International colloquium at the Czech Academy of Sciences organized jointly by the Institute of Czech Literature and the Centre for Medieval Studies, Institute of Philosophy.

1-2 November 2018, Prague (Academic Conference Centre, Husova 4a, 110 00 Praha 1)

 Medieval Central European translations and adaptations of chivalric texts have a few traits that set them apart from similar products of the French, English or “Rhine-German” milieus. First of all, they are manifestly late; as such, they speak to a different social situation than their western models, use different forms of presentation and engage different audiences. The objective of this colloquium is to discuss texts in a comparative perspective, which can help us to define the peculiar “lateness” of the material. As a starting point, we propose to organize the papers around various borders or “interfaces” which the narratives have to cross as they enter a new situation:

1. Civitas terrena and civitas Dei. The ascendancy of the devotio moderna movement, the increased presence of wonderworking relics and the heightened religious fervour in the years leading to the Hussite Wars in Bohemia – as well as the ensuing processes of confessionalization – all oblige people involved in textual production and reception to choose a side in the battle between God and the devil, the orthodoxy and heretics. What traces of this early partisanship can be found in literary texts?
2. Language in power and language empowered. During the Late Middle Ages, the importance of formerly subaltern languages (Czech in relation to German, both in relation to Latin) grows and, consequently, also the importance of linguistic as well as cultural translation. In a few instances, the translations and adaptations with which we work even explicitly treat and comment upon their own translated nature. Are languages in some way hierarchized in the texts? What kinds of power or agency are associated with language and languages?
3. Written and printed word. In the fifteenth century, the boom in manuscript production and circulation along with the advent of the printing press alter significantly the ways in which literature works. Whereas the German late verse romances were transformed into prose and entered the new media landscape and the consumer market quite successfully, the majority of Czech chivalric texts (including both Arthurian romances proper) were not able to take the leap. What are the differences between the successful and the unsuccessful texts and between their circumstances?

We cordially invite you to present papers about any or all of these topics in connection with texts that belong to the Arthurian corpus or dealing with problems that are relevant for the mapping of changes undergone by the Arthurian material in late medieval Central Europe.

Proposals for 20-minute papers in English should be addressed to czech_medieval@protonmail.com before June 30, 2018. Please include: title and abstract of the presentation (max. 200 words), name and short bio of the speaker (max. 50 words). 

Sincerely,

Matouš Jaluška (Department for Research into Old Literature, UCL CAS)

Martin Šorm (Centre for Medieval Studies, FLU CAS)

Matouš Turek (Group for Research on Czech-German Intercultural Relations in Bohemia, UCL CAS)