Sponsored by the Medieval Latin Studies Group
Organized by Bret Mulligan, Haverford College
The Medieval Latin Studies Group invites proposals for papers on post-classical wisdom literature for a panel to be held at the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in Toronto in early January 2017.
Starting in the thirteenth-century, scholars expressed renewed interest in biblical wisdom, and several of these books, largely overlooked in previous centuries, received sustained attention from Christian scholars. Commentaries such as Robert Holcot’s Postilla super librum Sapientiae enjoyed immense popularity and widespread distribution in Europe’s foremost libraries. The organizers of this panel welcome any paper that touches on the long history of exegesis and interpretation of wisdom literature written during the postclassical and medieval periods (broadly construed). Contributors may focus on the ongoing tradition of commentary on a particular book or author or on a particular commentary (published or unpublished). The role of wisdom commentaries in the larger literary culture, in the schools and in intellectual networks may also provide fruitful opportunities for research. Papers exploring the theoretical and interpretative issues such as methodology, ideology and literary criticism would be valuable contributions to our discussion. Comparisons of medieval commentary with ancient and late antique commentaries are also welcome.
Abstracts for papers requiring no more than 20 minutes to deliver must be received by March 1, 2016, preferably via email attachment to bmulliga@haverford.edu. Questions may be directed to Bret Mulligan. Please follow the instructions for the format of individual abstracts that appear on the SCS web site. Membership in the Medieval Latin Studies Group is not required to submit an abstract but all persons who submit abstracts must be SCS members in good standing.