At the Edge: Boundaries and Limits in Medieval Art and Architecture

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Maile S. Hutterer

Organizer Affiliation

Rutgers Univ.

Presider Name

Mailan S. Doquang

Presider Affiliation

McGill Univ.

Paper Title 1

The Stele of Mont-Sainte-Odile as Boundary Marker

Presenter 1 Name

Gillian B. Elliott

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Corcoran College of Art + Design

Paper Title 2

The Permeable Lines of Gender Boundaries in Franciscan Architecture

Presenter 2 Name

Erik Gustafson

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Institute of Fine Arts, New York Univ.

Paper Title 3

Framing Feudalism in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Illustrated Manuscripts

Presenter 3 Name

Shannon L. Wearing

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Institute of Fine Arts, New York Univ.

Start Date

11-5-2013 1:30 PM

Session Location

Fetzer 1060

Description

The highly stratified world of medieval Europe depended on boundaries and limits to reinforce spatial, temporal, and socio-political hierarchies. Far from being stable entities, such boundaries were often fluid and permeable, acting as liminal zones where diverse agents, objects, and concepts unexpectedly came into contact. Even as these areas asserted existing divisions, they could also lead to transformations of established structures and inversions of social order. This session explores the creation and reification of boundaries (real and imaged) in medieval artistic, architectural, and urban practice, and conversely, their erosion and alteration.

Maile S. Hutterer