School of Humanities / Sgoil nan Daonnachdan

Interlace panel from the Govan sarcophagus, carved for the bones of St Constantine, c. 900 AD

Key contacts:

Centre for Scottish & Celtic Studies

 

 

Glasgow Chronicle Group - Examining historical writing from the Middle Ages

‎The Chronicle Group was set up in October 2012 to provide a casual monthly forum for academics who deal with medieval primary source material. The group meets on a monthly basis to examine a theme and provides a friendly environment for the discussion of on-going work as well as the more general historiographical debates surrounding medieval sources. Although called the Chronicle Group the discussion does not limit itself too narrowly and encourages a wider discussion of themes and issues surrounding medieval source texts.

Meetings are on the last Friday of every month and are held at 12pm in Room 207, no.9 University Gardens. (Unless stated otherwise)

The Chronicle Group is run in association with the Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies

Dates for 2012-2013

26.10.2012
12noon  		 ‘What is a chronicle?’
An open discussion to explore the complexities of genre and form of the chronicle. The hand-out can be provided on request.

13.11.2012
5.30pm
 

Visiting speaker: Jaclyn Rajsic (New College, University of Oxford), ‘Making British history English in the thirteenth century: some short, genealogical chronicles’
*NB: The lecture will be in Room 202, 3 University Gardens and will begin at 5.30pm


30.11.2012
12noon

 

 

 

 ‘Who wrote history in the middle ages? Does it matter?’
The main theme of this meeting will be the authorship of chronicles (and other medieval source material). Questions to be addressed include: How does authorial identity affect the nature of the source? How does the presence of multiple authors either at one time, or over a course of time, affect our perception and understanding of the text? Does modern editing practice have an adverse effect on our understanding of medieval sources?
Suggested reading: Vanderputten, Steven, ‘Individual experience, collective remembrance and the politics of monastic reform in high medieval Flanders’, Early Medieval Europe, 20 (2012), pp. 70-89
14.12.2012
12noon

 		 ‘Bring and Share’
We hope that in this last meeting of the term the discussions can be focused on a wider array of sources. As a Bring and Share session, the aim is to provide an informal session where sources of interest, or of trouble are brought to the table and discussed in relation to the research conducted.

25.1.2013
12noon

 



 

‘Dragons, Saints, and Rains of Frogs – What qualified as “history” in the Middle Ages?’
During this session we will be discussing the perceived line between fact and fiction in medieval chronicles, whether the presence of 'fantastical' material can undermine a chronicle's authority as a source, or whether such anecdotes offer a privileged insight into how medieval people viewed their world.  Although the session will be informal in character, in order to better aid discussion it is recommended that those attending read the Watkin, C.S., 'Thinking about the supernatural', in History and the Supernatural in Medieval England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. 23-67, which is available as an electronic source through the GUL.
at 12pm in room 207, no. 9 University Gardens, tea and biscuits will be on offer.

22.2.2013
12noon

 


 

A number of monastic sources combine narratives with official documentation of charters to record their past. The meeting will address problems with integrating chronicle-cartularies with other research based on cartularies and charters, such as to what extent does the chronicle add to or detract from the charter? Examples will largely be drawn from the Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis and the Historia Fundatonis of Byland and Jervaulx abbeys, modern editions of both are available in the GUL.
The suggested reading for the session will provide background information on charters and cartularies and is available through e-journals in the GUL:
Foulds, Trevor, ‘Medieval Cartularies’, Archives, 18 (1987), pp. 3-35 , esp. pp. 11-15 on chronicle-cartularies.

22.3.2013
12noon

 

 

 

 Narratives in legal records. 
In this session, hosted by Fergus Oakes, we will consider the relationship between chronicles and another staple of historical research; the legal record. Much like chronicles, legal records present the historian with details pertaining to specific events and circumstances, often situated within a broader chronological framework. Yet, their specifically judicial purpose begs a series of questions. Can legal sources be considered narrative accounts in the same sense that a chronicle, or history, might be? How, if at all do legal records and chronicles overlap? And, can we view legal records as comparatively more trustworthy than the history, or chronicle? 
26.4.2013 The Chronicles of Froissart. In what ways was the chronicle produced as entertainment?
24.5.2013 William Hepburn will discuss Scottish prose in chronicles with reference 'Short Scottish Prose Chronicles', Embree, Kennedy and Daly (eds) (Boydell, 2013).


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


22.2.2013