Somewhere, Someday, Somehow: Imagined Borders in Narratives of Community, session at 27th International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 6–9, 2020

Borders have been constant in human history, whether they were separating countries, estates or the verge between road and land. More elusive were the borders that existed only in the minds of those who created them. The limit of the known world and the barbarous North beyond, the veil between life and death and the various kings whose rules divided time periods are just some examples of immaterial boundaries.

This session aims to explore this concept of imagined borders with a particular focus on medieval narratives of community. Texts such as chronicles, annals and saints' lives and their descriptions of borders can reveal a lot about how medieval communities perceived themselves and their surroundings. Where did they place these imagined borders? When did these borders exist and how did they work? Answering these questions can lead us not only to understand how medieval communities imagined borders, but also, how to them, they were very real indeed.

Session organizers
Kiri Kolt, Aberystwyth University
Abby Monk, Aberystwyth University
Caitlin Naylor, Aberystwyth University