Collaboration Fund

Medieval history takes a central place in contemporary debates. It also permeates contemporary imagination (cinema, television, even video games) and offers a unique opportunity for medievalists and the public to reflect on the formation of historical knowledge in and its impact on modern society.

The project on “The Making of Medieval History” aims to initiate an informed collective reflection on the conditions of formation and appropriation as well as the uses and impact of the knowledge and imagination of the Middle Ages in modern society. Such an enquiry has the potential to unravel the importance of imagination and to capture the complex interaction between imagination, culture and knowledge in it. It could also make an important contribution to the public’s understanding of the notion of heritage and encourage people’s involvement in their history.

The project is based on the common expertise and interest of scholars at the three established centres of medieval studies of Leeds, Sheffield and York, their strong international connections and the attraction of Leeds’s International Medieval Congress. In a series of nine conferences and workshops to be hold in turn at the three participating universities, starting at the IMC in July 2011 and finishing at the IMC in July 2012, with public addresses by Patrick Geary (UCLA) and Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose), the White Rose medievalists and leading national and international colleagues will explore moments, contexts, paradigms and topics that have played a crucial role in the development of the study and perception of the Middle Ages. The concluding session will take place at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. A list of the conference topics, papers and contributors and a summary of the costs are attached to this application. Boydell and Brewer have expressed an interest in the publication of the proceedings.