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
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