Births, Marriages (Coronations) and Deaths: Royal Ceremony in the Middle Ages, session at the 26th International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 1–4, 2019

Births, weddings, coronations and funerals, though personal milestones of royal life, were also the focus of outward-facing display. These events could have a public secular function linked with the mechanism of royal power, as well as a sacred, religious significance.

This session seeks to assess the royal ceremony as a time and space in which monarchy is received by an audience, and becomes visible, tangible and material. It aims to explore the participants, audience, and materialities involved in royal ceremony and display, and analyse its wider political and religious significance. We hope to organise multiple sessions to allow a more thorough engagement with these themes, and welcome proposals from any geographical area or time period in the Middle Ages.

Potential paper topics include but are not limited to:

• Gendered royal display
• Display, ceremony and political  power
• The reception of royal events by contemporary social groups (e.g. the public, the clergy, the nobility)
• Feasts, processions, and pageantry
• Practicalities and planning
• Life events in the private and public sphere
• Art, performance and patronage
• Clothing, decoration and objects
• Royal ceremony, identity and life cycles
• The relationship between religious ceremony and secular displays

Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words to hisfs@leeds.ac.uk by Monday 16th September.

Session Organizers
Florence Scott, University of Leeds
Samuel Bradley, University of Leeds

Session Sponsor
Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds