The Factual and Symbolic Appearance of Animals in Medieval Literature and Imagination

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter-Studien (IZMS), Univ. Salzburg

Organizer Name

Ursula Bieber, Siegrid Schmidt

Organizer Affiliation

Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter-Studien, Univ. Salzburg, Univ. Salzburg

Presider Name

Ursula Bieber

Paper Title 1

Tiere, Monstren und Monstrositäten in den Kampfschriften der Reformationszeit

Presenter 1 Name

Winfried Frey

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Univ. Frankfurt am Main

Paper Title 2

Christine de Pizan and Her Little Dog: Humanist Icon, or Reality?

Presenter 2 Name

Dominique Hoche

Presenter 2 Affiliation

West Liberty Univ.

Paper Title 3

The Symbolism of the Panther in Shota Rustaveli's The Man in the Panther Skin

Presenter 3 Name

Bert Beynen

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Temple Univ.

Paper Title 4

Animal Vernaculars: Reading the Bestiary's Animal Image

Presenter 4 Name

Jessica Wong

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Univ. of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Start Date

16-5-2015 10:00 AM

Session Location

Schneider 2345

Description

The Factual and Symbolic Appearance of Animals in Medieval Imagination

Animals, both real and fantastic, were and are still an important part of human’s living world; they play an integral role in everyday life and thoughts.

The relationship between man and beast in Middle Ages and early modern times brings us to several interdisciplinary discussions with a diversity of interpretations, the depiction in manuscripts and function of animal in religious, cultural and socio-economic or legal contexts.

In this section we would like to follow the traces of animals in their ambivalent significance, such as a symbol in religious-theological discourse, as motives and characters in literature, music and art; as an example of symbolic representation and most generally in every-day-culture. (Ursula Bieber)