Conferences

EARLY BOOK SOCIETY MEETING POITIERS, FRANCE June 7–11, 2027 CFP

“Recovering Book Histories: MSS and Printed Books from 1350—1550″
The Twentieth International Conference of the Early Book Society (Poitiers, France) will be hosted by Katherine Zieman with meetings to be held at CESCM Poitiers (Centre d’études supérieures de civilisation médiévale), part of the university which is located in the center of town, in the 16th-century Hôtel Berthelot and the adjacent Hôtel Fumé, a Gothic-style building built in Poitiers between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Poitiers is most closely associated with Eleanor of Aquitaine (d. 1204) and with St Radegonde (d. 587), the Frankish queen, whose church in the city houses her tomb. Eleanor, with her second husband, Henry II, sponsored the building of Cathédrale de St Pierre which has a stained-glass window, donated to the cathedral by the royal pair in the twelfth century, with one of the only contemporary portraits of Eleanor, and 14th-century wall paintings. The university was first established in Poitiers in 1431; many of the city streets are cobblestone with half-timbered houses. The university’s Médiathèque will exhibit some highlights in its medieval MS collection. Lunches, a welcome cocktail party and a party at the Hôtel de Ville, along with the conference banquet will be featured, along with paper sessions as well as a trip out.

Call-for-Papers:
Recovering Book Histories: MSS and Printed Books from 1350—1550, due Dec 15
“History” has many meanings (relating to the narration, representation, or study of events or phenomena, or a narrative of any kind), one of which speakers might wish to consider. Papers might explore the provenance, codicology, production, script, type, and/or illustration in a specific MS or set of MSS or in a printed book or in several. Another approach might be to discuss a manuscript or book for which we have a limited history or no history; what kind of contexts might be suggested through examination of physical evidence? Or one could look at the term “history” more literally in discussing the making of chronicles, for example. Yet another approach might be to consider the ways in which texts influence each other through translation or cultural and linguistic transitions. The main language of the conference will be English, but we will consider proposals in French. Special consideration will be given to papers that include reference to our French venue or French connections between MSS, or MSS and printed books, or scribes and/or printers. Once abstracts are accepted, papers should be timed for 20 minutes. The time limit will be strictly observed. Please send an abstract of about 150 words or less or full session proposals with your name, affiliation and email address on the abstract itself to all three organizers (marthadriver@hotmail.com, katherine.zieman@univ-poitiers.fr, mc29@st-andrews.ac.uk) by December 15, 2026, and include EBS Poitiers Abstract Proposal in the subject line of your email.

Past Conferences