{"id":2078,"date":"2014-01-01T03:39:55","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T03:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/?p=2078"},"modified":"2017-09-18T19:49:46","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T19:49:46","slug":"2008-international-congress-on-medieval-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/2008-international-congress-on-medieval-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"2008 Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

8\u201311 May 2008<\/h3>\n

[First published on our first website on *20 December 2007, with updates there and here<\/em>]<\/p>\n

At the 2008 Congress, the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence<\/strong> sponsored two Sessions and co-sponsored one Session with the Societas Magica<\/strong><\/a>, in the third year of this co-sponsorship.\u00a0 As customary, various Trustees and Associates of the Research Group participated at the Congress in various capacities.<\/p>\n

I. Sessions sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Logo<\/a>1. “Bark at the Rune: Transforming the Medieval Werewolf”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Given the rising interest in teratology<\/a> among medievalists (stirred in part by the theoretical endeavors of Jeffrey Jerome Cohen), it is no surprise that a particular interest in werewolves is on the rise as well. As metamorphic hybrids, werewolves occupy a particularly monstrous space in the medieval mind, as is evidenced by the persistence of werewolf lore throughout the Middle Ages in locations from Wales and Ireland to France, Germany, and Scandinavia (not to mention variants in the “exotic East”). Far more than simply scary monsters, werewolves encouraged humans to reconsider ideas about self\/other, category change, transubstantiation, and so forth.<\/p>\n

\"Gathering<\/a>

Gathering for Session 2 at the 2008 Congress. Photography by Larissa Tracy.<\/p><\/div>\n

This session considered a range of lycanthropic questions, from the pragmatic aspects of lycanthropy (how human-to-wolf transformation was effected), through the specific roles of werewolves within a within a culture (how the Celtic werewolf works within Celtic society), to the modern lycanthropic inheritance owed the Middle Ages (how the werewolf-as-detective endures in pop culture). The experience of our session on monstrosity at the 2007 Congress<\/strong><\/a>, with its excellent turnout, the stimulating questions from the audience, and the lively discussion about medieval lycanthropy led us to explore this boundary-breaking monster further at the Congress in 2008. Once that stage was launched, there was no looking back.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Session begins. Photography by Larissa Tracy.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Presenting<\/a>

The Session sets the scene for the second paper. Photography by Larissa Tracy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Organizer: Jeff Massey<\/strong> (Molloy College, Rockville Center, New York)<\/p>\n

Presider: Mildred Budny<\/strong> (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)<\/p>\n

Presenters:<\/p>\n