Illuminating the Past: free workshop and talks

If you would like to know more about the making and meaning of Gothic colour, then come along to Illuminating the Past, a one-day (and totally free!) cultural engagement event. On Thursday 16 June 2016, we have planned an interactive workshop and a lively series of talks by graduate students and early career scholars to showcase exciting new approaches to understanding the Gothic imagination. Illuminating the Past will take place at the Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr, a twelfth-century pilgrims’ residence located in the centre of historic Canterbury. To enhance the atmosphere of this special occasion, we are delighted that the choir of the University of Kent Minerva voices (@Minerva_Voices) will offer live performances of music from the Gothic era.

The programme for these talks is as follows:

9.00–9.15 Registration

9.15–9.30 Welcome and introduction to Illuminating the Past (Emily Guerry)

9.30–10.45 Session I: Building Gothic

1) James Hillson, University of York

How did that get there? International architectural exchange in Plantagenet royal patronage 1227-1307

2) Jana Gajdosova, University of Cambridge

The Decorated Style in Prague? The Evolution of Curvilinear Tracery in Central Europe

3) Jeffrey Miller, The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London

Building Gothic Paris: The Left Bank Enclosure of King Philip Augustus

10.45–11.00 Coffee Break

During the first coffee break, Minerva Voices will perform the following musical pieces:

Kyrie – Hildegard; Ave Verum – Mozart; Da Pacem Domine – Gounod; Danse, ikke gratte na – Norwegian song; Wiegenlied (Lullaby) – Brahms

11.00–12.15 Session II: Sculpting Gothic

1) Cassandra Harrington, University of Kent

Sin or Salvation? Foliate Heads in the Margins of Chartres Cathedral

2) Robert Hawkins, University of Cambridge

Darkness Visible: Personifications of Light and Darkness from the North Porch of Chartres Cathedral

3) Ingrid Lunnan-Nøsdeth, Norwegian University of Science & Technology and the Victoria and Albert Museum

Reframing the Margin: The Human Face as Beauty or Beast

12.15–13.15 Lunch break

During the lunch break, Minerva voices will perform the following musical pieces:

Ah, Robin – Corynsh; Stabat Mater – Tartini; Unamuno – Lucier; O Swallow, Swallow – Holst; The Song of Roland

13.15– 14.30 Session III: Painting Gothic

1) Emily Guerry, University of Kent

Mistakes and Miracles: The Saint Maurille mural cycle in Angers Cathedral

2) Sophie Kelly, University of Kent

Heavenly Monstrosities: The Three-headed Trinity in Gothic Art

3) Katie Toussaint-Jackson, University of Kent

The Annunciation mural in the Sainte-Chapelle: The use of wall painting as a solution to blank space

14.30–14.45 Coffee break

14.45–16.00 Session IV: Reinventing Gothic

1) George Younge, University of York

Old English Sources of the Theological Windows at Canterbury Cathedral (1174 x c.1200)

2) Anya Burgon, University of Cambridge

The Art of Invention in the works of Bernard Silvestris and Alan of Lille

3) Hannah Place, University of Kent

The Form and Function of Female Bust Reliquaries: A Case Study of Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins of Cologne

16.00–16.30 Special Lecture on Gothic Colour

Jayne Wackett, AHRC Cultural Engagement Fellow

Coloured with Meaning: New Discoveries at Canterbury Cathedral

16.30–17.00 Closing remarks (Emily Guerry)

We are deeply grateful to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) at the University of Kent for supporting this cultural engagement event.

Illuminating the Past will serve as a ‘full-day preview’ for the MEMS Festival, which will take place in the Grimond building at the University of Kent campus from 17–18 June 2016. Also, on this occasion, there will be two more Illuminating the Past panels that examine stained glass windows and illuminated manuscripts on the morning of Friday 17 June 2016:

10.15–11.30 Session I: Beyond Gothic Glass

1) Oliver Fearon, University of York

I will that a knoleche be sought’: The patronage of heraldic displays for English houses c.1490-1540

2) Jack Wilcox, University of Kent

‘O Radix Jesse’: The Iconography of Tree of Jesse Window

3) Bahar Badiee, University of Kent

 Orsi: Coloured Windows of Iran

11.30–11.50 Coffee break

11.50–13.00 Session II: Picturing Gothic

1) Roísín Astell, University of Oxford

Visualising the Visionary: Artistic Transmission and Adaptation in BnF MS Lat 14410

2) Amy Jeffs, University of Cambridge

Sight, Sightlessness and the Cult of Edward the Confessor

3) Dan Smith, University of Kent

The Man of Sorrows and the Domesman