Source: NAPS, The North American Patristics Society.
The cultural and religious history from Antiquity
through the Renaissance may be read through the lens of the rise and demise of
auctoritates. Throughout this long period of about two millennia, many
historical persons have been considered as exceptionally authoritative.
Obviously, this authority derived from their personal achievements. But one
does not become an authority on one’s own. In many cases, the way an
authority’s achievements were received and disseminated by their contemporaries
and later generations, was the determining factor in the construction of their
authority. We will focus on the latter aspect: what are the mechanisms and
strategies by which participants in intellectual life at large have shaped the
authority of historical persons? On what basis, why and how were some persons
singled out above their peers as exceptional auctoritates and by which
processes did this continue (or discontinue) over time? What imposed
geographical or other limits on the development and expansion of a person’s auctoritas?
Which circumstances led to the disintegration of the authority of persons
previously considered to be authoritative?
We invite interdisciplinary and innovative scholarly
case studies that document these processes. They may focus on one (group of)
source(s) to analyse its contribution to shaping the authority of a historical
person or they may take a longue durée perspective on the rise (and demise) of
a person’s auctoritas.
Thematic clusters one can think of may include (1)
Biography, historiography and hagiography as grounds for authority; (2) The
role played by manuscript transmission and production; (3) The contribution of
non-textual sources; (4) Biblical characters as authorities. Papers are invited
from fields as diverse as philosophy, classical studies, Oriental and Byzantine
studies, history, theology and religion, art history, manuscript studies and
hagiography.
The papers selected for presentation at the conference
will preferably be case studies which contain the following elements in some
combination: (1) Presentation and analysis of the sources and their context;
(2) Analysis of the strategies for the “making of authority”; (3) Description
of the long term success (or failure) of these enterprises.
Papers may be given in English, French of German and
should be twenty minutes long. To submit a proposal, please send an abstract of
your paper and a brief curriculum vitae (max one pag. each) by e-mail to
marleen.reynders@ghum.kuleuven.be before 20 April 2013.
The publication of selected papers is planned in a
volume to be included in the peer-reviewed LECTIO Series (Brepols Publishers).
The keynote lecture will be delivered by Prof. John
Van Engen (Notre Dame Indiana USA)
Detailed information about the conference on
http://ghum.kuleuven.be/lectio