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A Message from the International President

Dear colleagues/ Cher.e.s collègues,

May I wish you all a very happy new year 2021. Let us hope that it will bring us back together in due course with families, friends and colleagues from whom we have been separated for too long. I am writing with some news of changes in the Executive Committee, and with news of the launch of our new online Open Access journal, ‘Encomia: Journal of the International Courtly Literature Society’, and with a request!

Je vous souhaite à tou.te.s un très joyeux Nouvel An 2021. Espérons que nous pourrions eventuellement nous réunir avec nos proches, nos amis, et nos collègues de qui nous sommes séparés depuis trop longtemps. Je vous écris avec des nouvelles de changements dans le bureau international de la SILC ainsi que la bonne nouvelle que nous sommes sur le point de lancer notre journal en ligne, ‘Encomia: le Journal de la SILC’. Nous vous transmettons une requête également!

In the International Executive, we are delighted to announce that Professor Leah Tether, of the University of Bristol, UK, has taken over from Dr Rebecca Dixon of the University of Liverpool as International Secretary. Dr Lucas Wood of Texas Tech University has taken over from Dr Kristin Burr of Saint Joseph’s University as International Treasurer. We sincerely thank both Kristin and Rebecca for their service to the Society and warmly welcome Leah and Lucas!

Pour le bureau international, nous voulions vous annoncer que Professeur Leah Tether de l’Université de Bristol succède à Dr Rebecca Dixon de l’Université de Liverpool dans le rôle de secrétaire international. Dr Lucas Wood de l’Université de Texas Tech succède à Dr Kristin Burr de l’Université de Saint Joseph dans le rôle de trésorier. Nos sincères remerciements à Kristin et Rebecca pour leur service à la Société, et une chaleureuse bienvenue à Leah et Lucas!

Our Bibliography, Encomia, as agreed at the AGM, has become an Open Access Journal, hosted by Garnier, thanks to the help of Beverly Evans and Richard Trachsler during this transition. We are very excited about this opportunity to shape the field with the launch of our journal. We would like to invite national secretaries to consult with their boards and to propose one or two possible individuals from each national branch to sit on the Advisory Board of the Journal. Please send any suggestions to me by the end of February. Many thanks indeed!

The Editorial Board of the Journal currently consists of the following colleagues:

Richard Trachsler
Emma Cayley
Beverly Evans
Vanessa Obry

Notre bibliographie, Encomia, comme convenu au congrès d’Exeter, va devenir un journal en ligne et ‘open access’, toujours chez Garnier. Nous remercions Beverly Evans et Richard Trachsler pour leur travail et leur soutien en effectuant cette transition. Nous sommes bien heureux de pouvoir ainsi contribuer à la dissemination d’articles liés à nos chères disciplines. Nous invitons donc les secrétaires nationaux de consulter avec leurs bureaux, et de proposer un ou deux individus de la branche pour faire partie du comité scientifique. Veuillez m’envoyer vos suggestions avant fin février. Un grand merci!

Pour le comité editorial, les membres sont actuellement les suivants:

Richard Trachsler
Emma Cayley
Beverly Evans
Vanessa Obry

The first issue of the journal will have a foreword by Michelle Szkilnik and will contain peer-reviewed articles submitted to Emma, Tom Hinton, and Michelle Bolduc for the proceedings of the Exeter ICLS congress. Emma is writing to all authors who have submitted papers to ask whether they would be happy to have their work considered for Encomia as well as for the volumes with Liverpool Press (one or the other!).

Le premier numéro du journal sera introduit par Michelle Szkilnik et présentera une sélection d’articles déjà soumis à Emma, Tom et Michelle pour les actes du congrès d’Exeter. Emma écrit à tous les contributeurs pour leur demander s’ils sont d’accord pour que leur travail soit considéré pour les deux publications (l’une ou l’autre).

We are currently planning our next meeting, one which we very much hope can take place face to face: the 17^th triennial congress of the Society to be held at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver in July 2022. We will send out a call for papers before the summer, and keep you updated on developments.

Nous sommes en train de préparer notre prochain rendez-vous, que nous espérons vivement aura lieu en présentiel: le dix-septième congrès de la Société, prévu pour l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique (UBC), Vancouver, juillet 2022. Nous vous enverrons l’appel à communications avant l’été et nous vous tiendrons au courant.

My best wishes to you all for the ‘almost’ new year, and please stay safe and well.

Mes voeux de ‘pas si’ nouvelle année à vous tou.te.s, et que vous soyez et restiez en bonne santé,

Emma.

Emma Cayley
Professor of Medieval French
Head of School
School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
University of Leeds
LS2 9JT
UK

Willy Van Hoecke

Nous avons appris avec tristesse le décès de Willy Van Hoecke, membre de la section belge de notre Société, survenu le 29 octobre 2020.

Willy Van Hoecke était l’élève d’Omer Jodogne qui avait dirigé sa thèse de doctorat sur Baudouin de Condé et les problèmes de l’édition critique, thèse très volumineuse soutenue en 1970 et restée inédite. Il n’a jamais cessé d’approfondir sa réflexion sur la culture textuelle et l’édition de textes médiévaux. Sitôt docteur, il est devenu chargé de cours, puis professeur à la KULeuven où il a formé de nombreuses générations de romanistes à l’ancien et au moyen français, au travail philologique et à la linguistique diachronique du français. Ses étudiants ont gardé un souvenir vivace de ce professeur passionné par sa matière, exigeant mais toujours bienveillant. Ses mémorants et doctorants ont bénéficié d’un encadrement hors pair. Son honnêteté et sa cordialité lui valaient la confiance et l’amitié de tous : il a été président de la commission de l’enseignement des romanes et directeur des Presses universitaires de Leuven.

Ses recherches couvraient un large spectre. De nombreuses publications portent sur l’histoire du système graphique du français et sur les causes de sa mutation ainsi que sur les mutations linguistiques en général. Il s’est intéressé aux échanges et influences réciproques de la langue romane et de la langue germanique et de la question de la frontière linguistique dans le Nord de la France. Il a compris très tôt tout le parti que l’on pouvait tirer de l’étude des traductions du latin pour observer les anciens états de la langue. Ainsi le travail de traducteur de Jean d’Antioche permet de mesurer les répercussions du droit romain sur la terminologie juridique du français.

Nous nous joignons à la famille, aux amis et aux collègues de Willy Van Hoecke dans ce moment de recueillement et de deuil. Une notice nécrologique, rédigée par Colette Storms, sera proposée par notre Section à la rédaction d’Encomia.

Source

Annual Conference of the Belgian Section to be held 16 Oct 2020

Professor Frank Willaert
University of Antwerp-Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde
Li meilleur dansseur sont en Loheraine

Oxford, BL, MS Douce 308, f. 210r
© Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. Terms of use: CC-BY-NC 4.0.

La conférence aura lieu le vendredi 16 octobre 2020 à 16h00 sur la plateforme Lifesize. Pour se connecter, utiliser le lien: https://call.lifesizecloud.com/875027

De conferentie vindt plaats op vrijdag 16 oktober 2020 om 16.00 uur op het Lifesize-platform. Gebruik de link:
https://call.lifesizecloud.com/875027

« Le volume Het Nederlandse liefdeslied in de Middeleeuwen (‘La chanson d’amour en néerlandais au Moyen Âge), qui paraîtra au printemps 2021 chez Prometheus, couvre la période 1100-1430. Je me concentre sur la production lyrique lotharingienne, dont l’importance – à mes yeux – n’a pas toujours été appréciée à sa juste valeur. Je tenterai de démontrer que la musicologue américaine Margaret Switten a eu raison lorsqu’elle a proposé d’appeler la Lotharingie une terre ‘anti-grand chant courtois’. Je montrerai que cette définition vaut autant pour la production lyrique en néerlandais qu’en français, et que les formes lyriques lotharingiennes ont exercé une influence importante autant sur la lyrique profane allemande et néerlandaise que sur celle en français. »

Frank Willaert est professeur émérite de littérature moyen-néerlandaise de l’Université d’Anvers et vice-président de l’Académie royale de langue et de littérature néerlandaises.

“In de lente van 2021 verschijnt Het Nederlandse liefdeslied in de middeleeuwen bij Uitgeverij Prometheus te Amsterdam. In dit boek, dat de periode 1100-1430 bestrijkt, besteed ik veel aandacht aan de lyriek die in het oude Lotharingen werd geproduceerd en die naar mijn mening in het verleden te weinig aandacht heeft gekregen. Ik zal betogen dat de Amerikaanse musicologe Margaret Switten gelijk had toen ze Lotharingen ‘anti-grand chant courtois’ noemde. Deze definitie geldt mijns inziens evengoed voor de Nederlandstalige als voor de Franse lyriek. Ik zal proberen aan te tonen dat de Lotharingse liedvormen niet alleen op de Franse lyriek een belangrijke invloed hebben uitgeoefend, maar evenzeer op de liefdeslyriek in de Nederlanden en in Duitsland. De lezing is in het Frans. »

Frank Willaert is emeritus hoogleraar Middelnederlandse letterkunde aan de Universiteit Antwerpen en vicevoorzitter van de Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde.

DOWNLOAD FLYER (PDF)

New Publication – An Old French Trilogy: Texts from the William of Orange Cycle

Congratulations to members Catherine M. Jones, William W. Kibler, and Logan E. Whalen for the publication of their translation, An Old French Trilogy: Texts from the William of Orange Cycle.

From the Publisher:

While most English-language readers are familiar with Old French epic poetry, or chansons de geste, through the Song of Roland and its tale of gallant martyrdom, this volume provides a broader and richer view of the tradition by introducing songs devoted to the exploits of a different sort of hero—the brave and blustery William of Orange. An Old French Trilogy provides an updated English translation of three central poems from the twelfth-century Guillaume d’Orange cycle.

In The Coronation of Louis, the hero saves both king and pope from would-be usurpers and earns the nickname “Short-Nosed William” after a fierce, disfiguring battle with a Saracen giant. In A Convoy to Nîmes and The Conquest of Orange, William conquers two important cities and wins the love of the Saracen Queen Orable. Tremendously popular in the Middle Ages, these works stand the test of time, and the accessible translations capture the sense of the original Old French decasyllabic verse without attempting to preserve or imitate its formal properties. The introduction to the volume discusses literary devices and motifs; historical context; issues of religious conflict, otherness, and gender roles; and themes such as loyalty and courage

Copies of the volume may be purchased on the publisher’s website for $85.

Jones, Catherine M., William W. Kibler, and Logan E. Whalen, trans. An Old French Trilogy: Texts from the William of Orange Cycle. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 2020.

Call for Papers: Impropriety and Notoriety in Courtly Society, Kalamazoo 2020

Impropriety and Notoriety in Courtly Society
Session for the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(7-10 May 2020 at Western Michigan University)
Sponsored by the International Courtly Literature Society, North American Branch

Paper Length: Roundtable, 7-10 minutes

Deadline for Submissions: 15 September 2019

Justification and Description:

Outrage! Scandal! Works of courtly literature are filled with instances of characters whose improper conduct brings infamy or fame. Nor are literary characters alone in being scandalised or titillated: such emotions have been felt by readers as well, leading to works being censored, indexed, banned, destroyed—and secretly preserved and shared withal.

Impropriety and notoriety have been and remain compelling forces both in establishing and in challenging cultural attitudes. In courtly literature, whether the text enforces a cultural view, or whether it offers an alternative that can coexist with or which seeks to undermine established social norms reflects upon the beliefs that shape the courtly world, suggesting questions about the values of literary characters and readers, then and now.

Proposals should address the topic of impropriety and resulting notoriety in courtly literature. For the purpose of this panel, ‘impropriety’ is broadly interpreted to mean conduct contrary to established social, cultural, political, or religious mores.

Proposals should be of approximately 100-250 words in length, and accompanied by a completed Participant Information Form. Those who are not currently members of the International Courtly Literature Society are welcome to submit to sessions sponsored by the ICLS but are expected to become members upon acceptance. Proposals that are not accepted for the session will be forwarded to the Congress Committee, which will consider them for inclusion in one of the General Sessions.

Organiser/Presider Information:
Shawn Phillip Cooper, Ph.D.
Vice-President, International Courtly Literature Society, North American Branch
Assistant Professor, Rochester University
Rochester Hills, Michigan
spcooper@rc.edu

Call for Papers: Arthurian (Im)Piety, Kalamazoo 2020

Arthurian (Im)Piety
Session for the 55^th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(7-10 May 2020 at Western Michigan University)
Sponsored by the International Arthurian Society, North American Branch

Paper Length: 10-15 minutes

Deadline for Submissions: 15 September 2019

Justification and Description:

Arthurian mythos is replete with examples of pious instruction, correction, and devotion, alongside instances of impious disobedience ranging from occasions of trivial disdain to excommunicable offences. The Arthurian world, with its hermits and bishops, its swearing on books and its disingenuous deceptions, its adulteries and devotions, and all of their manifold consequences (or lack thereof) can be read as a contrast between piety and impiety. Such a narrative reading reflects upon the fundamental beliefs that shape the Arthurian world as much as the moral worth of individual characters, giving rise to questions about the intersection of the courtly, the chivalric, and the doctrinal.

Proposals should address the topic of piety and/or impiety in Arthurian literature, film, or other media. For the purpose of this panel, ‘piety’ is broadly interpreted to mean devotion to established religious beliefs or authorities (Christian or otherwise); and, likewise, ‘impiety’ is interpreted to mean a rejection or disobedience of the same.

Proposals should be of approximately 100-250 words in length, and accompanied by a completed Participant Information Form. Those who are not currently members of the International Arthurian Society are welcome to submit to sessions sponsored by the IAS but are expected to become members upon acceptance. Proposals that are not accepted for the session will be forwarded to the Congress Committee, which will consider them for inclusion in one of the General Sessions.

Organiser/Presider Information:
Shawn Phillip Cooper, Ph.D.
International Arthurian Society,
North American Branch
Assistant Professor, Rochester University
Rochester Hills, Michigan
spcooper@rc.edu

News from the General Meeting of the 17th Triennial Congress

At the XVIIth Triennial Congress, the following officers were elected:

President: Emma Cayley (U of Leeds)
Vice-President: Patrick Moran (U of British Columbia)
Secretary: Rebecca Dixon (U of Liverpool)
Treasurer: Leah Tether (U of Bristol)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was chosen for the site of the XVIIIth Triennial Congress. Information will be forthcoming on this site.

Photos from the Congress were posted from the Society’s Twitter handle (@CourtlyLit) and by others using the hashtag #icls19.

New Volume! L’affirmation de soi chez les historiens

ICLS member Cristian Bratu (Baylor U) shares the publication of his new work, « Je, auteur de ce livre »: L’affirmation de soi chez les historiens, de l’Antiquité à la fin du Moyen Âge.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
In L’affirmation de soi chez les historiens, Cristian Bratu discusses authorial self-representations and self-promotion strategies in the works of ancient and medieval historians, from Herodotus (5th c. BC) to Philippe de Commynes (15th c. AD). After describing the emergence of an author figure in the works of ancient Greek and Roman historians, Bratu shows that, in spite of the emphasis placed by the nascent Christian civilization on humility, medieval historians were anything but self-effacing. Subsequently, he focuses on the authorial figures of French medieval historians who wrote in the vernacular between the 12th and 15th centuries. Bratu uses a variety of approaches (philology, codicology, narratology) in order to shed new light on the authorial figures of ancient and medieval historians.

« Je, auteur de ce livre »: L’affirmation de soi chez les historiens, de l’Antiquité à la fin du Moyen Âge. Later Medieval Europe Series (vol. 20). Leiden: Brill, 2019. xii+830 pages. ISBN 978-90-04-39807-8.

For more information or to purchase, visit the title’s page at Brill.

Call for Papers: “The Resonance of Jean de Meun’s Rose in Medieval Europe,” IMC Leeds 2020

Download flyer (PDF)

From organizers Anne Reynders ( KU Leuven) & Janet van der Meulen (VU Amsterdam):

The Old French Roman de la Rose was one the most influential and controversial medieval works in the vernacular. It was widely diffused , not only in French, but also in Italian , Middle Dutch and English translations and adaptations.

In a series of sessions at the International Medieval Congress we aim to examine the Rose’s multi-faceted resonance , in the extant European translations adaptations and other literary texts as well as in material artifacts, decorated manuscripts, ‘erotic ’ badges and others).

We invite in particular proposals addressing the reception of Jean de Meun’s provocative play with pagan and christian authors and the concept
of contraires choses.

Although most papers in Leeds are in English, we accept papers in English and French. At the IMC in Leeds, papers are 20 minutes long and followed by 10 minutes discussion.

Please send abstracts of 100 words , along with a short biography (incl. affliation), to anne.reynders@kuleuven.be by 20 September 2019.

Please also feel free to send any queries to the same email address. We look forward to hearing from you !

Call for Papers: New College Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Studies

From the New College Conference organizers:

The twenty-second biennial New College Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Studies will take place 12-14 March 2020 in Sarasota, Florida. The program committee invites 250-word abstracts of proposed twenty-minute papers on topics in European and Mediterranean history, literature, art, music and religion from the fourth to the seventeenth centuries. Interdisciplinary work is particularly appropriate to the conference’s broad historical and disciplinary scope. Planned sessions are also welcome. The deadline for all abstracts is 15 September 2019; for submission guidelines or to submit an abstract, please go to http://www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp.

Junior scholars whose abstracts are accepted are encouraged to submit their papers for consideration for the Snyder Prize (named in honor of conference founder Lee Snyder), which carries an honorarium of $400. Further details are available at the conference website.

The Conference is held on the campus of New College of Florida, the honors college of the Florida state system. The college, located on Sarasota Bay, is adjacent to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, which will offer tours arranged for conference participants. Sarasota is noted for
its beautiful public beaches, theater, food, art and music. Average temperatures in March are a pleasant high of 77F (25C) and a low of 57F (14C).

More information will be posted on the conference website as it becomes available, including plenary speakers, conference events, and area attractions. Please send any inquiries to info@newcollegeconference.org.

http://www.newcollegeconference.org
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