Feast or Famine? What Presence did the Bible Really Have in Medieval Spiritual Writings? – Call For Papers

Feast or Famine? What Presence did the Bible Really Have in Medieval Spiritual Writings?
The Society for the Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages Session
International Medieval Congress 2016

Leeds, UK
4-7 July, 2016

I am an independent scholar with a doctorate from Cardiff University. I have been asked to put together a session for The Society for the Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages for IMC Leeds 2016 (4-7 July). The Leeds theme next year is: Food, Feast and Famine. The SSBMA session will look at how the Bible is used – or not – in medieval works with the title: Feast or Famine? What presence did the Bible really have in medieval spiritual writings?

Obviously Langland uses the Bible prolifically but other spiritual writers regularly include the Bible either with explicit quotation or – frequently – through implicit references which they anticipate that their audience will identify. Conversely, Chaucer employs the Bible prodigiously but is currently considered by some to be a secular poet. Bible usage by medieval writers regularly goes unrecognised yet these biblical sources are vitally important for any interpretation of medieval works. However, if Bible use is a ‘feast’, did medieval writers have greater knowledge of Latin than is currently surmised? What does Bible use tell modern scholars about medieval literacy and education? Are there other significant implications arising from this apparently profuse Bible use? I am looking for papers that seek to identify and analyse exactly how great a presence – or absence – the Bible has in medieval spiritual works.

Although the session submission deadline is 30 September, I would need to receive any abstracts (100 words for a 20-minute paper at Leeds) by 21 August at the latest because, if I do not accept the proposal, it would give people time to submit for the General Sessions deadline at Leeds (31 August). I also need a moderator. Please reply to gail.blick@btinternet.com.