Behind the Throne: Counselors, Courtiers, and Favorites, 500-1500

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Medieval Studies Workshop, Univ. of Chicago

Organizer Name

Elizabeth Woodward, David Cantor-Echols

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of Chicago

Presider Name

David Nirenberg

Presider Affiliation

Univ. of Chicago

Paper Title 1

Colloquium Dominarum: Duchess Beatrice of Upper Lorraine and the Political Crises of 984 and 985

Presenter 1 Name

Megan Welton

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Medieval Institute, Univ. of Notre Dame

Paper Title 2

"The Waters of Al-Kawthar's Heavenly Springs": Arabic Poetry in Roger II's Court

Presenter 2 Name

Nathaniel A. Miller

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Chicago

Paper Title 3

A "Courtier-cum-Entrepreneur": Jehan Le Tourneur and the "Business" of a Princely Court

Presenter 3 Name

Jun Hee Cho

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Columbia Univ.

Start Date

11-5-2013 1:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 2345

Description

Medieval royal advisers and administrators are present in countless works of literature and art, in political treatises and in documentary evidence, but they nevertheless remain shadowy figures, largely subsumed by broader discussions of queen- and kingship in contemporary scholarship. The purpose of this session is to encourage deeper consideration of the individual bureaucrats, counselors, favorites, and hangers-on – both men and women – whose unique personalities and relationships to the royal office made trade, cultural production, and governance throughout the Middle Ages possible, even as their closeness to the seats of power often drew suspicion and allegations of corruption.

Elizabeth Woodward