Gossip and Courtly Reputation in the Medieval Mediterranean

Sponsoring Organization(s)

North American Catalan Society

Organizer Name

Dawn Bratsch-Prince, John A. Bollweg

Organizer Affiliation

Iowa State Univ., Western Michigan Univ.

Presider Name

Theresa Earenfight

Presider Affiliation

Seattle Univ.

Paper Title 1

Through a Glass Darkly: Gossip, Rumor, and Image at the Courts of Late Medieval Aragon and France

Presenter 1 Name

Zita Eva Rohr

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Sydney

Paper Title 2

“Our Lord saw a goat, and took his tail and made it into a woman’s tongue": Women as Gossipers in the Writings of Late Medieval Iberian Moralists

Presenter 2 Name

Núria Silleras-Fernández

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Colorado-Boulder

Start Date

9-5-2013 7:30 PM

Session Location

Bernhard Brown & Gold Room

Description

In recent years there has been an increased interest in the ways in which medieval rulership -- kings, queens and their courts-- functioned in specific circumstances and contexts. While a good deal of light has been expended upon examining the overt machinations of these politicians and political institutions, the covert and occasionally murkier aspects of intra- and inter-court politics are only now being subjected to closer analysis. This session three papers that focus upon the ways in which gossip (spontaneous and engineered) and courtly reputation (traditional and manufactured) was used and abused to further the political aspirations of key players in the medieval Mediterranean.

John A. Bollweg