Michaelmas Term 2008

November

From Manuscripts to Incunabula: A Series of Talks and Seminars on Manuscripts and Early-printed Texts by Dr David Rundle (University of Oxford)

  • 19 November
    • Consultation with Dr Rundle of College manuscripts, Henry Jones Room, Old Library, 3.30 p.m.-4.45 p.m.
    • Public Lecture: Dr Rundle will give a paper on manuscript-hunting and the relationship between England and Italy in the Renaissance:  English Light on Renaissance Humanism, Swift Theatre, 7.30 p.m.
  • 20 November
    • Palaeography Workshop by Dr Rundle. Materials will be provided. Open to all. Arts Building, Room 4050A, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
  • 21 November
    • Palaeography Tutorial led by Dr Rundle for MPhil students of the Centre, Foster Place, Room 212, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Please contact Sarah Alyn Stacey if you would like to attend but are not a student of the Centre.

December

Workshop on Greek Palaeography: Reading Greek Manuscripts

  • 11 December
    • Public Lecture: Dr Niels Gaul (Central European University, Budapest; Former Dilts-Lyell Research Fellow in Greek Palaeography, University of Oxford in association with Lincoln College, Oxford):  Greek Palaeography, Byzantine Scholarship and Textual Criticism, Swift Theatre, 7.30 p.m.
  • 12 December
    • Workshop on Greek Palaeography: Reading Greek Manuscripts, Swift Theatre/Henry Jones, 9.30 a.m.-1.30 p.m. This is a workshop aimed at postgraduates in all disciplines, but notably Classics and Medieval History, and it will examine majuscule, calligraphic minuscule, and cursive minuscule bookhands.
    • Public Lecture: Dr Barbara Crostini, author of A Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts Acquired by the Bodleian Library since 1916:  Cataloguing Greek Manuscripts, Swift Theatre, 3.30 p.m.
      The talk will be followed by an exhibition of Greek manuscripts held in Trinity. For further details about this event, please contact the organiser, Savvas Neocleous.

Hilary Term 2009

January

Post-Graduate Research Seminar: 'Reading Medieval French Literature through Tristan et Iseult'

Dates: From 6 January onwards (for 16 weeks)
Location: Room 4096, Arts Building, 7.30 p.m.-8.30 p.m.
Lecturer: Dr Juliet O'Brien (UCD/TCD).
Cost: 8 Euro/class; 6 Euro concessions; TCD staff and students free; special rate for 16 classes: 100 Euro. For further details, contact Juliet O'Brien or Sarah Alyn Stacey.

This seminar series (lectures followed by discussion) will focus on Tristan et Iseut, around and through which we will read some of the most stirring and beautiful 12th-14th c. French poetry, short verse narrative, and romance; and see how these forms are inter-connected. Some Occitan texts and extracts are also included. The lecture-portion of the course will situate readings in their immediate and larger-scale context, covering background history, cultural setting, literary allusions, and intersections with current questions in literary criticism. While a sound reading knowledge of modern French will be useful, no prior knowledge of Old French is required. Indeed, the course will be accompanied by (optional) progressive weekly grammar exercises - on the readings - for those participants who wish to learn or refresh their Old French. All materials will be provided.

  • Readings will include:
    • Old French and Occitan lyric poetry and short verse narrative
    • Beroul, Thomas, et al, Tristan et Iseut
    • Chrétien de Troyes, Romans
    • Abelard and Heloise, Letters
    • Aucassin et Nicolette
    • Floire et Blanchefleur
    • Heldris de Cornuälle, Le Roman de Silence
    • Le Roman de Flamenca
    • Guillaume de Machaut, Le Livre du Voir dit
    • Jean Froissart, Dits
    • Alain Chartier, La Belle Dame sans merci

The group is open to all: undergraduates, postgraduates, staff of Dublin universities, and the general public.

February

A Celebration of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In Collaboration with The Society for Renaissance Studies.

  • 24 February
    • Public Lecture: the renowned author and historian, Alison Weir, will talk about her latest book, Katherine Swynford: the Story of John of Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess (Jonathan Cape, 2007; Vintage Books, 2008), Swift Theatre, 7.30 p.m.
      • "Alison Weir's hugely popular history books are as gripping as novels." (The Times)
      • "Alison Weir writes compellingly. Her art is such that the reader is swept along by the story, scarcely noticing how very complicated that story is." (The Literary Review)
      • "Alison Weir is one of our best popular historians and one, moreover, with an impressive scholarly pedigree in Tudor history." (Frank McLynn, The Independent on Sunday)
  • 25 February
    • Public Lecture: Cultures of Translation in Renaissance Europe by the eminent academic and Professor of Cultural History, Peter Burke (University of Cambridge), author of 23 books, including The Italian Renaissance (1972), Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe (1978), The Fabrication of Louis XIV (1992), The Art of Conversation (1993), A Social History of Knowledge (2000), Eyewitnessing (2000), What is Cultural History? (2004) and Languages and Communities in Early Modern Europe (2004). His work has been translated into 28 languages. Teatar M.Ui Chadhain, 7.30 p.m.
  • 26 February
    • Public Lecture: Professor Peter Burke (University of Cambridge): The Renaissance in Global Context
    • The Centre is delighted to host this talk in collaboration with the Society for Renaissance Studies. It is one of a series of free public lectures held at venues around the UK and Ireland. The series, Exploring the Renaissance, addresses the state of studies in the Renaissance across a range of disciplines. For further information, please consult the website of the Society for Renaissance Studies.

March

Borderlines Annual Conference:  Neither here nor there : Breach-Building and Boundary-Living in Medieval Culture (Thursday 19 March - Saturday 21 March 2009)

The Centre is delighted to co-host with UCD this annual post-graduate conference. For further details, contact Pat O Brien and Nicole Volmerin.

Trinity Term 2009

May

  • 29 May
    • Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance. A one-day conference. Details to follow. Swift Theatre.

 

Image: A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts (1483–1486) by Sandro Botticelli, used under a CC BY 4.0 license / Cropped from original.