Blogenspiel

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Learning about Monasteries

So today I was at a conference on monasticism. This is the first time where I've been at a conference where at least half the people have a clue about my sources, and lots know way more about how to use them. There are some hella smart people here.

Why yes, I am feeling depressingly not so smart. Not the best thing before giving a paper next week.

Having said that, can I just say that this is an incredibly nice conference, and that the postgrads who organized and are running it are doing a fantastic job?? The papers today were all very good, I thought, although I was having a hard time keeping up with the rapid-fire Irish names rolling trippingly off Irish tongues. There was a wonderful paper on the vita Sadalbergae, and a paper by a colleague I really admire that was just so well constructed and argued... and another by someone I'd wanted to meet for a long time, because he helped me out a while back -- he's as nice in person as in e-mail, and also gave a really interesting paper.

Several people have been very kind with advice that makes me feel like my own paper might not be hopeless, and I've had a chance to talk to some other really interesting people. At the moment, I'm sort of digesting it all, but I think I'll eventually have some really good ideas, after I get used to having been in a room of people who speak my sources.

Labels: conferences

  Another Damned Medievalist 2:56 PM Link

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Interesting!

If you are bored today, check out Codex Diplomaticus Fuldensis 466.

Kind of interesting... usually, the person handing over his possessions orders the charter to be drawn up ...

Labels: charters, research, writing

  Another Damned Medievalist 5:07 AM Link

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Argh on the paper

So this may in fact be the dullest paper ever ... athough it's certainly talking about using digitized sources. Well, the ones in databases, at least.

But here's a related question: 'vestitionis' as in 'ecce hic testes illius vestitionis'...

Two very smart people have said that it's probably a livery of seizin. But did such things exist in C9 Francia? Especially in the east?

Labels: BL, blegs, research, writing

  Another Damned Medievalist 8:04 AM Link

Not liking this paper

Um ... feeling like it's way too dull. Shoot me now.

  Another Damned Medievalist 7:45 AM Link

Monday, June 29, 2009

how to read a charter -- the quick and dirty way

Nota Bene: this may not be ideal; rather, it represents what my brain starts doing after about 20 of the things...

In Jesus/God's name Donors!
Blah blah blah reason for donation!
Blah blah blah recipient!
Blah blah blah stuff donated!
Blah blah blah curses on you if you try to take this stuff away from those nice monks!
Blah blah date blah pathetic monk who wrote this down!
Witness list.


ETA: translation? me? Seriously, though -- just ran into one where the blah blah reason is 'ob metum gehennae aeternae et premium vitae aeternae seu pro remedio animae nostrae aut remissione paccatorum nostrorum' and then a lot more blah blah fear blah blah reward blah. Not exactly the normal formula.

Labels: charters, latin, Leeds, research, writing

  Another Damned Medievalist 6:38 AM Link

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Not what I intended

Apparently, my paper is going to be a lot more about gender than I thought. Because data searches are better for finding things that stick out rather than supporting normativity.


Hmmm.

Or so it appears so far.

Labels: conferences, Leeds, research, writing

  Another Damned Medievalist 3:16 AM Link

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Formula bleg

Does anyone know/can anyone think of a situation in which we might see the phrase "per manum" for a male donor of property? (for the MA, preferably)

At the moment, I'm thinking it's pretty much used for female donors...

Update: I've just found an interesting variation in my own sources -- CDF 613, "signum Ruotgeres qui hanc traditionem potestiva manu quatuor supra memoratorum germanorum rogatu fecit."

hmmmmm ....

ideas? because this isn't the same as "trado per manum X", which you see mostly with widows or spouses ...

Labels: writing

  Another Damned Medievalist 7:10 AM Link

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Carnivalesque LI

The latest edition of Carnivalesque is now up at Medievalist, food history person, and sf/f writer Gillian Polack's Food History Blog. It's got a cool organizational theme, and the Food History blog has all sorts of other interesting posts as well.

Labels: carnivalesque

  Another Damned Medievalist 8:05 AM Link