Medieval Communities: Bound by Blood, Bound by Oath
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Comitatus (A Purdue Medieval Studies Student Organization)
Organizer Name
Erin Kissick
Organizer Affiliation
Purdue Univ.
Presider Name
Reme Bohlin
Presider Affiliation
Purdue Univ.
Paper Title 1
Building Community through Shared Narrative
Presenter 1 Name
Kate C. M. Koppy
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Purdue Univ.
Paper Title 2
Christ and His Þanes: Understanding Christ through His Role as Warrior Chieftain in Christian Skaldic Verse
Presenter 2 Name
Ruth Cheadle
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Univ. College London
Paper Title 3
Breaking the Other: Restrained Violence as a Civilizing Force in Der jüngere Sigenot
Presenter 3 Name
John Paul Ewing
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Indiana Univ.-Bloomington
Start Date
10-5-2013 10:00 AM
Session Location
Valley II 201
Description
Arguably the most important literary definition of chivalry in medieval literature, Sir Thomas Malory’s Pentecostal Oath is King Arthur’s attempt to maintain order and integrity of his community of chivalrous but potentially dangerous knights. As this Oath and many others witnessed in medieval literature suggests, the idea, formation and dissolution of community in diverse social spheres is an important theme in medieval literature. The forms of medieval communities range from mead-halls of sagas to the courts of romances; they could also be small family units bound by blood, larger family units bound by marriage, or religious confraternities bound by common religious views. The types of communities range from secular to religious, aristocratic to lay; they differentiate themselves from each other by asserting their own initiation ceremonies, values, codes of conduct, and/or oaths. Such standards could hold the community together, yet a break of any could cause its destruction.
This session explores the diverse forms medieval communities take, how they define themselves as one and differentiate themselves from others, and the impact that such dynamics have in the literature and the larger society.
Erin C. Kissick
Medieval Communities: Bound by Blood, Bound by Oath
Valley II 201
Arguably the most important literary definition of chivalry in medieval literature, Sir Thomas Malory’s Pentecostal Oath is King Arthur’s attempt to maintain order and integrity of his community of chivalrous but potentially dangerous knights. As this Oath and many others witnessed in medieval literature suggests, the idea, formation and dissolution of community in diverse social spheres is an important theme in medieval literature. The forms of medieval communities range from mead-halls of sagas to the courts of romances; they could also be small family units bound by blood, larger family units bound by marriage, or religious confraternities bound by common religious views. The types of communities range from secular to religious, aristocratic to lay; they differentiate themselves from each other by asserting their own initiation ceremonies, values, codes of conduct, and/or oaths. Such standards could hold the community together, yet a break of any could cause its destruction.
This session explores the diverse forms medieval communities take, how they define themselves as one and differentiate themselves from others, and the impact that such dynamics have in the literature and the larger society.
Erin C. Kissick