Journées d’étude : « Death and Dying », Newbury, 15-18 août 2022

The Harlaxton Symposium is an interdisciplinary gathering of academics, students and enthusiasts which meets annually to celebrate medieval history, art, literature and architecture through a programme of papers selected around a chosen theme. This year’s symposium will be convened by Dr Christian Steer and Dr Jenny Stratford.

Speakers will focus on death in the later Middle Ages in both its practical and devotional aspects. Among themes to be explored are the ways in which death occurs (sickness, accident and murder), preparations for death (wills, testaments and executors’ papers), and devotional practices in lifetime and after death. Rituals and ceremonies associated with the moment of death and its aftermath will include funeral practices, chantries, monuments and monumental sculpture. Papers will relate both to England and to Continental Europe before the Reformation.

Speakers are: Ann Adams, Amy Appleford, Richard Asquith, Julia Boffey, Jane Bridgeman, Clive Burgess, Trevor Dean, Tony Edwards, Nicholas Flory, Lydia Hansell, Andrew Kirkman, Julian Luxford, Michael Michael, Lisa Monnas, Ann Payne, Henry Summerson, Linda Voigts and Nicholas Watson. This year’s Pamela Tudor-Craig Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Julian Gardner.

Please see our website for details, including a provisional programme and booking form.

We are also pleased to continue our commitment to encouraging scholars in the early stages of their careers with two Dobson Scholarships available to PGRs or ECRs (within two years of completing a PhD) to cover conference costs. Awards will be made based on the academic excellence of applicants and the relevance of the symposium theme to their research. The application form can be downloaded on our website and the deadline for applications is 31st May 2022, to allow unsuccessful applicants the opportunity to source funding from elsewhere.

We will also be continuing our annual postgraduate poster competition, to allow PGRs and ECRs to share aspects of their research with delegates at the symposium. This has been a great success in previous years, allowing for the exchange of ideas in a friendly and academically-rigorous environment. Posters can relate to any area of Medieval Studies and do not necessarily have to connect to the theme of the symposium. Awards of the Dobson Scholarship are contingent upon presenting a poster, but we urge all PGRs and ECRs attending the symposium to take this opportunity. Again, further details are available on our website.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the beautiful Harlaxton Manor in August for what promises to be an excellent week of scholarly discussion on all things relating to medieval death and dying.

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