Wednesday, 25 September — Saturday, 28 September 2024
Nuremberg, City Library (Katharinensaal) and Department of Economics and Social Sciences at FAU, Lange Gasse 20
Tradition and actuality of the subject
Tales of heroic deeds, crimes and personal and collective tragedies have become sadly topical since the return of war in Europe. The international conference in Nuremberg will examine the genre that has been used to write such stories for many centuries: the epic in late antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. What was the content of epics? Not just the glorification of admirable personalities from myth and history in beautiful-sounding verse, often following in the footsteps of ancient authors such as Virgil, who continued to be widely read, commented on and translated. In fact, the epics often offered a critical examination of the heroes and their opponents, which appeals to us because they scrutinise warfare as a value and a means. The epic was also used for religious and educational purposes.
The congress focuses primarily on the epics that were written in Latin from around 300 to around 1500. Until the 18th century, Latin was the only internationally recognised language and predominated in science, culture and diplomacy, even outside the church. Accordingly, the Latin epic had (and still has) a strong influence on literature and the visual arts in Europe.
Call for papers
Proposals for presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion) are still possible until 01 March 2024. Topics may include the representation and transformation of epic heroes and heroines, epic texts and related genres, or the reception and transmission of ancient epic texts. In addition to a CV, an abstract of no more than 300 words in English must be submitted to: www.conftool.net/kongress-epos2024 for further information regarding the Call for papers including guidelins for subjects:
https://www.mittellatein.phil.fau.de/epos-2024
International speakers
The regularly held Medieval Latin Congress is returning to Germany for the first time after 1988 and stops in Florence, Toronto, Vienna and Prague, among others. Leading researchers from Europe and overseas (Canada, USA) will be appearing in Nuremberg and presenting the results of their work for discussion.
Organiser
Chair of Medieval and Modern Latin Philology (Prof. Dr Michele C. Ferrari) at the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg (Kochstr. 4/3, 91054 Erlangen; https://www.mittellatein.phil.fau.de/epos-2024/)
Co-organisers: City of Nuremberg, Nuremberg City Library
Supporters
The conference is supported by the FAU, the City of Nuremberg and a number of foundations.
Contact
kongress-epos2024@fau.de
Coverimage: „UER MS 393, f. 1v (süddeutsch, um 1200)“