Guiding the Mind of the Beholder. The Materiality of the Medieval Text as Determinant of its Meaning and Use, session at the 23rd International Medieval Congress, Leeds, July 4–7, 2016

How we perceive and use a text is influenced by the way it is visualized and how it is intentionally or unintentionally associated with other texts. Based on the manuscript evidence, the session wants to explore the different ways how this change of a text’s meaning or usage can be achieved. This includes the (re)organization of a text in a manuscript witness, or how accompanying texts like commentaries, glosses and notes complement, add to or even change a text, as well as the influence of the ‘mise-en-page’ and the materiality of the manuscript book itself. Through these the session will examine the ways in which the experience of a reader (anticipated or real) is directed to facilitate and constrain their engagement with the text. Furthermore the broader context of the manuscript will be taken into account: It will be asked, how associating or relating a text with other texts in a manuscript may either conserve traditional interpretations of a text, or generate new readings and new perspectives on the text’s usage.

The organizer would like to invite papers on Manuscript Studies from all academic disciplines.

Organizer
Rüdiger Lorenz (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität)