Formulas in Medieval Culture 6, 2024

 The sixth edition of the biennial conference on Formulas in Medieval Culture will take place on June 18-20, 2024 and will be hosted by Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne in collaboration with Université du Mans.

The event will take place in a major medieval site: the city of Troyes. It will provide scholars with an opportunity to engage further in an interdisciplinary reflection on the concept of formulaicity and to examine what exactly the word ‘formula’ means in different research fields.

Generally speaking, formulas are characterized by a degree of fixity or regularity, allowing room for innovation. Formal stability reveals a will to guarantee permanence: the deliberate repetition of a formula is intended to ensure the continuity of a tradition. Paradoxically, this is precisely what legitimizes and facilitates innovation or variation.

Medieval modes of thinking and representation rely heavily on formulas, that is to say on the expected return of recognizable devices. If scholars no longer see formulas as mere empty shells or meaningless phrases, it is still necessary to analyze further the mechanisms and the agents through which meaning is increased or altered.

This international and interdisciplinary conference invites medievalists of all disciplinary backgrounds – history, literature, linguistics, musicology, law, art history, theology, etc. – to take part.

The wealth of our local heritage – Chrétien de Troyes, Rachi, the Champagne fairs, Clairvaux Abbey, stained-glass windows & statuary, etc. – is in itself an invitation to study the circulation, transmission and diffusion of practices, models and knowledge throughout the medieval world (5th-15th centuries).

Proposals for 25-minute papers should not exceed 500 words and should be submitted by November 15, 2023 on the conference website: https://formulemedievaleenglish.wordpress.com/. The languages of the conference are French, English and Spanish.

Participants will need to pay for their own transport and accommodation ; lunches will be provided. There will be a reasonable registration fee (below 50 euros). More details will be provided later on.

Organizing committee :

Florence Dumora (florence.dumora@univ-lemans.fr)

Elise Louviot (elise.louviot@univ-reims.fr)

Axelle Neyrinck (axelle.neyrinck@univ-reims.fr)