Heather Rose Jones's Blog, page 84
May 12, 2019
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 504: Joan the Woman
Kalamazoo
Sunday 8:30
[I picked this session because it ties in with some material I’ve been looking at on Jeanne d’Arc and gender identity, and because she was on my mind from the trail materials I mentioned in my own paper on cross-dressing.]
Sponsor: International Joan of Arc Society/Société Internationale de l’étude de Jeanne d’Arc
The Redhead and the Widow: Gender Models and Modifications in Joan of Arc’s Two Trials
Tara B. Smithson, Manchester Univ.
Using the lens of a film on the subject, the paper focuses on how Joan was “rehabilitated” in the posthumous second trial, and especially how the content of that rehabilitation framed her as a gendered being, in relation to two women: her mother, and the owner of a boarding house at which Jeanne stayed. The speaker views Jeanne as a queer figure, using the definition of David Halperin as someone disruptive to the social norms. The figure of the “virgin” as Jeanne was framed, is prototypically a young, white, heterosexual, able-bodied figure. Virginity can be viewed positively at one age/life stage and negatively at others. Jeanne’s very first trial was not relating to her military activities but relating to a broken engagement, a context in which she rejected default life scripts. The “pucelle” was not simply a virgin but a specific life stage, roughly from 8-18. This term was more commonly used in her rehabilitation trial, and not the trial that condemned her. That original trial worked to undermine her as a gendered being, or focusing on negative aspects of womanhood such as accusations of witchcraft. [Key passages in the paper are being given in untranslated French.] Something about how the broken engagement was due to Jeanne’s lodging at the boarding house in a suspect age/context? In the main trial, Jeanne is depicted as alone and estranged from her family, while the rehabilitation trial reintegrates her within her family and envisions her possible life within a normative female paradigm. The rehabilitation also frames her as an innocent virgin in need of the church’s protection, needing to be also reintegrated into the family of the church. There is now a digression about the current case of Caster Semenya and how institutions define and regulation female identity.
Profaning the Pucelle: Voltaire Comments on the Body Politic
Stephanie L. Coker, Univ. of North Alabama
The author’s background is largely on modern pop cultural and dramatic adaptations of Jeanne d’Arc’s story. Topic is a mock-epic poem by Voltaire on Jeanne’s life, asserted to be the only humorous treatment of the subject, considered by some to be unacceptably so. Later editions may have incorporated additional even more scandalous material that Voltaire disowned. This paper examines the work as a political comment on French affairs, rather than a personal attack on Jeanne herself. Voltaire had a pattern of iconoclasm into which this work fits. The satire revolves strongly around challenging the idea of Jeanne’s virginity and purity, thereby undermining her right to be the redeemer of France, but the author suggests that Voltaire is instead using Jeanne to stand for a sullied and degraded ideal of France. But to do this he raises doubt about Jeanne’s virginity and morality. A discussion of the chronology of terms used in French for young women and virgins (pucelle > demoiselle > vierge). “Pucelle” is not simply a virgin but a young woman on the edge of adulthood. In Jeanne’s day “vierge” was sometimes added to it to emphasize a virgin state. Was Voltaire’s work anti-nationalist and anti-religion? Or simply anti- the current instances of those concepts in his day?
Not As Advertised: The Ringling Bros. Joan of Arc Spectacle
Scott Manning, Independent Scholar
A circus spectacular in 1912 took Joan as it subject and may have been a major vehicle for popular images of her in the American imagination. [https://www.google.com/search?q=Ringling+brothers+joan+of+arc&tbm=isch&s... So what version of Joan’s story did this spectacle tell? The primary emphasis was on the size and elaborateness of the spectacle itself. A secondary emphasis was on the inspirational nature of Joan’s story, emphasizing both Joan’s humble origins contrasted with her accomplishments. At a far third, there was an intent to educate about the historic facts of Joan’s life. The spectacle lasted 30-45 minutes (depending on sources). The posters advertised 1100 participants, but eyewitnesses, surviving cast photos, and cast lists suggest a more realistic number would be around 250. The structure was: Part 1: Joan goes to meet Baudricourt; Part 2: the court of the Dauphin with a joust and Joan’s recognition of the Dauphin; Part 3: the coronation of Charles; Part 4: a tableau of King Charles and Joan eating dinner. As might be seen, this sequence does not provide any clear idea of the historic events. Joan is presented as a “sweet, simple, poor peasant girl” and the violent and depressing aspects of her stories were carefully avoided.
The Patron Saint of Dysphoria: Joan of Arc as Transgender
M. W. Bychowski, Case Western Reserve Univ.
The question of Joan of Arc’s transgender identity is used today to disparage the concept of transgender figures in the middle ages, as well as being treated as a symbol of transgender understandings as an attack of “white womanhood”. The paper looks at the question more sincerely from a historic viewpoint and a transgender lens. Initially the paper looks at the contemporary political context and the idea of a “patron” as contrasted with interpreting Joan as personally transgender. The paper moves on to understanding how a medieval concept equivalent to transphobia was certainly a major motivating force behind Joan’s conviction and death. Joan is seen as a patron or icon for many different groups, but especially for women in non-traditional gender roles. People who identify with her in this context may feel a personal stake in Joan’s female identity and resist considering her in a transgender context lest they “lose” her as an identifying figure. And yet, patron saints are often patrons for a wide diversity of groups and activities without personally instantiating those identities (as with Saint Nicholas being patron of a variety of occupations). Saint Marinus is another saint identified as a patronage figure for trans-masculine people. Joan represents trans-masculinity in a variety of ways, including crossing gender boundaries due to the gender coding of specific occupations, such as the military. But Joan’s testimony and circumstances reflect concepts that fit well into modern concepts of gender dysphoria. A discussion of how the current definitions of gender dysphoria focuses on a mismatch between personal and societal expectations, not as purely an internal conflict. So, for example, the continuing conflict over Joan’s gendered clothing during her trial fits well into this understanding of dysphoria. Similarly the gendering of concepts such as “virgin” and “knight” create a context for gender dysphoria in the conflict over Joan’s activities. Within this context, the question “is Joan an appropriate patron for those experiencing gender dysphoria?” is entirely separate from the question “could Joan be understood as a trans man?”
[I found this paper quite interesting as it intersected the question of the discourse around Joan and clothing gender in my own presentation.]
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
May 11, 2019
Kalamazoo Book Haul - Part 1
Kalamazoo
These are the books I’m carrying home with me. I’ll blog the ones I had shipped as they arrive. First, books picked up for the Lesbian Historic Motif Project:
Dipiero, Thomas and Pat Gill (eds). 1997. Illicit Sex: Identity Politics in Early Modern Culture. The University of Georgia Press, Athens. ISBN 0-8203-1884-1
There are only a couple of articles that look relevant, but the book was only $5.
Amtower, Laurel & Dorothea Kehler (eds). 2003. The Single Woman in Medieval and Early Modern England: Her Life and Representation. Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Tempe. ISBN 0-86698-306-6
None of the articles is specifically about same-sex sexuality, but the question of how, when, and where women lived lives outside of heterosexual marriage is always relevant to developing fictional characters with same-sex desires.
Books on women’s lives in history generally:
MacDonald, Joyce Green. 2002. Women and Race in Early Modern Texts. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-81016-7
Topics relating to the presence and absence of women of color in English drama of the 16-17th century, both in terms of production, representation, and reception.
Erler, Mary C. and Maryanne Kowaleski (eds.) 2003. Gendering the Master Narrative: Women and Power in the Middle Ages.
Studies that look at female power, not as a lesser version of male power, but as acting in different spheres via different mechanisms.
Books picked up for deep background research on everyday life in various historic contexts. (I have a lot of books of this type on my shelves, awaiting their chance to prove their worth.)
Whittle, Jane (ed.). 2017. Servants in Rural Europe 1400-1900. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge. ISBN 978-1-78327-239-6
Various articles on the titular topic. Mostly studies of systems of employment in particular regions and times.
Swabey, ffiona. 1999. Medieval Gentlewoman: Life in a Widow’s Household in the Later Middle Ages. Sutton Publishing, Phoenix Mill. ISBN 0-7509-1644-3
An analysis of the domestic arrangements and economy of one particular English widow of the late 14th and early 15th century. Perhaps an unusual woman in terms of her substantial wealth and properties, but a useful example of a legally independent woman of means in the late medieval era.
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoobook intake
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 484: The Lady as Lord:
Kalamazoo
[This is the time of day when blogging becomes extra important to keep me focused. Not that the papers aren’t fascinating! But I’m starting to get people overload.]
The Lady as Lord: The Exercise of Lordship by the Wives, Widows, and Heiresses of Territorial Lords of All Ranks and the Problems It Presented, ca. 1070–ca. 1500
Saturday 3:30
Sponsor: Seigneurie: The International Society for the Study of the Nobility, Lordship, and Knighthood
Formal and Informal Expressions of Power in Twelfth- and Early Thirteenth-Century Flanders: The Public Roles of Mathilda of Portugal, Wife of Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders (1183–1218)
Els de Paermentier, Univ. Gent
Part of a continuing challenge to the idea that women had little access to power in the middle ages. A new approach looks at less “institutional” forms of power, and a consideration of women as fulfilling multiple structural roles that involved access to and employment of other forms of power. Mathilda is a useful example to explore as she outlived her husband by nearly 20 years and continued to play an important role in Flemish politics. She also had a substantial extent of dower lands which brought her into conflict and negotiation with many contemporaries. Three sources of evidence: “static” formal power due to social position, “dynamic” power deployed by strategies and interactions, records of how her male contemporaries viewed her. A brief outline of her familial and political background. The charters from her period of regency and in her widowhood do not differ in substance from what one sees for a hereditary ruler. She was involved in many local conflicts, not as a participant necessarily but as an adjudicator in local feuds. She also had influence through her oversight of the daughters of Baldwin IX (her great-nieces) and she had significant input into their marriages. The witness lists for her charters reveal her efforts to strengthen the pro-France party in Flanders, as well as to balance the main factional rivalry among the Flemish nobility. Conclusions: beyond Mathilda’s official status as Countess of Flanders, she was able to act independently as regent and widow to have continuing political and social power and influence, especially due to the extent and importance of her dower lands. But she enhanced this by strategic social connections and personal alliances.
Isabella of Lennox after the 1425 Executions: Successes and Failures of Female Power in Late Medieval Scotland
Shayna Devlin, Univ. of Guelph
[This paper was not presented.]
The Lady as Lord in the Fifteenth-Century Duchy of Bourbon
Maureen B. M. Boulton, Univ. of Notre Dame/Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
We begin with a brief geographic and historic contextualization of Bourbon. The paper will focus on two women, from the beginning and end of the 15th century: Marie and Anne. Their influence was implemented, in part, through an extensive specialized household staff. Official power and financial resources might come through husbands and fathers, but women had control over how they were implemented. Further, women such as Marie might hold substantial de facto power when appointed as regent during their husband’s absence. Marie gained power through marriage but also as her father’s heir in Auvergne. (Her father was the famous Duc du Berry, he of the fabulous manuscripts.) She used this wealth and influence to support religious establishments, as well as for her own purposes, such as to bargain with the English for her third husband’s release (captured at Agincourt). She spent most of that marriage functionally in charge of her husband’s lands as well as her own. Reference to conduct books for noble women that recognized their power and responsibility in providing them with guidance for how to use them appropriately. She was part of an entire generation of French noblewomen who had to deal with the death or other loss of male relatives to the ongoing wars with England. Anne de France was married as a child to Pierre, duke of Bourbon, a marriage that evidently was a successful partnership. The two ruled France as regents for Anne’s brother Charles VIII, but although Pierre was the official regent, their contemporaries recognized Anne as the true power. Her position must be identified in unofficial sources, including complaints about her influence, including in military matters. After Pierre’s death, Anne continued to rule in Bourbon in the name of their daughter, rather than ceding power to the French crown. Anne herself wrote an advice manual for her daughter, in expectation that she too will hold significant power and responsibility. Summary of the types of power and influence held by these two women, illustrative of types of “unofficial” lordship prevalent underneath the official structures.
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 392: More Fuss about the Body: New Medievalists’ Perspectives
Kalamazoo
Saturday 1:30
[Note: The presenters requested that the session not be blogged. The first paper concerned the mythic “bifurcated” hermaphodite figure and its geographic localization. The second suggested the need for an awareness of the biological sourcing of ivory as a medieval art medium. The third concerned the nature of the identity/body relationship in a specific werewolf romance.
Hermaphrodites and the Boundaries of Sex in the High Middle Ages
Leah DeVun, Rutgers Univ.
The Body in the Tusk: An Ecocritical Study
Emma Le Pouésard, Columbia Univ.
Perception and Bodily Identity in the Twelfth-Century Werewolf Renaissance
Andrea Whitacre, Indiana Univ.–Bloomington
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 339: Archaeology and Experiment: Moving beyond the Artifacts
Kalamazoo
Saturday 10:00
Sponsor: AVISTA: The Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art; EXARC
Working with Craftsmen: The “It Depends” Dilemma
Christina Petty, Univ. of Manchester
General topic is the necessary ambiguity and variation of practice in crafts, making clear and objective description of the functionality and logistics of object production. “Expert” knowledge is highly reliant on expertise, but in trying to evaluate historic practices, one must know not only the physical requirements of the practice, but the range of individual expertise of the practitioners. Experience with modern standardized materials and techniques is misleading when trying to understand historic practice.
[This is largely a personal philosophical exploration of issues from a subjective point of view and with a very informal chatty style. I may have made it sound more structured than the paper itself. It also fails to recognize the likely differences between the expertise range among modern craftsmen versus the likely range or practice/experience among historic people practicing those same crafts as a lifelong economic profession. Range of variation among modern craftspeople may be important for creating estimates for experimental projects but may not be useful for trying to project historic practice.]
Experiencing Viking Age Spinning Technologies
V. M. Roberts, York Univ.
Opens with a similar theme: individual expertise may vary, but in a historic economic-career context, producers tend to be consistent with expertise known to their market. Using a social anthropology approach to analyzing spinning techniques by experienced researchers and practitioners. Discusses “bodily knowledge” for techniques like spinning (I’d call it kinesthetic knowledge). Effects of repeated physical practice on the body, even to the point of being interpretable from skeletal remains. “Technologies are ...communities of practice....” But we can’t access historic communities of practice except by how they are reflected in the surviving work. His research was based on recursive interviews with a small group of practitioners, following up on recurring topics to explore subjective concerns from within the practice. Conclusions can be non-intuitive, e.g., that spindle weight is irrelevant to thread size, any thickness of thread can be spun on any weight of spindle. Communities may have beliefs about whether heavy or light spindles are better for a particular weight of thread, but these are in conflict between different communities. Points out that the accumulated weight of thread on a spindle will typically be larger than the weight of the spindle itself, therefore the spinning of a consistent thread must be independent of spindle weight. This suggests that attempts to correlate spindle whorl size/weight/material with particular types of thread production may be produce conclusions more in line with the investigator’s beliefs about practice than about historic reality.
[This was also a somewhat informally structured paper.]
Modeling of the Thermodynamic Properties of Interior Processes within a Barrel Smelter Using Measurements of Exterior Temperature Gradients
Robert Gissing, Conestoga College
[This paper did not appear.]
The Making and Breaking of Moulds: An Experimental Approach to Non-Ferrous Metalworking in Sweden
Rachel Cogswell, Univ. College Dublin
Topic is experimental work on Vendel-era bronze casting. Two basic types of mould creation: direct matrix by pressing the object into the mould, or lost wax where the object is created in wax and the mold created around it then the wax is removed. Working with a site with a large number of mould fragments for making clasp buttons (4-8th c. Sweden). Object is used for fasten cuffs, legs of breeches. These items are highly detailed and three dimensional, requiring a multi-part mould. Due to physical structure, lost wax is more likely as an approach. Beekeeping wasn’t prevalent in that era and area., but there is evidence of beeswax in gravesites. Her research project was to investigate whether multi-part or lost-wax moulds better fit the available evidence. Possibly hybrid technique using tin models where the basic shape is created by a standard method (ensuring regularity) then elaborated in the details. Various experiments for multi-part moulds had issues especially for such a small object (e.g., different parts of the mould shrinking in different ways). Wet clay worked best for multi-part moulds. Experiments with multi-part versus lost-wax suggested that the latter was more efficient with respect to time per object. So do broken moulds match the archaeological evidence? The lost-wax moulds tended to shatter, while the multi-part ones fractured along the construction lines (I think she indicates this is more characteristic of the remains?). (I get the impression that the multi-part moulds are created in pieces while wet, then assembled, then cast while still wet. So still single-use.) Both methods had loss of decorative elements. The multi-valve approach sometimes had flashing that must be removed. Overall conclusions: multi-part moulds seem likeliest but this is a skilled procedure for consistent success. Suggestions for further research to pin down details and remaining questions.
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 333: Mastering Humiliation in Medieval Literature
Kalamazoo
Saturday 8:30 (Plenary Session)
Bonnie Wheeler, Southern Methodist Univ.
[This is going to be very stream of consciousness.]
Begins with an overview of her experiences with the medieval congress and recognizing how it has changed and continued to work on inclusivity. The need for change and open minds. Kalamazoo as a community and enjoyable experience. Moving on to the paper topic...
A look at how men deal with harmful words and humiliation. In modern culture, we often deal with this only in connection with other cultures. (Political references from current events.) Medieval scholars often posit a contrast between honor and shame, but she suggests that honor is dependent on the experience of shame and humiliation. Overcoming and mastering humiliation is essential for creating literature about masculine power. Chivalric literature is rife with anxiety about masculine humiliation. Understanding masculine humiliation--and how it can be erased--is essential for understanding medieval literary themes. (A moment to recognize the work of many historians on the topic of emotion and affect in medieval texts.)
These historic literatures were adopted in the 19th century as “national literatures” that were considered to reflect essential character. The focus will be on Arthurian literature, esp. Mallory. “Humiliation” is the public face of shame, the way of experiencing the opposite of worship. But these experiences--honor and shame--exist outside a strict binary. Emotions are themselves culturally constructed experiences, but this position is not uncontested, with the other pole being that emotions are abstract bodily experiences that have objective meaning and reality.
She focuses on the management of humiliation in literary contexts. Example: the unwanted dinner invitation in Norse literature and how cultures are maintained across time by characteristic experiences of envy, shame, etc. Example: gifts create debts, a gift can be seen as an attack. in an honor-based system. In Egil’s saga, Egil wants to manage his own reputation without reliance on external factors such as what others say or do with regard to you. Examples given of creative insults within Old Norse society and how they constructed standards of masculinity. Such taunts and insults require response--in the sagas, this will be violent. Although not all scholars have recognized it overtly, shame is almost always about gender. About the loss of masculinity and feminization. But how do you recuperate from this type of shame/humiliation in literature?
Example: Peter Abelard - Abelard’s social power was largely through eloquent language. The social consequences of his persuasion of Heloise was castration, the ultimate masculine humiliation. How does Abelard recover his reputation from this? In his autobiography, he claims to ahve mastered desire and pride via his castration, thus that his alleged humiliation made him a “better man” by enabling him to resist temptation and sin. He uses rhetorical strategies to side-step the overt meaning of castration and reframe it as positive.
Imaginative literature creates a context for imagining a variety of scenarios of male humiliation and thus to provide a context for examining recuperative strategies. Examples from the Iliad. Humiliation is responded to by prowess--either in deeds or words--but prowess is not a stable feature. Comparison of Roland in the Charlemagne epic with Achilles in the Iliad - both are doomed young heroes whose lives revolve around the maintenance of masculine honor. Example: El Cid, how does a shamed vassal recuperate his reputation? The audience is, throughout aligned to El Cid as the sympathetic character. His accomplishments are enumerated in a way that the reader/listener can recognize. Even though his lord is unworthy, El Cid’s honor is redeemed apart from the worthiness of the one he acts to redeem it from. He gathers lands, goods, allies, and power. Through ritualized acts of public submission, he regains his lord’s approval. Self-abasement is a hyper-masculine weapon against undeserved humiliation. Comparison to the trials of Job. The lesson is how to be “good servants” of power, regardless if power deserves our service.
Example: Yvaine’s failure to keep his vow to this lady must be redeemed by repeated acts of prowess, but his male comrades never participates in voicing his shame, the struggle is internal, balancing the external masculine honor with the internal gender-reversed structures of the chivalric lover. Fear of humiliation drives chivalric valor. Success for one requires failure for another.
Example: Sir Palomedes who functions as the foil to the “winners” who have been chosen to be the heroes. Palomedes is good, but his abilities exist to be the loser so others may win, and this is shown to be a humiliation for him. He represents male fear of loss and lack.
Example: 14th c English legal case, plaintiff defends himself by saying he never did anything only said something. Loss was intangible. Earliest know case of defamation. What is “loss of a good name”? How can it be redressed? Is it even a crime? The history of slander law gives us a history of how words were understood as causing harm. Reputation is public property, not a personal attribute. One can lose fame not only by one’s own actions, but on what others say about one. In chivalric culture, the ultimate shame is to be feminized and have it stand uncontested. Lists of “best knights” contributed to the reputation of the characters. Identity and reputation must be unitary, reciprocal, and public. See e.g., how Lancelot is the constant subject of gossip and rumor. If you’re already the best, how do you maintain that reputation? Lancelot can only address slander by prowess in battle. But his success in battle is not capable of stopping further gossip, and is therefore inadequate to maintain or recover reputation.
The era of the rise of chivalric literature also sees the decline of legal “proof by ordeal”. At the same time, the details of slander law show the instability of licit vs illicit speech. Church law supports excommunication for slanderers (though a defense was that the subject of the speech was a person of ill fame). Under defamation law, the harm to a person’s reputation might be considered more important than the harm of the actions described by the speech. This could be true even if the slander was true. The intent of the speech was itself a crime. This legal principle was not shifted until after the medieval period.
How do characters like Gawain and Lancelot manage their humiliation? Lancelot’s reputation requires that he be talked about (well) but that same speech is what he is most vulnerable to. Speech and physical prowess are in conflict. He is the best of knights but that is insufficient to counter speech. Only by speech can speech be countered.
Example of Arthur as a nexus of humiliation and recuperation.
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
May 10, 2019
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 295: Embedded in the Mainstream: Ritual Magic Incorporated in “Legitimate” Texts
Kalamazoo
[I apologize for not catching some of the key names and texts referenced. Often in specialized sessions, there’s an assumption that the audience shares a fairly elaborate body of background knowledge and I, alas, am often deficient. No blogging of the earlier Friday sessions because I was busy book shopping at all the academic press booths. Will blog about books later.]
Friday 13:30
Sponsor: Research Group on Manuscript Evidence; Societas Magica
Scriptural Dreaming: Revisiting the Exstacy Defense
Claire Fanger, Rice Univ.
Examines how the Ars Notoria [not sure if I’ve heard that right -- the Ars Notoria seems to be part of the “Key of Solomon”] was reinterpreted and embedded in orthodox devotional texts, such as the “Flowers [... not sure what the rest of the title is], and there is mixed evidence that it was considered an acceptable understanding. Connections are made between dreams and visions, and the use of visions offered ex post facto as a defense against charges of heresy. Rupert of Deutz [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_of_Deutz] wrote extensively on his visions and his interpretation of them to claim special understanding of scripture. The dreams/visions often have erotic elements, envisioning the dreamer’s soul as a young woman awaiting marriage. Another 13th c. writer [John ...something?] writes how his own visions must be considered “apocrypha” even how he describes them in detail, until approved by authorities. In both cases, these visions are embedded in existing traditions of practice and text that give them an orthodox context and increasing the chance of acceptance.
Scriptural References as Legitimation Strategy in Late Medieval German Magical Formulas
Chiara Benati, Univ. degli Studi di Genova
Late medieval and early modern German manuscripts are more likely to have deleted and censored charms than the earlier texts due to an increased concern over superstition. Originally applied to elite magic but then extended to folk magic such as spells and charms. Theological debate focused on distinguishing between licit and illicit magical practices. Seen, for example, in 15th c. legal action against the performance of healing formulas. But this increased scrutiny did not result in a decrease in the inclusion of charms and blessings in manuscripts, though some writers may have been more careful about their implications and used strategies to legitimate them, such as including scriptural references in the text--either to “hide” them or to mitigate the negative effects on readers. An example is given of a magical charm for retrieving stolen property. Various scriptural phrases in Latin are included and there is an instruction to recite a Pater and Ave as part of the charm. This 15th c 4-stage charm is reminiscent of a 2-stage charm for similar purpose found in Old English, Dutch, and other sources. The operator goes behind an altar or to a crossroads and speaks a formula to know where the thief has gone, then addresses the four compass directions demanding that the stolen goods be returned. To this, the 15th c. charm adds the repetition of standard prayers and additional directional repetitions. Another example, in a wound blessing: adding language from the apostolic creed, and references to the Gospel, taking up more than half the text in which the healing charm is embedded: “may these wounds be protected against wind, water and pain”. Speculation that this language was added by the writer to protect against the impression that the formula represented illicit magic. But in the 1405 trial against Werner of Friedberg for the use of healing charms, the very use of these formulas was seen as suspect.
Not Underground: Learned Lapidaries and the Reformation of Ritual Magic
Vajra Regan
Discusses belief in Albertus Magnus et al. that the magical power of precious stones surpasses the power of herbs, and even words for effectiveness. “Lapidaries” (catalogs of the properties of stones) were a widespread genre and the contents were often functionally identical to similar content in magical texts. But the learned lapidaries were rarely condemned as the magical texts were, falling between the categories of purely supernatural writings and purely scientific ones. But this paper points out that content overlap--that learned lapidaries may have functioned as an important conduit for occult knowledge due to their “legitimate” status. Distinction between descriptive content versus texts that discuss how to create and imbue amulets with magical properties. In format, these have the elements considered characteristic of demonic or talismanic magic. Comparisons are made between the corresponding texts in Bartholomeus de Ripa Romea’s De lapidibus and Marbode of Rennes De lapidibus, between the same and Techel’s Liber sigillorum, although the latter dodges the suggestion that the user will be creating magical talismans as opposed to happening upon stones with the relevant characteristics and properties. The paper looks in detail at Bartholomeus de Ripa Romea’s work. Discussion of an amulet called the “zona Veneris” (strap/band of Venus) that uses a stone called adamas that causes impotence. In the “sigil” portion of the books of Bartholomeus and Techel, there are key distinctions where Techel edits out references to pagan deities or the deliberate engraving of images on stones, and only describes their properties. In Bartholomeus this is followed by a discussion of how to consecrate stones (adopting a prior text that invoked Solomon and demons, but rearranging the elements to distract from the connection). Lapidary texts held a contested place with regard to orthodoxy, but the careful manipulation of overtly magical elements could be used to make them more acceptable.
In Plain Sight: The Promotion of Astrology and Magic at Royal Courts in the Thirteenth Century in Transcultural Perspective: A Response: Michael A. Conrad, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Univ. Zürich
Discusses the official employment of astrologers at royal courts in Iberia, initially by Islamic rulers but later by Christian courts. The astrologers were commonly, though not exclusively Jewish. The desire to know the future through divination was both approved and considered potentially dangerous. This danger could be managed through official regulation and licensing. Alfonso X (13th c.) was particularly obsessed with using astrological guidance in government, even to the point of using it to set the price of bread. But other contemporaries of his similarly employed court astrologers. This interest in technological knowledge as essential to good government extended to supporting many other fields, such as clock making. It was only later that Alfonso’s interest in astrology was viewed negatively and as superstition. Alfonso’s official interest in magical activities was ambiguous, recognizing both prohibited practices with ill intent and approved ones.
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
May 9, 2019
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 34b - Interview with Molly Tanzer
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 34b - Interview with Molly Tanzer - transcript pending
(Originally aired 2019/05/11 - listen here)
Topics
Finding inspiration in 18-19th century literature
Queer themes in historic literature and how they are erased
Exploring the decadent movement and gender-flipping The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The complexities of signaling queer content in mainstream books--are queer relationships spoilers?
Cultural intersections in Vermillion and why there aren’t any sequels at this point
Shifts in the social landscape in how authors approach gender, sexuality, and cultural background
Molly’s attraction to 18th century settings, being inspired by historic aesthetics and artistic movements
Conversations that manifest in artistic output
The roots of the modern novel in women’s literature of the 18th century
Trying to write in the current political climate
Molly’s Books
Creatures of Will and Temper
Creatures of Want and Ruin
Creatures of Charm and Hunger (forthcoming in Spring 2020)
Vermillion
Rumbullion (novella) - 18th c “Rashomon with fops” (male protagonist)
The Pleasure Merchant - 18th c (male protagonist)
Other books mentioned
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
A Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft
Pamela: or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson
Clarissa: or the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
Social Media
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Major category: LHMPTags: LHMPpodcast
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 110: Dress and Textiles III: Kings, Knights, and Courtiers
Kalamazoo
Thursday 3:30
Sponsor: DISTAFF (Discussion, Interpretation, and Study of Textile Arts, Fabrics, and Fashion)
Motivations for French and Mediterranean Royal Sumptuary Laws: Translations of the Lives of the Caesars
Sarah-Grace Heller, Ohio State Univ.
Discussion of purposes of sumptuary laws and whether they really fit under the category “law”. Paper will look at 13th c sumptuary laws and ancient works that discuss sumptuary laws and their dissemination. Suetonius cites the imposition of early Roman laws against excess luxury as a sign of good government. The term ‘sumptuary law” did not come in until the Renaissance. So what were they called in the middle ages? 13th c. texts such as those discussing Phillip Augustus use “statuta.” The application of “Augustus” was part of an echo back to the Roman empire. 13th c. Spanish “proclamations” have similar effect.. “Establissement” is also used. These texts cover not only clothing and other consumption, but behavior, including arrangements for transportation. Some elements were universal but many are stratified based on class and income. Charles II of Anjou, king of Sicily makes reference to legis (laws) of the paste but calls his own rules statutes. Implication that they were not intended to be as durable and fixed as “laws”, but perhaps temporary restrictions. Compare 13th c. editions of Gellius on Roman frugality requirements, which in his own time were considered “something our forefathers implemented that have now been forgotten.” Also medieval editions of Suitonius, similarly talking about restrictions by the Caesars on consumption and display. When Philips’s “establissementz” of 1294 restricted similar lists of items, were these items truly a living issue in the 13th century or were they included in imitation of the Caesars?
Getting to the Point: Testing Protective Qualities of Fabric Armors
Robert Charrette, Independent Scholar
The author has requested that his paper not be blogged.
Quilting Cotton into Shape: Experimental Quilting Methods and Treatments to Achieve Fashionable Form
Jessica Finley, Independent Scholar
Description of methods and equipment to process cotton from the field to workable fiber. After being compressed for shipment, beating serves to separate the fibers and increase volume. Next stage uses a bow to further beat the fibers using a vibrating string. As each cotton fiber is a single-celled hollow tube, wetting it changes the behavior as it re-absorbs water. Once wetted, the cotton fibers can be compressed and will not re-expand until dry again. In cotton-quilted fabric armor, a typical structure is 5 layers, two pairs of cloth (linen & silk) and an inner layer of cotton fiber. The quilting goes through all layers, including the cotton. Difficulties include how to perform the quilting stitches through all the layers, and how to pattern around the interior padding. To improve stitching techniques, used long vice to clamp the layers and sail-maker’s tools for sewing heavy fabric. The garment is painted with linseed oil and carbon and this can be done before or after the sewing constructions, with “before” having technical advantages. Quilt individual pieces separately and then assemble into garment. In order to more easily quilt through the cotton batting, quilt a partially stuffed layer, then wet and add more batting stuffed into the channels, which will expand when dry to a density closer to the original model. Alternate method, with cotton rolled into tubes and placed between the stitching, not quilting through the batting itself. Construct with linen+batting+linen, then add silk exterior fabric after initial quilting. Quilting stiffens the resulting garment, but the manipulation of straight-grain and bias in the fabric also affects shaping. Additional padding in key areas, also provide shaping. Overall, different techniques are required to achieve different effects and functions in the finished garment.
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
Blogging Kalamazoo Session 62: Dress and Textiles II: Transformation and Ambiguity
Kalamazoo
Thursday 1:30
Sponsor: DISTAFF (Discussion, Interpretation, and Study of Textile Arts, Fabrics, and Fashion)
No notes on this session as I was presenting.
Swaddled Child or Shrouded Body? Textile Evidence from an Anglo-Saxon Boxwood Carving
Sarah M. Anderson, Princeton Univ.
Material Transformations and Sartorial Ambiguity: Dress in Chrétien de Troyes’s Conte du Graal
Monica L. Wright, Univ. of Louisiana–Lafayette
Passing and Failing: The Role of Clothing in Gender-Disguise Narratives
Heather Rose Jones, Independent Scholar
Major category: ConventionsTags: Kalamazoo
