Stephanie Morley and Brandon Alakas send on the following CFP for the Canadian Society of Medievalists meeting, May 30-June 1, 2015. Complete details below.
Reflections on the Sexcentenary of Syon Abbey: Reading, Devotion and Reform
Founded in 1415 by Henry V, the Brigittine community at Syon Abbey had been since its inception a centre for orthodox reform. During the fifteenth century, Syon served as a model for other religious orders which sought a return to the stricter observance of previous centuries. By the time of the community’s expulsion in 1539, Syon had established its reputation as a prolific and vital source of vernacular devotional texts for religious and lay readers alike. Facilitating Syon’s promotion of orthodoxy, the Additions to the abbey’s rule press on the significance of books for the brothers and sisters of the order and underscore the intellectual and literary character of the institution. Recent scholarship has recognised Syon’s importance both as a source of continental spiritual writing and spirited Catholic reform, and as an early adopter of the printing press as a powerful tool for parochial instruction and the promotion of religious orthodoxy.
To mark the sexcentenary of Syon’s foundation, we invite abstracts for papers treating any aspect of the abbey’s participation in the devotional and literate culture of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Papers may examine individual texts and translations produced by the Syon brothers; consider the shaping of a readership, either religious or lay (or both), of vernacular theology; or survey the abbey’s participation, spiritually and politically, in the fraught years before the Act of Supremacy. Any and all disciplinary and methodological approaches are welcome in what we hope will be a valuable contribution to the myriad conversations about Syon Abbey during 2015.
The Canadian Society of Medievalists is an international inter-disciplinary society that holds its annual meeting every year at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, happening this year at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada, May 30-June 1, 2015.
Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words to the co-organizers by December 15, 2015. Electronic submissions are preferred.
Dr Stephanie Morley
Department of English
Saint Mary’s University
Canada
stephanie.morley@smu.ca
Dr Brandon Alakas
Department of Fine Arts and Humanities
University of Alberta, Augustana
Canada
alakas@ualberta.ca
CFP pdf document: CSM CFP 2015 Reflections on the Sexcentenary of Syon Abbey.
The Syon Abbey Society 