Welcome to the IMC 2015

Dear colleagues,

I am delighted to present to you the programme for the International Medieval Congress 2015. For the first time in its history the IMC has passed a major milestone of over 2000 actively involved participants with its academic programme featuring a total of 653 sessions and round table discussions.

With an ever-increasing number of proposals every year we have been developing some guidelines for selection of session and paper proposals for future IMCs. While it would not be in the interest of the IMC to reject good quality proposals, it would also not be in the interest of the IMC and its delegates to keep growing each year exponentially. I firmly believe that there is a natural size for the IMC, and surpassing it would be a matter for concern. As this is an on-going issue we recommend to consult our website at the Session and Paper Proposal Submission Criteria page if you are planning to submit proposals for future years.

2015 is a year of plenty with many anniversaries for medievalists with national and international significance, including the anniversary of the Fourth Lateran Council and the Magna Carta in 1215. This year’s special focus on ‘Reform & Renewal’ has managed to include many anniversaries such as these and has gone much further, investigating many aspects of reform and renewal in and of the Middle Ages. In total, we have 220 sessions and round table discussions on the special thematic strand, including secular and religious, spatial and ritual reform, dissidence, cross-cultural perspectives, medieval historiographers’ views on reform as well as post-medieval perspectives on reform, artistic and literary expressions of reform, and reforming of knowledge. A very special thanks are due to Steven Vanderputten (Vakgroep Geschiedenis, Universiteit Gent), who as strand co-ordinator managed the never-ending flow of proposals with enthusiasm and professionalism. This special focus, of course, is only a third of the riches the IMC offers in 2015, with a further 433 sessions dealing with many other aspects of Medieval Studies.

We are delighted to welcome three main keynote speakers on ‘Reform & Renewal’. The Congress will open with a double lecture by Maureen C. Miller (Department of History, University of California, Berkeley) and Keith Lilley (School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast), with the first part focusing on ‘Beyond National Narratives: Culture, States, and Reframing ‘‘Gregorian’ Reform’’ and the second on ‘Spaces of Reform?: Urban Renewal and the Shaping of Cities in Medieval Europe’. On Monday lunchtime, Frank Griffel (Council on Middle East Studies, Yale University) will continue with ‘Reforming Islam at the Turn to the 6th/12th Century: Al-Ghazali’s Project of Reviving Religion through Aristotelianism and Mysticism’, focusing on reform beyond the Christian world. On Wednesday evening a major round table discussion will focus on ‘Ways to Address ‘‘Reform & Renewal’’ across Medievalist Disciplines’.

In addition to the special focus on Reform & Renewal we are pleased to announce a number of special lectures and events. We are delighted to welcome back the Early Medieval Europe lecture, with this year’s speaker, Mayke de Jong (Departement Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht) exploring ‘Carolingian Cultures of Dialogue and Debate’.

The Medieval Academy of America also returns for their annual lecture series given by Sara Lipton (Department of History, State University of New York, Stony Brook) on ‘The Vulgate of Experience - Preaching, Art, and the Material World’.

Also new this year are:

• Two special sessions in conjunction with the University Library’s Special Collections, both sampling some of the riches of the collections’ holdings, one focusing on their archives on J.R.R Tolkien and the other on Leeds’s incunabula. For more details see Special Session: J. R. R. Tolkien at Leeds and in the Brotherton Library Special Collections and Special Session: Secrets of Early Printed Books - The Leeds Incunabula Revealed.

• A special session on ‘Contemporary Composers and the Renewal of Medieval Practice?: Medieval Models in the Work of Judith Weir’ with Graham Coatman (School of Music, Humanities & Media, University of Huddersfield).

• An exhibition throughout the Congress on the Parkinson Balcony and an associated lecture on the ‘Ballar el moro - Dancing the Moor: Festive Dances of Moors and Christians in the Western Mediterranean’.

• A display of research posters from the University of Leeds, University of York, and University of Sheffield will be available throughout the Congress week, with poster presentations on Tuesday between 18.00 and 20.00. During this time, IMC delegates are invited to view the posters and will be given the opportunity to network with the presenters.

The Leeds University Union Medieval Society (founded in 2013) has brought together a series of medieval (inspired) activities - from games sessions and film showings, to a poetry evening. More details about these events can be found in the Leeds University Union Medieval Society Programme of Events. The inaugural International Medieval Film Festival is especially worth highlighting: a joint venture with the nearby historical Hyde Park Picture House Cinema.

Quickly becoming a staple fixture of the Congress are our ‘Making Leeds Medieval’ activities where we will bring a number of medieval-inspired activities to the main campus, with displays of crafts and local produce as well as live entertainment including music, combat displays, re-enactment demonstrations, and return of the falcons. The celebration will conclude in an informal dance workshop under the guidance of the Arbeau Dancers with musical accompaniment by Peter Bull.

This year’s programme of events offers a wide range of choice including a performance of late medieval wind music by Blondel, Joglaresa’s anti-establishment celebration of ‘Robbers, Rebels & Royals’, and a programme of music from the time of the Magna Carta by Trouvère. In addition there will be workshops on appliqué, music by Hildegard of Bingen (in co-operation with NEEMF), on spinning, and calligraphy, a reading as well as a dramatic reading of Chaucer’s Manciple’s Prologue and Tale and the Cook’s Prologue and Tale. For more details about IMC events go to the Events and Excursions page.

Our programme for excursions includes visits to key monastic sites in Yorkshire - Mount Grace Priory, Jervaulx, and Kirkstall Abbey, as well as Conisbrough Castle, the Royal Armouries Museum, Lincoln Cathedral and its Bishop’s Palace, and to Micklegate and Monk Bar in York - as well as a historical walking tour across Leeds. For more details about IMC excursions go to the Events and Excursions page.

There will be three Professional Development Workshops on Friday, 10 July: ‘An Introduction to Academic Publishing’ - co-ordinated by Kate Hammond (Brill Publishers, Leiden), ‘An Introduction to Medieval Records at The National Archives’ co-ordinated by Paul R. Dryburgh (The National Archives: Public Record Office, Kew), and a ‘Medieval Arms and Armour Study Session’ - co-ordinated by Alison Watson (Royal Armouries, Leeds).

The main infrastructure of the IMC 2015 will be as follows:

• Session rooms: all day-time sessions will take place in six main University buildings (Parkinson Building, Emmanuel Centre, Baines Wing, Leeds University Union, Michael Sadler Building, Social Sciences Building, Stage@leeds, and University House), all evening roundtable discussions will take place at Leeds University Union, University House and the Michael Sadler Building. For maps and plans of these buildings go to the Maps, Timetable, and Session Planner page.

• Social space: The two venues exclusive to IMC Delegates during the day time are the Marquee and the Old Bar. During the evening (and all day on Sunday) we recommend the Marquee - which will be of exclusive use to IMC delegates. The Leeds University Union Old Bar will be open for IMC Delegates throughout the Congress with late openings from Sunday to Wednesday evening. The Old Bar will also have the traditional Congress Ale on tap! For maps and plans of these buildings go to the Maps, Timetable, and Session Planner page.

• The University has embarked on a schedule of refurbishments and developments which means that the Centenary Gallery and parts of Leeds University Union will not be available for 2015. We have made alternative plans accordingly, and look forward to having better facilities in future years.
All these details will be explained in the subsequent pages. We recommend that you read them carefully before you arrive. Please do not hesitate to contact us by email, phone, or in person if we have left anything unclear or if you would like further explanation. For details on how to contact the International Medieval Congress Administration visit the Contact Information page.

As in previous years may I remind you that the Congress is now located in the midst of an operating University. This makes it even more important that all IMC delegates wear their name badges at all times, as access to some venues may be restricted to IMC name badge holders.
As we move closer to July, we would like to remind you to check the IMC’s webpages on www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2015.html where any additions, changes, or updates to this programme will be displayed.

The ‘Call for Sessions and Papers’ for IMC 2016 (04-07 July 2016) with its special thematic strand Food, Feast & Famine can be found on the Call for Papers 2016 page.

Before closing, a warm farewell and a big thank-you to outgoing Programming Committee members Nils Holger Petersen, Elaine Treharne, and Björn Weiler. Within the IMC staff we are sad to see the departure of Steven Sharpe to pastures new. Steven was instrumental in making the move of the IMC to its new venue a success and he will be greatly missed. Steven’s improvements to the IMC’s structure behind-the-scenes has helped to embed us on the University’s main campus, and has enabled our longer-term future.

We feel that this year’s programme is once again a wealth of riches, with a lot on offer for everyone, showing that Medieval Studies is thriving and developing excitingly. My colleagues and I look forward to welcoming you to Leeds in July.

Axel E. W. Müller
Director, International Medieval Congress