Riddles, Puns, and Play: Poetic and Literary Games in the Middle Ages
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris
Organizer Name
Vanina M. Kopp
Organizer Affiliation
Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris
Presider Name
Vanina M. Kopp
Paper Title 1
"Actin' Funny but I Don't Know Why": Jokes and Puns in Alcuin's Disputatio Pippini
Presenter 1 Name
Jessica Lockhart
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Centre for Medieval Studies, Univ. of Toronto
Paper Title 2
Genre and Expectation in the Riddles of the Exeter Book
Presenter 2 Name
Ben Garceau
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Indiana Univ.-Bloomington
Paper Title 3
Sound Play in the Old English Riddles
Presenter 3 Name
Megan Hartman
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney
Paper Title 4
The "Deep Play" of the Tournament: Veterans, Mock-Violence, and the Redemptive Function of the Play-Community
Presenter 4 Name
Jenna Philipps
Presenter 4 Affiliation
Princeton Univ.
Start Date
14-5-2015 10:00 AM
Session Location
Sangren 1730
Description
Riddles, Puns and Play. Poetic and Literary Games in the Middle Ages.
People nowadays love to play - either on their smartphone as pastime or for learning via pedagogical “gaming”. This is also true for people in the Middle Ages. Playing connects both social interaction as well as emotions. Games are a very successful way of transmitting values and knowledge, especially in a hierarchical context such as the medieval feudal society. Literary games were popular both in a courtly setting (c.f. the classic book by Huizinga: "Homo ludens") as well as in a monastic setting (c.f. the recent anthology by Sonntag: "Religiosus ludens"). Wit and repartee were a favorite mean for these pedagogical games. Some were held as poetic competitions, other as a teacher/pupil exchange dialogues or latin/vernacular puns and riddles.
Rather than privileging the simple description of games people played, in this session papers are sought which interrogate the role of the games as mean for social cohesion or catharsis in a hierarchical society. In particular, papers which address the interconnected nexus of ties which link competition and "play communities" in cultural history are welcome. This sessions wants to open up discussions on literary games and their importance in the Middle Ages.
Vanina Madeleine Kopp, German Historical Institute Paris.
Riddles, Puns, and Play: Poetic and Literary Games in the Middle Ages
Sangren 1730
Riddles, Puns and Play. Poetic and Literary Games in the Middle Ages.
People nowadays love to play - either on their smartphone as pastime or for learning via pedagogical “gaming”. This is also true for people in the Middle Ages. Playing connects both social interaction as well as emotions. Games are a very successful way of transmitting values and knowledge, especially in a hierarchical context such as the medieval feudal society. Literary games were popular both in a courtly setting (c.f. the classic book by Huizinga: "Homo ludens") as well as in a monastic setting (c.f. the recent anthology by Sonntag: "Religiosus ludens"). Wit and repartee were a favorite mean for these pedagogical games. Some were held as poetic competitions, other as a teacher/pupil exchange dialogues or latin/vernacular puns and riddles.
Rather than privileging the simple description of games people played, in this session papers are sought which interrogate the role of the games as mean for social cohesion or catharsis in a hierarchical society. In particular, papers which address the interconnected nexus of ties which link competition and "play communities" in cultural history are welcome. This sessions wants to open up discussions on literary games and their importance in the Middle Ages.
Vanina Madeleine Kopp, German Historical Institute Paris.