Micol Long | Università degli Studi di Padova (original) (raw)

Papers by Micol Long

Cahiers d’études italiennes , 2024

This article examines the sensory agency exerted by different types of objects in the religious e... more This article examines the sensory agency exerted by different types of objects in the religious experience of late medieval women whose life is attested to us by hagiographies and spiritual autobiographies produced in the Italian area between the 13th and the 15th century. In examining the references to such objects, I pay particular attention to how the different senses were involved in the interaction between the objects and the individuals around them, as a crucial means to assess whether and how these objects could influence the people around them and play an active role in social relations. The first part of the article takes as case‑study the Latin Life of Umiliana Cerchi (ca. 1246), analyzing its representation of the role of an image of the Virgin Mary in the woman’s devotional experience. The second part is organized thematically and relies on a variety of sources which, compared and juxtaposed, offer insights into the role played by these objects in the devotional life of women in the context in question.

Groniek 232 "Cognitive Turn", 2022

Revue Mabillon, 2018

Religion is always needed in cultured life to give ethical awareness direction so that its cultur... more Religion is always needed in cultured life to give ethical awareness direction so that its cultural results are more meaningful and ideal. Meanwhile, religion requires a cultural medium for it to exist in life, because religion can only be realized concretely in the wilds of cultural life. Human life is always looking for meaning. The search for meaning is important as is the need for foraging and shelter, because in reality the meaning of life is the longing for the Most Holy, it is the most enduring human need. Looking at the above reality, religion is always syncretic with the existing culture. If they violate existing rules or traditions, it will lead to sectarian religious attitudes and will in turn create new problems in understanding the exclusively proprietary religious doctrine. This exclusive religious understanding has been implicated in various circles of Muslims in Indonesia. Looking at it gives us a picture that the portrait of religious life in Indonesia has been a shift that was originally traditionalist-pluralist but with the development of modernization and the existing culture of the face of Indonesian Islam turned into a modernist-radicalist. Thus we try to re-read the dialogue of religion and culture of the archipelago in relation to the concept and movement of Islamic Radicalism of Indonesia.

The aim of this ongoing research is to suggest and try to demonstrate the importance of epistolog... more The aim of this ongoing research is to suggest and try to demonstrate the importance of epistolography as a testing ground for the practice of autography and for the elaboration of theories about its value and usefulness. The purposes could be very different, as well as the contexts: in the case of a letter that contained important (for example, political) information it could be the need for secrecy or the will to confer authority to the text, even if it had not the formal elements of a document. Another possible interpretation of autography, as a token of affection, has its roots in classical antiquity (Cicero, Seneca) and seems to resurface in the middle ages and especially in these centuries, in which it is possible to trace the development of a peculiar conception of writing as a somewhat personal and often intimate activity. A third domain is religious: not only autography could be seen a proof of humility, but autograph letters could be perceived as "relics" containing a mark of the spiritual charisma of their authors - hence the stories of miracles performed by saints' letters, but also the practice of writing autograph letters of blessing. The letter-collections appear as a very suitable source for such a reconstruction of the context in which some authors started to write with their own hand; moreover, identifying declarations of autography or other references to autograph letters in the texts allows us to value the cultural importance of these cases even when the manuscripts did not reach us.

Les mobilités monastiques en Orient et en Occident de l’Antiquité tardive au Moyen Âge (IVe-XVe siècle), 2019

In this brief article, I argue that some high medieval monastic travels could be perceived as hav... more In this brief article, I argue that some high medieval monastic travels could be perceived as having an educational purpose. After briefly introducing my theme and sources, I will present some cases of temporary exchanges of monks between two monasteries. Subsequently, I will go over different kinds of learning practices which took place during such exchanges, and I will conclude by reflecting on the link between these practices and the processes of monastic reform. The essays collected in this volume show that monks could travel for very different reasons. However, because of the ideal of stability, to which the monks adhered, travelling was always, in a certain sense, an exception, which had to be justified, authorized and controlled 1. Already since the early Middle Ages, monks were supposed to carry some proof of the purpose and authorized nature of their journeys, to avoid the suspicion of being wanderers (gyrovagi) or monks who had run away from their monasteries 2. The Regula quattuor patrum (which, according to Adalbert de Vogüé, goes back to the first decade of the fifth century) 3 mentioned that a monk from a known monastery was not to be welcomed into a different community without the explicit consent of his 1 Wathen 1975, p. 1-44. 2 See the Regula Benedicti 1, 10-11 : quartum vero genus est monachorum quod nominatur gyrovagum, qui tota vita sua per diversas provincias ternis aut quaternis diebus per diversorum cellas hospitantur, semper vagi et numquam stabiles et propriis voluntatibus et guilae illecebris servientes et per omnes deteriores sarabaitis (Pricoco 1995, p. 134-136). For the evolution undergone by the notion of vagare see De Jong 1996, p. 248 and footnote 70. 3 Pricoco, 1995, p. xxi. abbot 4 , and the Regula Benedicti, while expressing the same idea, referred to the letters of recommendation carried by monks to justify their journeys 5. Similar rules also appear in the decrees of various early medieval councils. 6 4 Regula sanctorum patrum Serapionis, Macharii, Pafnutii et alterius Macharii 4, 4 : non licebit de alio monasterio sine voluntate eius qui praeest fratrem recipere (Pricoco 1995, p. 18). 5 Regula Benedicti 61, 13 : caveat autem abbas, ne aliquando de alio noto monasterio monachum ad habitandum suscipiat sine consensu abbatis eius aut litteras commendaticias (Pricoco, p. 250). 6 The first council of Orléans (511) refers to the problem of wandering monks and mentions that whoever welcomes a stranger monk is guilty (Concilium Aurelianense I, 19 : monachi autem […] si per contumaciam extiterit indevotus aut per loca aliqua evagari aut peculiare aliquid habere praesumserit, omnia quae adquisierit, ab abbatibus auferantur secundum regulam monasterio profutura. Ipsi autem qui fuerint pervagati, ubi inventi fuerint, cum auxilio episcopi tanquam fugaces sub custodia revocentur ; et reum se ille abbas futurum esse cognoscat, qui in huiusmodi personas non regulari animadversione distrinxerit vel qui monachum susceperit alienum (Basdevant, Gaudemet 1989, p. 82-84). The council of Losne (673-5) explictly mentions the use of letters, see Concilium Latunense, can. 7 : ut nullus clericum alterius absque literas episcopi aut abatis sui praesumat recipere, nec monachi sine sacris aut literas, ut diximus, per patrias vacare aut discurrere praesumat (Basdevant, Gaudemet 1989, p. 578), and can. 19 : et quoniam ad sanctam sinodum in notitiam pervenit, quod, si monachi in monasterio enutriti vacando per diversa loca discurrant, eos quidam in eorum comunione suscipiant, idcirco placuit convenire, ut nullus monachum alterius sine comitatum abatis sui vel literas comendaticias The expression litterae commendatitiae is attested since the Roman age 7 , and appears in twelfthcentury monastic sources 8. It seems to be used mainly to indicate letters of guarantee issued by a religious authority for a traveler, similarly to the letters written by bishops for travelling clerks 9. Letters of recommendation are a particularly suitable source to study monastic travels, since they often contain information about the journey and its goal. Among the variety of monastic journeys that they attested, in this article I will focus on those which inform us about the practice of sending one monk to spend a limited amound of time in another monastery. The possibility of such a journey was envisioned by the Regula Benedicti, which in the chapter consecrated to the reception of visiting monks stated : A visiting monk from far away will perhaps present himself and wish to stay as a guest in the monastery. Provided that he is content with the life as he finds it, and does not make excessive demands that upset the suscipere praesumat (Basdevant, Gaudemet 1989, p. 582). Here sine is followed by two accusatives (comitatum and literas), as it is sometimes the case in medieval Latin, see Elliott 1997, p. 26. Comitatus is probably used instead of commeatus (comiatus), see Basdevant, Gaudemet 1989, footnote 2.

This book looks at Latin letters written in Western Europe between 1070 and 1180 to reconstruct h... more This book looks at Latin letters written in Western Europe between 1070 and 1180 to reconstruct how monks and nuns learned from each other in a continuous, informal and reciprocal way during their daily communal life. The book challenges the common understanding of education as the transmission of knowledge via a hierarchical master–disciple learning model and shows how knowledge was also shared, exchanged, jointly processed and developed. Long presents a new and more complicated picture of reciprocal knowledge exchanges, which could be horizontal and bottom-up as well as vertical, and where the same individuals could assume different educational roles depending on the specific circumstances and on the learning contents.

Le Moyen Age, 2020

Les recueils epistolaires d’importants religieux d’Europe occidentale du xiie siecle contiennent ... more Les recueils epistolaires d’importants religieux d’Europe occidentale du xiie siecle contiennent souvent des missives qui demandent au destinataire d’accueillir quelqu’un dans son entourage ou de pourvoir a ses besoins. La premiere partie de l’article analyse la structure typique de ces « lettres de recommandation », ce qui permet de presenter les elements recurrents et les strategies rhetoriques de ce sous-genre litteraire dans les lettres latines du xiie siecle. Des considerations sur l’analyse comparee des lettres de recommandation sont proposees dans la deuxieme partie de l’article. Une comparaison basee sur la typologie des beneficiaires s’y revele particulierement prometteuse. L’analyse de quelques exemples permet d’observer que, pour l’elite religieuse du xiie siecle, les lettres de recommandation etaient un instrument flexible et polyvalent pour construire, consolider et entretenir un reseau de relations.

Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy, 2017

T he activity of reading was, in many ways, the basis of the educational experience in the early ... more T he activity of reading was, in many ways, the basis of the educational experience in the early Middle Ages and beyond, as has been long acknowledged by scholars. 1 Many studies have been dedicated to the importance of reading in the monastic world; these studies, however, tend to focus on the individual experience of the lectio divina, and on the way in which it was linked to meditation and, sometimes, the composition of literary works. 2

Journal of Religious History, 2016

The theme of learning in high medieval monasteries can be approached by analysing such contexts a... more The theme of learning in high medieval monasteries can be approached by analysing such contexts as “communities of practice” on the basis of preserved monastic letters and letter-collections. The letters' propagandistic function makes it extremely interesting to analyse the ways in which they represent learning in order to serve different purposes: to attract people to a monastery, to offer advice to members of monastic communities, and even to intervene in the debate that opposed monastic to secular and scholastic modes of study. Moreover, epistolary sources offer insights into the complex dynamics of social interactions within the monastery, in particular the plurality of learning agents and the reciprocal nature of learning exchanges. Therefore, this approach can offer a valuable contribution to the study of learning as a shared and dialectical process, which takes place through social interaction within a heterogeneous community. In addition, it helps to understand the way in which learning is linked to the shaping of identities, both individual and communal, because it affects and transforms the reciprocal social roles of the members of a monastic community.

I testi latini citati da fonti diverse sono stati uniformati trasformando le u in v e le j in i, ... more I testi latini citati da fonti diverse sono stati uniformati trasformando le u in v e le j in i, normalizzando l'uso delle maiuscole e correggendo tacitamente i refusi. Ho invece conservato le differenze presenti nelle edizioni consultate per quanto riguarda dittonghi ed e caudate, y e i. Le sole abbreviazioni usate sono PL per Patrologia Latina e MGH per Monumenta Germaniae Historica; in tutti gli altri casi il riferimento completo dell'opera è dato nella prima citazione, oltre che in bibliografia. Le traduzioni, ove non diversamente specificato, sono mie.

Doctor Virtualis, Jun 11, 2012

Micol Long L'autografia d'autore Cambiamenti nella realizzazione e nella concezione del libro dal... more Micol Long L'autografia d'autore Cambiamenti nella realizzazione e nella concezione del libro dal XII secolo all'invenzione della stampa

Horizontal Learning in the High Middle Ages, Dec 31, 2019

While medieval learning has long been the object of scholarly attention, 'horizontal learning'-th... more While medieval learning has long been the object of scholarly attention, 'horizontal learning'-that is, knowledge transmitted and acquired in a context of informal interactions, to which traditional categories such as 'teachers' and 'disciples' do not necessarily apply-remains little studied. To fill this gap, this volume builds on ideas formulated by Jean Lave and Étienne Wenger to approach learning as a situated phenomenon that can never be decontextualized from the social and even physical environment in which it took place. The contributions collected here will exemplify various means of learning, considering the interplay between literate and non-literate modes as well as the problems posed by the necessity of using written sources as attestations of non-literate forms of learning.

Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 2017

Micol Long: Pratiques et conceptions de l'amitie dans le recueil des lettres de Pierre le Ven... more Micol Long: Pratiques et conceptions de l'amitie dans le recueil des lettres de Pierre le Venerable (premiere moitie du XIIe siecle)

Cahiers d’études italiennes , 2024

Groniek 232 "Cognitive Turn", 2022

Revue Mabillon, 2018

Les mobilités monastiques en Orient et en Occident de l’Antiquité tardive au Moyen Âge (IVe-XVe siècle), 2019

Le Moyen Age, 2020

Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy, 2017

Journal of Religious History, 2016

Doctor Virtualis, Jun 11, 2012

Horizontal Learning in the High Middle Ages, Dec 31, 2019

Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 2017

«Dear friend, I am writing this letter to you in my own hand...». Such are the declarations of me... more «Dear friend, I am writing this letter to you in my own hand...». Such are the declarations of medieval authors whose texts are here collected and analyzed. In a world where the vast majority of intellectuals did not write with their own hand, but rather employed a secretary who wrote under dictation, the epistolary milieu was one of the contexts in which the practice of autography and its valorization developed, foreshadowing their spread in the modern age. The letters often offer information concerning the circumstances in which they were written and the aims of their authors, and therefore constitute a suitable source; the analysis of the references to autography in Latin letter written between the beginning of the XI century and the first half of the XIII allows to examine the authors’ awareness of the possible uses and advantages of autography, and more generally their conception of writing and composing.

he crucial importance of preaching in medieval Europe has long been acknowledged, not only for re... more he crucial importance of preaching in medieval Europe has long been acknowledged, not only for religious culture, but also for cultural, political and social history, art history and history of material culture. An interconnected pan-European phenomenon, to be effective preaching needed to be at the same time tailored to local tastes and conventions, shaping the message to the circumstances at hand. With the term “preaching” we understand the public performance of a speech believed to be divinely inspired and meant for religious and moral education. Most importantly, medieval preaching was not the static transfer of a text from preacher to audience: rather, it was an inherently dynamic and interactive activity, involving multiple actors through time and space, communicating religious knowledge within embodied and spatialized networks. The conference will focus on the multisensorial dimension of preaching, which goes beyond the content and style of the textual sermon, to include the personal appearance of the preacher, their voice and gestures (the “embodied” dimension), the material environment in which the preaching took place (the “embedded” dimension) and the use of “special effects” (such as sounds or fire) and objects as an integral part of the performance.

The role played by the material environment in which the preaching took place has received little attention, and mostly with reference to memory (Carruthers 1998, Bolzoni 2002). It has been pointed out that some late medieval religious leaders (such as Bernardino of Siena) referred in their speeches to specific elements of the material environment in which they were preaching (for example, artworks), presumably to help keep awake the attention of the audience and to “anchor” the teaching to material elements which could be seen by individuals on a daily basis. However, much remains to be done to understand whether and to what extent the specific material environment affected the overall experience of preaching (open vs closed space, specific environments such as churches, saint’s tombs, graveyards, squares and so on). Preachers operated amidst a visual network of objects and spaces, against a background of paintings, sculptures, and other images present within the same space where they performed, giving opportunity for the sermon to connect, contrast, or compete for attention. This also raises the question to what extent preachers adapted their preaching to the particular environment and planned the setting in which the preaching had to take place.

A further element that deserves to be considered is that, as an act of communication, preaching was not a one-way interaction: the audience, through their attitude, verbal and non-verbal reactions to the preaching played an active role which affected the experience both of the individuals gathered to listen and of the preacher. Based on this, we propose to approach preaching an interactive performance where multiple actors and multiple elements played a role. For this purpose, we will approach audiences using the notion of “socio-sensory environment”, and assuming the existence of specific sensoria depending on social, cultural and geographical factors. Preaching relied on the various senses to be properly understood and make a lasting impact: the oral and aural performance of the sermon took place within a visually accessible space, with the preacher using both voice and body (gestures, facial expressions) to convey a message. From the sermon text, listeners are often invited to fully employ their senses as well and to imagine themselves present at religiously significant moments: to see the scene before their eyes, to hear what was occurring, to smell, taste, and feel, their internal or imaginary senses giving rise for meditation and devotion. Meanwhile, the experiences of pleasant or unpleasant smells or feelings of cold, heat, or discomfort can also be investigated from a sensory perspective.

With a primary focus on Western Europe from the 12th to the 15th century, this conference aims to explore preaching in an innovative and holistic way, by considering the multisensorial dimension of the transmission and reception of the word of God in whichever form, verbal or non-verbal. By emphasising the range of activities aimed at communicating religious knowledge and devotional practice, and the multisensorial nature of such activities, this conference will explore new aspects of the multifaceted experience of medieval preaching.

This conference is organised by the ERC research project SenSArt – The Sensuous Appeal of the Holy. Sensory Agency of Sacred Art and Somatised Spiritual Experiences in Medieval Europe (12th-15th century), Grant Agreement nr. 950248, PI Zuleika Murat, Università degli Studi di Padova (https://sensartproject.eu/).

SenSArt Seminars on Medieval Art, Religion, and Culture a.y. 2024-2025 Padua, Palazzo Liviano, A... more SenSArt Seminars on Medieval Art, Religion, and Culture a.y. 2024-2025

Padua, Palazzo Liviano, Aula Diano/Sala Sartori, 5.00 pm

Starting with the 12th century, the upsurge of interest in Christ’s humanity and the more intense... more Starting with the 12th century, the upsurge of interest in Christ’s humanity and the more intense focus on his corporeal nature fostered more individualized and embodied approaches to spirituality, as emphasized by Caroline Walker Bynum. The human body of the believers themselves became a focal point, as a tool through which individuals could aspire to connect with the divine. Mary Carruthers and Michelle Karnes have illustrated that the incorporation of Aristotelian theories into Christian thought by theologians such as Thomas Aquinas played a crucial role in shaping these changing paradigms. They provided a new framework for understanding the moral and spiritual interpretations of the senses, the body and cognitive processes. This intellectual shift created innovative avenues for communicating complex spiritual concepts through somatic experiences, making the divine more accessible and even tangible. Over the centuries, the dissemination of these ideas among the laity through sermons, as noted by Giuseppe Ledda, and devotional literature such as the Meditationes Vitae Christi, led to the creation of a widespread culture of sensation. As a result, the integration of sensory and bodily experiences into religious practices became a shared cultural phenomenon, shaping the way people perceived and interacted with their faith.

To better grasp the relations between the senses, the body and the mind we propose to incorporate recent developments in the field of cognitive sciences. The intersection between cognitive sciences and medieval studies is a very recent and still rare occurrence (Blud & Dresvina, 2010), yet it holds promise. For the purpose of the present conference, we are interested in the fact that in cognitive sciences, the dynamics of interaction among mind, body, and material world are now deemed crucial to understand mental states and processes. Cognition is indeed understood to be embodied (it does not depend solely on the brain but is also influenced by the body) and embedded, meaning it is inextricably linked to its social and material environment. This interpretative framework proves particularly useful in analyzing medieval religious practices, where material items, environments, and individual experiences were inextricably connected.

The interdisciplinary focus of this conference, integrating sensory studies, material culture studies, cognitive studies, and historical research, provides a rich platform for understanding the profound changes in religion during the medieval period. By exploring somatised spiritual experiences, the conference aims to shed new light on the intricate ways in which the senses, cognition, and the body were engaged in devotional practices, emphasizing the multisensory nature of medieval spirituality.

This conference is organised by the ERC research project SenSArt – The Sensous Appeal of the Holy. Sensory Agency of Sacred Art and Somatised Spiritual Experiences in Medieval Europe (12th-15th century), Grant Agreement nr. 950248, PI Zuleika Murat, Università degli Studi di Padova (https://sensartproject.eu/)

Gelieve in te schrijven via het formulier op de VWM website Het Pand (Oude Infirmerie) Onderberge... more Gelieve in te schrijven via het formulier op de VWM website Het Pand (Oude Infirmerie) Onderbergen 1, Gent Vlaamse Werkgroep Mediëvistiek Antonius van Padua, beschermheilige voor verloren voorwerpen (Rafaël, 1503) 8 Mei 2018 18.30 Contactpersoon: Micol Long micol.long@ugent.be

Poster for the upcoming conference "Horizontal learning" (Brussels, 1-2 September 2016).

The Annotated Book. Early Medieval Practices of Reading and Writing, ed. by M. TEEUWEN, I. VAN RENSWOUDE, 2017

Paper to be presented at the conference "Horizontal Learning within High Medieval Religious Commu... more Paper to be presented at the conference "Horizontal Learning within High Medieval Religious Communities" (Brussels, September 1st and 2nd, 2016)

in Medieval Autograph Manuscripts. Proceedings of the XVII Colloquium of the CIPL, Comité International de Paléographie Latine, ed. by N. Golob, Turnhout 2013 (Bibliologia, 36), pp. 441- 446, 2013

"The influence of epistolography on the spread of autography (XI-XIII centuries) The aim of th... more "The influence of epistolography on the spread of autography (XI-XIII centuries)

The aim of this ongoing research is to suggest and try to demonstrate the importance of epistolography as a testing ground for the practice of autography and for the elaboration of theories about its value and usefulness.
The purposes could be very different, as well as the contexts: in the case of a letter that contained important (for example, political) information it could be the need for secrecy or the will to confer authority to the text, even if it had not the formal elements of a document. Another possible interpretation of autography, as a token of affection, has its roots in classical antiquity (Cicero, Seneca) and seems to resurface in the middle ages and especially in these centuries, in which it is possible to trace the development of a peculiar conception of writing as a somewhat personal and often intimate activity. A third domain is religious: not only autography could be seen a proof of humility, but autograph letters could be perceived as "relics" containing a mark of the spiritual charisma of their authors - hence the stories of miracles performed by saints' letters, but also the practice of writing autograph letters of blessing.
The letter-collections appear as a very suitable source for such a reconstruction of the context in which some authors started to write with their own hand; moreover, identifying declarations of autography or other references to autograph letters in the texts allows us to value the cultural importance of these cases even when the manuscripts did not reach us."

Le lettere monastiche di amicizia dell'XI e XII secolo costituiscono una fonte particolarmente ri... more Le lettere monastiche di amicizia dell'XI e XII secolo costituiscono una fonte particolarmente ricca di casi di dichiarata autografia epistolare, in cui gli autori affermano di aver preso personalmente la penna in mano per scrivere, contrariamente a quella che era la pratica corrente. Dopo aver riflettuto brevemente sui possibili motivi di questa idoneità, analizzerò alcuni casi concreti, che mi consentiranno di mettere in luce alcuni elementi importanti della concezione monastica dell'amicizia epistolare.
Si tratta in primo luogo della caratterizzazione del colloquio epistolare come momento intimo, riservato, in alcuni casi perfino segreto: ciò vale sia per la scrittura della lettera sia per la sua lettura. Un altro tratto caratteristico è la consapevolezza che l'epistola rappresenta un tramite anche fisico tra mittente e destinatario: di qui la celebrazione e la cura anche degli aspetti materiali della corrispondenza, nel cui contesto è da inquadrare l'eventuale autografia. Infine, la scelta di scrivere a mano può essere a volte intesa come una dimostrazione di umiltà o un gesto d'affetto, in quanto dono al destinatario del proprio tempo e della propria fatica.

DESWARTE, Thomas (dir.) ; HERBERS, Klaus (dir.) ; et SIRANTOINE, Hélène (dir.). Epistola 1. Écriture et genre épistolaires. Madrid : Casa de Velázquez,, 2018

Le xi e siècle, comme il est notoire, est une période où l'art épistolaire connut une fortune cro... more Le xi e siècle, comme il est notoire, est une période où l'art épistolaire connut une fortune croissante, mais dont les sources conservées ont un volume relativement gérable par rapport aux siècles suivants 1 ; il a donc été possible d'en faire un dépouillement assez complet, pour rechercher les témoignages relatifs à la conception de la missive comme « substitut de la personne ». Cette formulation veut indiquer les cas où l'on fait référence au morceau de parchemin comme s'il s'agissait d'un être humain. Il y a donc une correspondance entre le réel (une personne) et une représentation du réel, dans le sens où l'on attribue arbitrairement à un objet (une lettre) le rôle de représentant, et donc de substitut, de la personne en question 2 .

MOYEN AGE, vol. 126, pp. 287–98, 2020

Paper presented at the Symposium "The Cognitive Turn in History" (Groeningen, 2021)

Today, the Catholic notion of “confession” evokes a very specific setting (for example, a wooden ... more Today, the Catholic notion of “confession” evokes a very specific setting (for example, a wooden confessional box) and a well-established ritual. However, these are all modern creations. While a relatively rich bibliography exists about medieval confession, little attention has been paid to its most practical and material dimension: where and how did confessions take place? Were particular objects, gestures and formulaic expressions involved? Can we trace the development of a specific ritual of confession, at least after Innocent III's decree Omnis utriusque sexus (1215), which made confession compulsory for all laypeople at least once per year?
This gap in historiography is almost certainly linked to the paucity of medieval sources about the ritual and practical dimension of confession. I propose to look at both textual and iconographical sources representing confessions in the period ca. 1215-1315 by paying particular attention to the gestures (including body positions and facial expressions) of the penitent and of the confessor, considered as a whole as a religious performance. For example, the frequent representation of the penitents as kneeling or crying can be interpreted as a performance of contrition, whereas the confessor’s representation oscillates between the role of the judge (often seated and impassible) and that of the physician, who engages with his patient in an active and tangible way. Approaching confession as a performance appears justified considering that normally the penitent and the confessor were not hidden from sight, but rather could be seen – if not heard – by many people.
This helps to understand the crucial and multifaceted role played by the senses in both thetheorization, the practice and the perception of
confession.

This article argues that it is preferable to avoid the rigid categorization of certain combs as “... more This article argues that it is preferable to avoid the rigid categorization of certain combs as “liturgical combs”, but rather to observe that certain combs have been known to be used ritually in a variety of ways.
In fact, combs produced in secular context and for secular purposes could acquire sacred value because they had been gifted to churches and become a part of their treasure, or because they had been associated with holy individuals. This makes it difficult to distinguish between «liturgical» and «non liturgical» combs, regardless of the materials used (since the fact that most combs preserved for the 10th-13th century are made of ivory also depends on its durability and value), subject of the decoration (religious or not), the shape (since H-shaped combs were used in both religious and lay settings).
An overview of the attested uses of combs in medieval churches c. 10th-13th century allows to show that next to well attested and well known uses, such as the ritual combing of a priest before celebrating Mass
and the ritual combing of a bishop during the consecration ceremony, there were also other uses which seems to have been peculiar of specific religious foundations.
In the final section, the article focuses on how these combs were perceived. Textual sources such as letters and hagiographies are used to reconstruct the meanings associated with the act of combing, complementing the information provided by more traditionally used sources like liturgical treatises. The act of combing and/or of being combed, in which sensorial stimulation played an important role, emerges as an intimate experience which could forge a personal link between the comber and the person combed or remind the person whose hair were being combed of the donor of the comb. Furthermore, combing is associated with cleansing of both body and mind by bringing purification and order, and was often accompanied by prayer.
On the basis of the collected evidence, the article puts forth the hypothesis that these associations extended well beyond the liturgical context, for example to personal devotion, where the act of combing may have been associated with meditation and prayer.

Paper accepted for IMC Leeds 2023: Session Number: 1229 , Entanglements of Senses in Medieval Sa... more Paper accepted for IMC Leeds 2023:

Session Number: 1229 , Entanglements of Senses in Medieval Sacred Art and Religious Experience, III: Material Culture - Manuscripts and Texts

Wednesday 05 July 2023, 14.15-15.45 Format: In Person Session

Session Abstract: This is the third of four sessions which look at medieval religious art and experience between the 10th and the 15th century from the innovative lenses of sensory perception in the context of the ERC project SenSArt (Università degli Studi di Padova). This session focuses on texts and manuscripts, reconstructing how their devotional use could result in a synesthetic experience in both monastic and secular environments. The latter are approached through the analysis of late-medieval Flemish Books of Hours, while the former are studied by comparing 12th century monastic didactical treatises and a 13th and 15th century mss presenting the life of Christ and the Virgin from St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury. Sponsor: ERC Project 'SenSArt: The Sensuous Appeal of the Holy - Sensory Agency of Sacred Art & Somatised Spiritual Experiences in Medieval Europe (12th-15th Centuries)'

Session Organiser: Zuleika Murat, Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali, Università degli Studi di Padova & Micol Long Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali, Università degli Studi di Padova

paper to be presented at the conference "The Senses: Present Issues, Past Perspectives" at the F... more paper to be presented at the conference "The Senses: Present Issues, Past Perspectives" at the Fondazione Monte Verità (Switzerland).

paper presented in the panel “Il potere della scrittura. Scrivere delle donne, scrivere sulle don... more paper presented in the panel “Il potere della scrittura. Scrivere delle donne, scrivere sulle donne tra alto e basso medioevo” organized by Tiziana Lazzari & Isabella Lazzarini at the VI Congresso della Società delle storiche (Verona 2021)

Paper presented at the online conference "Distant Communications"

Paper presented at the Colloquium "Que font les intellectuels ? L’otium de l’Antiquité à l’époque... more Paper presented at the Colloquium "Que font les intellectuels ? L’otium de
l’Antiquité à l’époque moderne” (Aix-en-Provence, 2022)

paper presented at the Abschlusskongress zum DFG-Netzwerk „Ars dictaminis: Die mittelalterliche... more paper presented at the Abschlusskongress zum DFG-Netzwerk „Ars dictaminis: Die mittelalterliche Briefstillehre“ Aachen, 30.11. – 2.12. 2017

Existing narratives of the religious history of the “long twelfth century” (from the mid‐eleventh... more Existing narratives of the religious history of the “long twelfth century” (from the mid‐eleventh century to the first decades of the thirteenth) in Western Europe have long been focusing on the distinction and competition between religious orders and between monasteries, often seen as closed environments, each engaged in its own distinctive cultural production. This is due to the fact that most normative and legal sources about monastic mobility are the product of an attempt to tighten the legal, ideological and institutional boundaries between religious groups as a reaction to the growing variety of forms of religious life. However, if instead of a top-down approach we adopt a bottom-up one, focusing on real-life cases of transitions of individuals from one monastery to another and observing their impact on the scribal, artistic, literary and intellectual production, a situation of remarkable fluidity is revealed. Such transitions were actually frequent and transitioners brought with them their knowledge, skills, as well as their networks of contacts: this affected individuals as well as communities, producing instances of what can be deemed as cultural hybridism. In this paper I will present some examples of it, by pointing out, for example, how the works of Adam of Perseigne reflect a spirituality which unites elements typical of Cistercian monasticism with elements which are a legacy of his past as a canon regular, and how the literary style of Nicholas of Clairvaux varies following his changes of religious houses and of patrons. In conclusion, I will address the question of how this type of mobility and its effects were perceived.

This paper shall focus on monastic practices of reading, commenting and discussing a text in a gr... more This paper shall focus on monastic practices of reading, commenting and discussing a text in a group as a mean of learning. Therefore, it will approach reading as a social and interactive activity, for which medieval sources sometimes use the expression legere ab aliquo, which points both to the goal of learning and to the relational aspect.

As it is well known, this method of teaching and learning is attested by glosses and commentaries; however, I intend to focus on the fact, which has received much less attention, that a part of the discourses which developed around the fundamental text may not be recorded in writing, and for specific reasons. Firstly, the commenting and discussing could (and, according to some authors, should) be adapted to the persons involved, their level of knowledge and their interests. Tailored explanations, questions and answers, as well as co-constructed reflections, shaped the discourse and made it unique and, as such, not easily accessible and usable by others. Secondly, the effort of re-construction and re-enactment of the discourse around the text was an integral part of learning. This can easily be understood in the case of the grammatical analysis of a text, but should be taken into account also for the reflection on its content, especially on the moral and anagogical sense.

Althugh these “oral marginalia” can’t be studied directly through manuscript annotations but rather through complementary sources such as letters, treatises and Vitae, their inquiry can help interpret annotating practices by reconstructing the context in which they originated, most notably the complex interplay between oral and written. The proposed approach can therefore usefully integrate the study of manuscripts as products of the learning activity by addressing the question why certain things were annotated in manuscripts and others weren’t.

The monastic context is particularly suitable for such an analysis because an important part of teaching and learning took place informally, through conversation on shared readings. I will take into consideration sources up to the XI century, since the XII century constitutes an age of remarkable cultural innovations; these, although they transformed primarily urban schools, influenced the cloisters, too, as mirrored for example by the changes in the use of the vocabulary relating to teaching and learning.

From Bede to Alcuin up until Froumund of Tegernsee and Anselm of Canterbury, the activity of reading together and discussing texts is attested not only in the context of young pupils’ instruction, but also between learned men, sometimes resulting in a literary production which is in many way the product of a collaborative activity. For this reason, the proposed approach allows to shed some light not only on educational practices in the strictest sense, but also on learning from one another through social and informal interaction as an important part of the cultural life in monasteries.

With a primary focus on Western Europe from the 12th to the 15th century, this conference aims to... more With a primary focus on Western Europe from the 12th to the 15th century, this conference aims to explore preaching in an innovative and holistic way, by considering the multisensorial dimension of the transmission and reception of the word of God in whichever form, verbal or non-verbal. By emphasising the range of activities aimed at communicating religious
knowledge and devotional practice, and the multisensorial nature of such activities, this conference will explore new aspects of the multifaceted experience of medieval preaching.

Call for papers for a Masterclass with Reindert Falkenburg and Michel Weemans Organised by the V... more Call for papers for a Masterclass with Reindert Falkenburg and Michel Weemans
Organised by the Vlaamse werkgroep mediëvistiek (VWM) and the Réseau des médiévistes belges de langue française (RMBLF)

Brussels, 24-25 January 2019

This conference will center on the medieval practices of learning within a community, understood ... more This conference will center on the medieval practices of learning within a community, understood as a body of people who practice communal living and share an understanding of
what binds them together, even though this understanding is constantly being renegotiated.
Our aim is to focus on the ways in which co-habiting peers learned from one another. This “horizontal learning” has received much less attention than the vertical master/student
approach, and yet it emerges as an important part of the learning experience, especially as we are interested in “learning” in a broad sense: not only acquiring factual knowledge or skills, but also developing ideas and beliefs and adapting to behavioral patterns. In short, everything that
could make a monk a better and more efficient member of the community.
Whereas other projects thematize the institutional history of learning, the transmission of propositional knowledge in formalized educational contexts, or the importance of networks of learning, this project distinguishes itself through its focus on day-to-day interactions by community members.
Our starting point is the investigation of communal learning in the practices of high medieval religious communities. Progressing beyond the old view that they were closed, homogeneous, and fairly stable social groups, we intend to approach these communities as the product of a continuous process of education and integration of new members. Contributions will
investigate the way in which inter-personal exchanges of knowledge between peers concretely functioned, and what this teaches us about medieval learning within the context of a
community.

Although the theme of learning in the High Middle Ages and in religious communities has recently ... more Although the theme of learning in the High Middle Ages and in religious communities has recently been the object of much scholarly attention, the study of the actors’ perception of the learning process still offers many fruitful opportunities for investigation.
The way in which monks and other co-habiting religious men and women of the high middle ages perceived the various aspects of the learning process can be reconstructed by analyzing the references to learning experiences in sources such as letters and poems, but also many narrative sources. Topics of interest for the session include, but are not limited to, the existence of different learning theories or models, the emotional and affective implications of learning, and the ways in which it affects the shaping of identities. Such themes hold a particular interest in an age of competing religious observances, in which the renewed attention to the self and to social relationships was inextricably connected with the affiliation to social (and, especially, religious) groups.

This project aims to re-evaluate education in monastic contexts of 11th-12th century Western Euro... more This project aims to re-evaluate education in monastic contexts of 11th-12th century Western Europe by relying on the concept of “communities of practice”. So far, historical scholarship has approached education in monasticism of this period as a process involving the individual acquisition of a written body of knowledge with the aid of a teacher or expert, even when contemporary sources indicate that the shaping of monks’ social, religious and intellectual identity was in fact a dialectical process, involving mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas. This research project will therefore argue that in these contexts the focus was not on the individual acquisition of knowledge, but rather on individuals’ participation in a “community of learning”, where active social participation in the processing of knowledge, beliefs and attitudes constituted the vehicle for learning itself. Relying on a comparative analysis of the preserved monastic correspondence, the researcher will verify this hypothesis by addressing, in accounts of monastic learning, three distinct aspects: a) the contents of learning, b) its personal, communal and physical context, and c) actors' perception of the learning process and of how this shaped of individual and communal identities. This will allow a fundamental reassessment of education in monastic communities and of the dynamics between the actors involved in the cultural (literary, intellectual, spiritual, etc.) life of these highly learned environments.

PhD dissertation defended May 2013 at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy

The thesis presents the results of a survey and analysis of references to autography in Latin epi... more The thesis presents the results of a survey and analysis of references to autography in Latin epistolary sources from the XI to the first half of the XIII century. It aims to study the values and functions attributed to the authors' writing with their own hand, as opposed to the more common practice of composing by dictating to a secretary. The focus is, then, on the self-awareness of medieval authors about the possible uses and advantages of autography, and more generally on their conception of writing and composing. For this reason, accounts of autography as the result of a choice of the author have been privileged over the cases of autography imposed by particular circumstances (for example, the lack of a secretary).
The choice to concentrate on the period between the beginning of the XI century and the first half of the XIII allows us to investigate the diffusion of authorial autography at a time when cases are no longer isolated ones but represent a continuous series, without having become too numerous to be analysed. The letters are particularly suitable sources, since they often furnish information concerning the circumstances in which they were written and the motives of their authors.
The study is divided in three parts. In the first, several preliminary problems in dealing with accounts of epistolary autography are presented and discussed. After an overview of the different ways to express the notion of "autograph", the possible existence of a topic of autography is taken into account. Then, after an overview of the status quaestionis on medieval autography, I have attempted a survey of references to the autographic writing of letters in Classical, Biblical, and Patristic texts that may have influenced, directly or indirectly, medieval authors.
In the second part of the work I analyse the accounts of epistolary autography from the XI century to the first half of the XIII, sorted according to the reason that the authors give for their choice to write themselves. Secrecy is the most common reason, even though the authors' claim to absolute secrecy cannot always be taken at face value and one should probably consider those cases as defined by a spectrum of different shades of confidentiality. Another important reason for autography is affection, which forms a part of a long-lasting tradition whose roots lay in Classical Antiquity (Cicero, Seneca and Ovid especially). The autograph letter of friendship or love can be seen as a proof of an intimate exchange, as a gift of the author's time and labour or as a souvenir for a reader who is familiar with the sender's handwriting. Writing with one's own hand could also represent a proof of the author's humility, or be means to ensure the trustworthiness and authoritativeness of the text, especially when relating visions or important events. Lastly, sometimes autograph letters could be valued according to the belief that the touch of the hand of a charismatic religious figure had imbued the parchment with sacred and magical qualities, turning it into a relic.
In the last section I have considered the evidence in an overall and comparative way. A comparison among the authors who explicitly state that they wrote with their own hand shows that they were often monks, at least for a while, and that many of them had had an experience working as a secretaries, while a comparison of the letters containing declarations of autography shows, among other things, that they were usually short and addressed to long-lasting correspondents. The particular suitability of the epistolary genre for authorial autography is also suggested by a comparative analysis of the declarations of autography in other texts, like prologues and colophons, which share some common traits with the letters that have been analysed.
Among the results of this study are the identification and analysis of the accounts of epistolary autography from the XI century to the first half of the XIII, many of them little known, and which have not previously been studied collectively. Although, for evident reasons, their number is limited, I believe that the collected evidence supports the hypothesis, presented in this study, that the practice and theory of letter-writing were one of the contexts in which the late medieval re-evaluation of autography developed.

L’analisi della riflessione sull’amicizia all’interno dell’epistolario di Pietro il Venerabile co... more L’analisi della riflessione sull’amicizia all’interno dell’epistolario di Pietro il Venerabile consente di mettere a fuoco sia la sua dipendenza dai modelli e dalle correnti culturali della sua epoca, sia i suoi aspetti peculiari, stilistici e contenutistici. Da una parte lo studio della rappresentazione della pratica concreta dell’amicizia offre una chiave per l’analisi della rete di relazioni dell’abate, dentro e fuori il monastero; dall’altra la riflessione teorica è collocata nel complesso della visione teologica dell’autore e nel dibattito sulla cosiddetta “nascita dell’individuo” nel dodicesimo secolo.

Bernard of Clairvaux’s letter-collection includes many references to the act of writing, both as ... more Bernard of Clairvaux’s letter-collection includes many references to the act of writing, both as an intellectual occupation and as a menial task. Their analysis provides information about his own literary production and the various stages of its realization, from the conception to the dictation and the material writing and sending, as well as his ideas on writing as a concrete or conceptual reality, and as a metaphorical resource as well. The knowledge of the practices of working in the chancellery of the great abbot (ex. mediation of the secretaries and the bearers) is crucial for a critical approach to the letter-collection, for which the issue of authorship should be posed. Moreover, the care with which Bernard distinguishes between the various stages of his literary production, and in particular his very specific idea of the operation of editing, shows the importance he gave to it and his awareness of his responsibilities as an author.
Bernard’s conception of writing has been approached through different methods: a lexical analysis (allowing to single out the rare cases in which he wrote with his own hand and to advance hypothesis on his motivations), a study of the metaphors of and for writing, and an evaluation of the balance between oral and written dimension in the abbot’s thought. This latter method leads, for example, to the discovery of a peculiar conception of writing as an intimate and personal sphere, especially in the epistolary friendship (which draws heavily on the model of the oral colloquium).
The particular interest for the abovementioned study is related to the historical period of reference: the first half of the XII century, which blends tradition and innovations, as does Bernard of Clairvaux himself. The letters appear a suitable source for this kind of research, not only because they often reflect the everyday routine but also, and more importantly, because they offer chances for an auto analysis, particularly in relation to the act of writing.
In conclusion, the analysis of Bernard’s letter collection shows the author’s remarkable openness of mind to the possibility of a contemporary literary production, perceived as distinguished from the ancient one, and yet with a value of its own. In spite of some statements which tend to celebrate the oral dimension above the written one, the abbot is fully aware of the potentials of the written medium in his days, especially for its easy transmission through space and time and its probationary capacity. Therefore, the written medium qualifies as an indispensable mean for his action (for example, as an interpreter of an exemplar textual community like the Cistercians) and a receptacle for his ideas, but also as a realization of his personal potentials as an author. Finally, Bernard’s awareness of the importance of his own epistolary production as an attestation and a representation of his action and his figure should not be forgotten, as it offers a key to a global approach to the whole corpus epistolarum as an all in all conscious representation of self.

Cîteaux - Commentarii Cistercienses, 2018

En juin 2018 s’est tenu à Reims un colloque international consacré à Guillaume de Saint-Thierry. ... more En juin 2018 s’est tenu à Reims un colloque international consacré à Guillaume de Saint-Thierry. Cette manifestation accompagnait à la fois la publication de ses œuvres dans la collection « Sources Chrétiennes » et le 50e anniversaire de la reprise de la vie monastique sur la colline du Mont d’Hor. Après les approches historiques – ses années liégeoises et rémoises, son implication dans les réformes bénédictines –, les études de ses sources et de son influence sur la mystique, les réflexions théologiques et spirituelles se sont croisées pour mettre en valeur son originalité, par rapport à Isaac de l’Étoile ou surtout Bernard de Clairvaux, dans des domaines aussi variés que la réception de la pensée augustinienne, la connaissance de Dieu, la liturgie, les usages bibliques, la formation, et fondamentalement la conception de la vie monastique. S’est ainsi dessiné un parcours intérieur le menant du cénobitisme à l’érémitisme, faisant de lui une figure intimement représentative de l’ordo monasticus au XIIe siècle.
Acheter le livre: http://www.citeaux.org/guillaume/

In June 2018, an international conference on William of Saint-Thierry was held in Reims. This event celebrated both the publication of his works in the “Sources Chrétiennes” series and the fiftieth anniversary of the resumption of monastic life on Mont d’Hor. Beginning with various historical approaches – William’s years in Liège and Reims, and his involvement in the Benedictine reforms – we move on to examine his sources and his influence on mysticism, and then to introduce a number of theological and spiritual reflections which, when compared with Isaac of Stella and especially Bernard of Clairvaus, highlight William’s originality in areas as varied as the reception of Augustinian thought, the knowledge of God, the liturgy, Biblical usage, formation, and the fundamental conception of the nature of monastic life. In this way, William lays before us an inner journey from cenobitism to eremitism, making him an excellent representative of the ordo monasticus in the twelfth century.
Buy the book: http://www.citeaux.org/guillaume/

On May 6, 2022, my book "Learning as Shared Practice" (Brill, 2021) will be presented in Padua.

This collective volume examines the ways in which co-habiting peers learned from one another in m... more This collective volume examines the ways in which co-habiting peers learned from one another in medieval religious communities (11th-12th century) by focusing on the way in which day-to-day interpersonal exchanges of knowledge concretely functioned.

- A lecture organised by the Vlaamse Werkgroep Mediëvistiek (VWM) and the Réseau des médiévistes ... more - A lecture organised by the Vlaamse Werkgroep Mediëvistiek (VWM) and the Réseau des médiévistes belges de langue française (RMBLF) -

Bruegel’s landscapes take his viewers on a visual and mental quest of the visible world which leads to the realm of the invisible. The lecture will highlight this fundamental characteristic of Bruegel’s work. The works of Bruegel, as Reindert Falkenburg and Michel Weemans suggest, are to be seen as lessons in observation: providing subjects for speculation and traps to see.