-century Vita Sadalbaergae.’
2- Alexander O’Hara (St Andrews) - ‘Ritual and revenge in tenth century Italy: Aristocratic and monastic conflict in the Miracula Sancti Columbani.’
Break: 3:45-4:05
Session 4: 4:05-5:35
1- Roy Flechner (Cambridge) - ‘Clerical violence in early medieval Ireland.’
2- David Dumville (Aberdeen) - ‘Death and rebirth: monastery and violence at Landevennec in the Viking-Age.’
Summary: 5:35-6:00
Wine Reception: 6:00
9 July - Day Two
Session 1: 9:30-11:00
1- John Davies (Glasgow) - 'Episcopal churches and secular rulers in early medieval Wales.'
2- Christian Harding (St Andrews) - ‘Monasteries in the vanguard? Filibertine monastic initiative and patterns of patronage in the ninth century.'
Break: 11:00-11:20
Session 2: 11:20-12:50
1- Thomas Owen Clancy (Glasgow) - ‘Iona, kings and dwellings: relationships with royalty in the Columban familia, 563-980.’
2- Alex Woolf (St Andrews) - ‘A touch of clas: portioners and monks, evolution or parallel development?’
Lunch: 12:50-1:50
Session 3: 1:50-3:20
1- Federico Marazzi (USOB - Napoli) - 'Planning the perfect city: ideas and images about monasteries in the early medieval West.'
2- Melanie C. Maddox (St Andrews) - ‘Minsters, burhs and relics: Queen Æthelflaed’s strategy of urbanization.’
Break: 3:20-3:40
Session 4: 3:40-5:10
1- Tom Brown (Edinburgh) - 'When is a monastery not a monastery? Ravenna's divergence from and reabsorption within the Western monastic mainstream.'
2- Albrecht Diem (Syracuse) - ‘Do we really need those monasteries? A comparison between Gregory of Tours and Jonas of Bobbio.’
Summary: 5:10-5:40
Tour of St Andrews: 5:45-6:45
Conference Dinner: 7:30
10 July - Day Three
Session 1: 9:30-11:00
1- Ann Williams - ‘The piety of Earl Godwin.’
2- Rosemary Morris (York) - '"The taxman man cometh." The Athonite Monasteries and the fisc in the Eleventh Century.'
Break: 11:00-11:20
Session 2: 11:20-12:50
1- Matthew Zimmern (OU) - ‘The strange case of Stavelot-Malmedy.’
2- Leanne Good (UCLA) - ‘Monasteries and secular authorities: The example of Kremsmuenster in eighth and ninth century Bavaria.’
Closing Summary: 12.50-1:20
***This conference is in association with EMERGE.
* Image courtesy of St Andrews Library Special Collections Department, from ms37521, Register of the Priory of Pittenweem.
REGISTRATION
Please contact either Melanie C. Maddox (mcm34@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Christian Harding (ch28@st-andrews.ac.uk) for information and registration.
Registration will be open until 30 June 2009.
Conference fees are as follows:
Waged - £42 Unwaged - £37
This will cover all administration fees and the use of facilities. It also covers tea and coffee on each of the three days as well as lunch on the first two days. It does not include any accommodation costs or the cost of the conference dinner.
Daily fees will also be available as follows:
Waged - £16 Unwaged - £13
Please click on the following link for registration and payment.
https://onlineshop.st-andrews.ac.uk/
CONFERENCE DINNER
There will be a conference dinner on 9 July at around 7.30pm. All are welcome to attend the conference dinner although the numbers are limited and so you should book as early as you can to avoid disappointment. If you wish to attend you should book via the online shop whilst registering for the conference. You will need to pay for the dinner during this process. The fee will be £28.50. This includes three course and some wine. Please list any dietary requirements that you may have when you register.
ACCOMMODATION
There is a wide variety of accommodation available in St Andrews, however it is often necessary to book in advance, particularly in the summer months. We advise that you arrange your accommodation as soon as you can for this event. The following links will take you to a selection of possible guest houses, B&Bs and hotels.
http://www.stayinstandrews.co.uk
http://www.standrewsbandbs.co.uk
There may be a small number of subsidised rooms available within University accommodation. Please contact either of the organisers for more details.
DIRECTIONS
Please click on this link to the University of St Andrews website where directions to the town can be found.
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/visiting/GettingtoStAndrews
The conference will be held in St John’s House. This is to be found on South Street, immediately next door to the main Mediaeval History building.
* Image courtesy of St Andrews Library Special Collections Department, from ms37521, Register of the Priory of Pittenweem.
Melanie C. Maddox and Christian Harding would like to thank the School of History at the University of St Andrews, Gradskills and the Early Medieval Research Group Edinburgh (EMERGE) for their kind assistance. Additional thanks are due to Audrey, Dorothy and Lynn for their help with this website.