Case Studies of Medieval Crossover: Meetings of the Sacred and Secular in Medieval Romance

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Dept. of English Studies, Durham Univ.

Organizer Name

Natalie Goodison; Lindsey Zachary Panxhi

Organizer Affiliation

Durham Univ.; Oklahoma Baptist Univ.

Presider Name

Lindsey Zachary Panxhi

Paper Title 1

Mythical Romance or Moralising Commentary? The Visual Marriage of the Sacred and Secular in La Queste del saint graal

Presenter 1 Name

Katherine Sedovic

Presenter 1 Affiliation

J. Paul Getty Museum

Paper Title 2

Cross-Religious Meetings: Relics, Idols, and Conversion in The Sultan of Babylon, Floris and Blancheflor, and The King of Tars

Presenter 2 Name

John A. Geck

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland

Paper Title 3

Felix Culpa in Amoryus and Cleopes: An Unorthodox Conversion?

Presenter 3 Name

Natalie Goodison

Paper Title 4

Respondent

Presenter 4 Name

Barbara Newman

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Northwestern Univ.

Start Date

13-5-2018 8:30 AM

Session Location

Fetzer 2020

Description

In the opening lines of her 2013 publication, Medieval Crossover, Barbara Newman writes, “The relationship of sacred and secular in medieval literature is not a new problem. But it is one that urgently needs to be reconceptualized, for the last frontal assault on that topic dominated the field for thirty years until, after long and furious debates, scholars turned away in sheer exhaustion.” In this work, Newman re-opens the discussion of how to approach the sacred and the secular in medieval literature by offering a variety of conceptual tools to engage in holistic approaches to this apparent dichotomy. Newman's work is a springboard and touchstone for opening up this discussion once again. Her book ranges in breadth--covering both French and English medieval literature, and is useful in providing a variety of methods of how to approach the sacred/secular. Her work also prompts the pursuit of further in-depth case studies. This panel at Kalamazoo seeks to offer the opportunity to examine potential case studies. How have attitudes towards the sacred and secular shifted in recent decades? What case studies could modern scholars bring to the table to continue this discussion? How do Newman's methods open new vistas of possibility? What corollary understandings might be offered? And why does this topic continue to arrest scholars of medieval literature?

-Natalie Goodison and Lindsey Panxhi

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May 13th, 8:30 AM

Case Studies of Medieval Crossover: Meetings of the Sacred and Secular in Medieval Romance

Fetzer 2020

In the opening lines of her 2013 publication, Medieval Crossover, Barbara Newman writes, “The relationship of sacred and secular in medieval literature is not a new problem. But it is one that urgently needs to be reconceptualized, for the last frontal assault on that topic dominated the field for thirty years until, after long and furious debates, scholars turned away in sheer exhaustion.” In this work, Newman re-opens the discussion of how to approach the sacred and the secular in medieval literature by offering a variety of conceptual tools to engage in holistic approaches to this apparent dichotomy. Newman's work is a springboard and touchstone for opening up this discussion once again. Her book ranges in breadth--covering both French and English medieval literature, and is useful in providing a variety of methods of how to approach the sacred/secular. Her work also prompts the pursuit of further in-depth case studies. This panel at Kalamazoo seeks to offer the opportunity to examine potential case studies. How have attitudes towards the sacred and secular shifted in recent decades? What case studies could modern scholars bring to the table to continue this discussion? How do Newman's methods open new vistas of possibility? What corollary understandings might be offered? And why does this topic continue to arrest scholars of medieval literature?

-Natalie Goodison and Lindsey Panxhi