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2019 ACMRS & MAP JOINT CONFERENCE: Panels of Interest
1c. Textual and Linguistic Transformation in Medieval Scandinavia
- “Transforming the Werewolf: Bisclavret’s Textual Transmission and Reception in Thirteenth- to Fifteenth-Century Scandinavia” Basil Price, Arizona State University
- “The Magical Other: The Marginalization of Magical Women in the Íslendingasögur” Tristan Rebe, Arizona State University
- “Religion, Magic, and Medieval Narratives” Laurie Price, University of New Mexico
4e. The Magical Mammal in Marie de France
SPONSORED BY: International Marie de France Society/Société internationale Marie de France (IMFS)
CHAIR: Jillian Sutton, California State University, Long Beach
- “The Magical Amplexus between the Mouse and the Frog” Alma Valencia-Escobar, San Diego State University
- “Were-love in Marie de France’s Bisclavret” Jason Thames, California State University, Long Beach
2019 MAP/ACMRS Conference CFP: “The Magical Mammal in Marie De France”
Call For Papers for International Marie De France Society Sponsored Session
2019 MAP/ACMRS Conference “Magic, Religion, and Science in the Global Middle Ages and Renaissance”
“The Magical Mammal in Marie De France”
This session seeks papers that focus on the works of Marie de France and the intersection of magic and the animal body. Recent scholarship, notably that of Karl Steel, has set a precedent for contextualizing animals in order to understand the political, private, and public societies that their bodies reflect in the Middle Ages. Magical moments in Marie’s works are not confined to the occult, but can engage with the miraculous, wonderful, awe-inspiring, as well as the bewitching properties of courtly love. This panel hopes to explore how these moments, in tandem with the animal body, define or destroy medieval identities in Marie’s works. Papers may address any of the known works by Marie de France (the Lais, the Fables, the Espurgatoire seint Patriz, La vie Seinte Audree) or the anonymous lays. The objective is to generate discussion on how Marie de France’s works construct complex medieval identities through the use of the animal body.
Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words together with a brief bio to session organizer Jillian K. Sutton at sutton.jillian.kaye@gmail.com by the 20 October 2018. Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself.
International Marie de France Society Call For Papers for Kalamazoo 2019
(1 – Papers) Family and Kinship in Marie de France
Twelfth-century woman poet and author of the Lais, Marie de France has long been celebrated for the richness of her courtly texts. However, her detailed insights into life and love are by no means limited to the courtly love paradigm. Rather, Marie’s works present her audience with an intimate look at friendships, alliances, rivalries, family bonds and ties of different kinds that paint a picture of the interconnectedness of medieval relationships in their context. Papers may address any of the known works by Marie de France (the Lais, the Fables, the Espurgatoire seint Patriz, La vie Seinte Audree) or the anonymous lays. Comparative and interdisciplinary analyses that draw connections between works of medieval literature on family and kinship are welcome. Papers may consider, but should not be limited to, gender and sexuality studies, narratology, psychology, and so on. The objective is to generate discussion on how Marie de France’s works construct relationships in the courtly context, as well as their broader meanings today.
(2 – Roundtable) Bodies and Gender in Marie de France —New Theoretical Lenses
This session focuses on how and what material bodies can signify in medieval culture in the works of Marie de France (the Lais, the Fables, the Espurgatoire seint Patriz, La vie Seinte Audree). Four to five Roundtable presenters will consider the complex spectrum of medieval gender identities revealed to us through Marie’s various literary genres, exploring medieval conversations about how narratives that focus on the body’s parameters (from essentialist to performative) might represent sex, gender, and sexuality in different ways. Presenters may consider bodies torn between the demands of the physical and the devotional, with specific focus on monstrous, hybrid, comical, political, and social bodies. Discussants will address the impact of recent theoretical interests on Marie’s narrative uses of bodies, including, but not limited to, performance theory, gender theory, and post-colonial theory. The objective is to generate discussion between roundtable presenters and participants to consider the functions of mimicry, gender-ambiguity, and wounded-ness (among others) in the creation of narrative selves, as well as how the dynamic variety of bodies represented in Marie’s works can give us access to medieval conversations about the forces underlying theological, political, social, and textual power.
(3 – Performances) Performances of Marie de France: Chevrefoil
In this performance session, three to five performers will present the lai of Marie de France entitled Chevrefoil. As in years past, the panel invites performers who revive the lai by using period music, new translations, and dramatic readings in the original language. As Joyce Coleman, Evelyn Birge Vitz, and others have argued, hearing a text read aloud or watching its performance both mirrors the way the work would have been consumed in the Middle Ages and enhances our modern understanding. Our attendees regularly report that their perception of the work changes over the course of the session. The objective is to generate discussion about the use of voice, gesture, and music in the embodiment of the text – and how its performance reveals nuances of meaning that may be lost when read in silence on the page.
New Edition of Marie de France’s Lais
The Lais of Marie de France: Text and Translation
Translated and edited by Claire M. Waters (UC Davis)
Copyright: Broadview Press, 2018
ISBN: 9781554810826
Cost: $15.95
Broadview Press is publishing a new, facing-page edition of Marie de France’s lais. Alongside the twelve lais, the Appendices features critical essays and manuscript information.
Kalamazoo 2018 Panels of Interest
Thursday 10:30 a.m., Bernhard 205
Session 34: Old French Literature I
Presider: Christine Chism, Univ. of California–Los Angeles
Two Kings, Two Cuckolds, and the Meaning of Love in Marie de France’s Equitan
Sarah Kooienga, Grand Valley State Univ.
Discovering the Ship in Marie de France’s Guigemar
Yue Chen Hou, McMaster Univ.
The Sensory Perception and Connotation of Cited Refrains in Old French Chansons
James Terry, Oglethorpe Univ.
A Matter of Cors: Translating Identity in the Cansos of Arnaut Daniel
Annie Doucet, Tulane Univ.
Thursday 1:30 p.m., Valley 2 Garneau Lounge
Session 51: In Her Own Words: Twelfth-Century French Women’s Voices in Performance (A Performance Roundtable)
Organizer: Simonetta Cochis, Transylvania Univ.
Presider: Simonetta Cochis
A performance roundtable with Dorothy Gilbert, Univ. of California–Berkeley; Julie Human, Univ. of Kentucky; Yvonne LeBlanc, Independent Scholar; and Tamara Bentley Caudill, Jacksonville Univ.
Thursday 7:30 p.m., Bernhard 212
Session 158: Fear of Domestic Abuse in Medieval Texts
Organizer: Kisha G. Tracy, Fitchburg State Univ.
Presider: Eve Salisbury, Western Michigan Univ.
Marriage, Murder, and Memory: Saint Godelieve of Gistel and the Changing Uses of Her Vitae in the Later Middle Ages
Katherine Clark Walter, College at Brockport
How “Mild” Is Her “Chere”? Does The King of Tars Offer a Model for Female Empowerment?
Danielle Sottosanti, Fordham Univ.
“He hadde assayed hire ynogh bifore”: Griselda’s Patience Revisited
Amber Dunai, Texas A&M Univ.–Central Texas
Bisclavret’s Wife, Were-abusers, and the Fear of Violence
Kisha G. Tracy
Respondent: Eve Salisbury
Friday 10:00 a.m., Valley 2 Garneau Lounge
Session 165: Marie and Ovid (A Roundtable)
Sponsor: International Marie de France Society
Organizer: Tamara Bentley Caudill, Jacksonville Univ.
Presider: Ed Ouellette, Air Command and Staff College
A roundtable discussion with Dorothy Gilbert, Univ. of California–Berkeley; Susan Hopkirk, Univ. of Toronto; Julie Human, Univ. of Kentucky; Emanuel Mickel, Indiana Univ.–Bloomington; Rupert T. Pickens, Univ. of Kentucky; and Logan Whalen, Univ. of Oklahama.
Friday 1:30 p.m., Valley 2 Garneau Lounge
Session 222: Queering Marie
Sponsor: International Marie de France Society
Organizer: Leslie Anderson, Tulane Univ.
Presider: Leslie Anderson
Feminization and Queer Violence in the Lais of Marie de France
Elizabeth Liendo, Pennsylvania State Univ.
Queer Embodiment, Homosocial Imagining, and Human Being in Bisclavret
Emily McLemore, Univ. of Notre Dame
Shapeshifting Knights and Subservient Wives: Marie de France Challenging Marriage within Her Lais
Marybeth Perdomo, Univ. of New Mexico
Fathers Beware: Marie de France, Les Deus Amanz, and the Case for Tempered Paternal Love
Audrey C. Townsend, Univ. of Oklahoma
Friday 3:30 p.m., Valley 2 Garneau Lounge
Session 280: Le Fresne Again! Ten Years of Performing Marie de France (A Performance)
Sponsor: International Marie de France Society
Organizer: Tamara Bentley Caudill, Jacksonville Univ.
Presider: Arielle McKee, Purdue Univ.
Performances by Walter A. Blue, Hamline Univ.; Simonetta Cochis, Transylvania Univ.; Ronald Cook, Independent Scholar; Dorothy Gilbert, Univ. of California– Berkeley; and Yvonne LeBlanc, Independent Scholar; with discussant Evelyn Birge Vitz, New York Univ.
Saturday 12:00 noon
Fetzer 1030
International Marie de France Society Business Meeting
Saturday 1:30 p.m., Valley 3 Stinson Lounge
Session 397: Performing Courtly Love
Sponsor: International Courtly Literature Society (ICLS), North American Branch
Organizer: Christopher Callahan, Illinois Wesleyan Univ.
Presider: Christopher Callahan
Performing Courtly Love in Pas d’armes: The St. Petersburg Manuscript of the
Pas de Saumur
Catherine Blunk, Drury Univ.
“I’ve been through the forest on a horse with bad reins”: Performing the Lay of Trot
Tamara Bentley Caudill, Jacksonville Univ.
CFP for ICMS 2018, Kalamazoo, Michigan
The International Marie de France Society will sponsor three panels for the International Congress on Medieval Studies, to be held on the campus of Western Michigan University, May 10-13, 2018. Abstracts must be received by the session organizer, Tamara Bentley Caudill (tcaudil1@ju.edu), by September 15, 2017.
New for 2018: Graduate Students who participate as panelists in our sessions will be eligible to receive an IMFS-sponsored travel award in the amount of the Congress pre-registration fee for students. Last year, this fee was $95. The award(s) will be presented at our business meeting, which has historically occurred on Saturday at noon.
Note: You do not have to be a member of the society to submit a topic, but all presenters are expected to join for the 2018-2019 Academic Year. See Join IMFS for our dues schedule.
(1 – Papers) Queering Marie
This paper panel proposes to call attention to tales of queerness and alterity in the works of
Marie de France or her imitators. Papers may address any of the known works by Marie de France (the Lais, the Fables, the Espurgatoire seint Patriz, and/or La vie Seinte Audree) or the anonymous lays. Comparative analyses that draw connections between Marie and other works of medieval literature are welcome. Papers may consider, but should not be limited to, animal studies, disability studies, gender and sexuality, alterity, and so on. The objective is to stimulate discussion regarding the ways that Marie’s oeuvre addresses these themes in the Middle Ages and its broader implications.
(2 – Roundtable) Marie and Ovid
This roundtable will bring together a group of scholars interested in the intersection of the Old
French narrative lay, particularly those of Marie de France, and the Ovidian tradition. In addition
to drawing inspiration from oral Breton lays that circulated in her milieu (“des lais pensai qu’oïz
aveie” v. 33, Prologue, Lais), Marie de France draws philosophical and literary frames from the
“anciens” (v. 9) or “li philosophe” (v. 5): those who set the standards within which she composes
her poetic corpus. In this context, Ovid presents himself as an intriguing undercurrent in Marie’s
works; and this session will explore Ovid as palimpsest in Marie’s Lais. Topics may include the
transformation of lovers from human to animal (and vice versa), the rewriting of classical myths
such as Philomela, Narcissus, or Piramus and Thisbe, the influence of the Ars Amatoria and the
Remedia Amoris, and other related issues. Special consideration will be given to participants with interdisciplinary approaches, either traditional (art, philosophy, religion, etc.) or contemporary (animal studies, disability studies, etc.). Roundtable participants will be asked to transform their presentations into full-length articles, to be submitted to Le Cygne, the society’s journal.
(3 – Performances) Le Fresne Again! Celebrating a Decade of Performing Marie de France
2018 marks the 10th anniversary of our popular performance panel in its current format; and we plan to bring back the original performers (with a few new faces) for an all-new performance of the text that started it all: Le Fresne. As in years past, the panel will involve period music, new
translations, and dramatic readings in the original language. As Joyce Coleman, Evelyn Birge Vitz, and others have argued, hearing a text read aloud or watching its performance both mirrors the way the work would have been consumed in the Middle Ages and enhances our modern understanding. Our attendees regularly report that their perception of the work changes over the course of the session.
Contact information
Submit abstracts of less than 300 words to the organizer:
Tamara Bentley Caudill
Assistant Professor of French
Division of Humanities
Jacksonville University
2800 University Boulevard North
Jacksonville, FL 32211
tcaudil1@ju.edu
New Site: mariedefrancesociety.org
Due to an administrative oversight, we have lost rights to our former site. We are in the process of moving as much content as possible to the new one as well as setting up electronic membership payments.
Thank you for your patience.
Panels and Papers of Note for Kalamazoo 2017
In advance of the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 11-14, 2017, here is a list of papers and panels of interest to IMFS members. Speakers with asterisks are also members of the Society.
Session 372, Saturday 10:00 a.m., Schneider 1280 — Teaching Marie de France (A Roundtable): A roundtable discussion with Dorothy Gilbert (U. of California–Berkeley)*; Julie Human (U. of Kentucky); Ann McCullough (Middle Tennessee State U.)*; Tamara Bentley Caudill (Tulane U.)*; Robin Hermann (U. of Louisiana–Lafayette); Evelyn Birge Vitz (New York U.)*
Session 395, Saturday 1:30 p.m., Valley III Stinson Lounge — Performances of Marie de France: Yonec: Simonetta Cochis (Transylvania U.)*; Yvonne LeBlanc (Independent Scholar); Walter A. Blue (Hamline U.)*; Dorothy Gilbert (U. of California– Berkeley)*
Session 447, Saturday 3:30 p.m., Valley III Stinson Lounge — The Versatile Marie de France: Misconceptions and Issues of Deception in Marie de France’s Lanval? – Anne Caillaud (Grand Valley State U.)*; The Birds and the Bees: Animals and Gender in Marie de France – Susan Hopkirk (U. of Toronto); Marie in English Verse: Challenges and Opportunities – Ron Cook (Independent Scholar)*
Saturday Noon, Fetzer 1030 — International Marie de France Society Meeting: Business Meeting
Other Panels and Papers of Interest
Session 30, Thursday 10:00 a.m., Bernhard 158 — Ihesu Dulcis: Devotion to the Hold Name in Medieval Europe: Chivalry, Piety, and Devotion to the Name of Christ in Marie de France’s Saint Patrick’s Purgatory – Stephen G. Moore (U. of Regina)
Session 66, Thursday 1:30 p.m., Schneider 1280 — Gender and Species: Ecofeminist Intersections (A Roundtable): La Femme Bisclavret: Gender, Species, and Language – Alison Langdon (Western Kentucky U.)
Session 150, Thursday 7:30 p.m., Fetzer 1060 — Performance in and of Courtly Literature: A chantar in Performance – Laura Zoll (Independent Scholar)*; The Performance of Awe in Courtly Romance – Evelyn Birge Vitz* (New York U.)*; Shifting Our Horizons of Expectation: Love Service in the Devotional Contrafacta of Jacques de Cambrai – Christopher Callahan (Illinois Wesleyan U.)*; – “Þe forme to be fynisment foldez ful selden”: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Dynamics of Performance; Gerard Lavin (U. of New Mexico – U. of New Mexico Graduate Student Prize Winner)
Session 427, Saturday 1:30 p.m., Schneider 1335 — Shifting Shape and Changing Form I: The Translation of Transformation: Body Schema in the Anglo-Norman Bisclavret and Old Norse Bisclarets ljóð – Andrea Whitacre (Indiana U.–Bloomington)
Call for Papers: CFP for Kalamazoo 2017
The International Marie de France Society will sponsor three panels for the International Congress on Medieval Studies, to be held on the campus of Western Michigan University, May 11-14, 2017. Abstracts must be received by the session organizer, Tamara Bentley Caudill (tcaudil1@ju.edu), by September 15, 2016.
Note: You do not have to be a member of the society to submit a topic, but all presenters are expected to join for the 2017-2018 Academic Year. See Join IMFS for our dues schedule.
(1 – Papers) The Versatile Marie de France: This paper panel proposes to call attention to the variety and versatility of Marie de France’s works. Papers may address any of the known works by Marie de France (the Lais, the Fables, the Espurgatoire seint Patriz, and/or La vie Seinte Audree) or the anonymous lays. Comparative analyses that draw connections between works of medieval literature are welcome. Papers may draw on theories such as animal studies, gender and sexuality, translation theory, and so on.
(2 – Roundtable) Teaching Marie de France: This roundtable will bring together a group of scholars interested in teaching Marie de France in a multitude of classroom contexts. Topics may include — but are not limited to — teaching English majors and/or non-majors, teaching in translation, selecting texts, incorporating theory, other pedagogical techniques, and so on.
(3 – Performances) Performances of Marie de France: Yonec: Our crowd pleasing performance panel returns with a dramatic rendition of Yonec. Continuing the tradition, the panel will include dramatic readings in both English and the original language, new translations, and costumes. Hearing the lai as audiences in Marie’s time would have perhaps experienced it adds another dimension to our understanding and appreciation of her work, highlighting both its humor and its pathos.
Contact information
Submit abstracts of less than 300 words to the organizer:
Tamara Bentley Caudill
Assistant Professor of French
Division of Humanities
Jacksonville University
2800 University Boulevard North
Jacksonville, FL 32211
tcaudil1@ju.edu
