Imperium sine Fine: Power and the Quest for Permanence from Antiquity to Pre-modernity

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Taiwan Association of Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies (TACMRS)

Organizer Name

Brian K. Reynolds

Organizer Affiliation

Fu Jen Catholic Univ.

Presider Name

Lahney Preston-Matto

Presider Affiliation

Adelphi Univ.

Paper Title 1

"But Ever Yet the Over-Hand of All Other Kings": Power and the Quest for Permanence in Arthurian Literature

Presenter 1 Name

Carolyn F. Scott

Presenter 1 Affiliation

National Cheng Kung Univ.

Paper Title 2

Malory's Rex quondam, rexque futurus: Imperium sine fine?

Presenter 2 Name

Tzu-Yu Liu

Presenter 2 Affiliation

National Cheng Kung Univ.

Paper Title 3

Durability through Verse: Palaces, Poetry, and Permanence in Abbasid Samarra

Presenter 3 Name

Matthew D. Saba

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Start Date

16-5-2015 10:00 AM

Session Location

Fetzer 2040

Description

Jupiter’s promise to Aeneas that he will give the Romans “imperium sine fine” (Aeneid 1.278), variously understood as “empire without end” or “power without limits”, reflects something of the need that lies deep in the human psyche to transcend the limitations set on our existence by a fickle and contingent world. Again and again the illusion that power can provide certitude, permanence and even immortality has seduced both rulers and the ruled whether it be in the East or the West. This session proposes to explore notions of power and authority and their exercise in a variety of historical and cultural contexts, with particular reference to breaking the bounds of human limitedness.

Brian Reynolds