Politics and Texts in Late Carolingian Europe, c. 870-1000.

 We are pleased to announce a call for papers for a two-day conference entitled Politics and Texts in Late Carolingian Europe, c. 870–1000, hosted by the St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies. This conference will explore the relationship between political authority and textual production in the later Carolingian world.

In recent years, there has been substantial re-evaluation of traditional methodological approaches to all kinds of early medieval texts, from narrative histories to documentary sources. Historians have increasingly taken stock of the interdependence of textual aspects such as audience, reception, dissemination, authorial agenda and the relationships between cultural and political elites. This reappraisal has inspired renewed interest in earlier Carolingian political history. However, the so-called ‘post-Carolingian’ world of the tenth century has yet to be thoroughly investigated on the same terms. How did texts produced in the late ninth- and tenth-century political climate differ from those of the preceding century? Is it possible to refashion the traditional political narrative of late Carolingian fragmentation and decline by reassessing the foundations on which this very narrative has been constructed? Our intention is to draw together recent work on the theme of political discourse in the written sources of this period. We hope to provide an international forum for established academics, early career researchers and postgraduate students working on political culture and the functions of texts in the late Carolingian world.

Eight invited academics will offer papers on the conference themes. We invite proposals from postgraduate and postdoctoral scholars for 20-minute papers on any topic related to the interaction between politics and texts in this period.

The conference will include lunches, refreshments, wine reception, and an optional conference meal. We expect to be able to contribute towards speakers’ accommodation and travel expenses.

Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words to either of the conference organisers, Roberta Cimino or Ed Roberts. The deadline for submission is 1st February 2013.

Source: @StAndrewsHist