Books by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
Oxford University Press, 2021
In medieval Italy the practice of revenge as criminal justice was still popular amongst members o... more In medieval Italy the practice of revenge as criminal justice was still popular amongst members of all social classes, yet crime was also increasingly perceived as a public matter that needed to be dealt with by the government rather than private citizens. Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy sheds light on this contradiction through an in-depth comparison of lay and religious sources produced in Siena between 1260 and 1330 on criminal justice, conflict, and violence.
Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy argues that religious people were an effective pressure group with regards to criminal justice, thanks both to the literary works they produced and their direct intervention in political affairs, and that their contributions have not received the attention they deserve. It shows that the dichotomy between theories and practices of 'private' and of 'public' justice should be substituted by a framework in which three models, or discourses, of criminal justice are recognized as present in medieval Italian communes, with the addition of a specifically religious discourse based on penitential spirituality. Although the models of criminal justice were competing, they also influenced each other.
Studies in Medieval History and Culture, London, Routledge, 2021
This pioneering work explores the theme of women and violence in the late medieval Mediterranean,... more This pioneering work explores the theme of women and violence in the late medieval Mediterranean, bringing together medievalists of different specialties and methodologies to offer readers an updated outline of how different disciplines can contribute to the study of gender-based violence in medieval times. Building on the contributions of the social sciences, and in particular feminist criminology, the book analyses the rich theme of women and violence in its full spectrum, including both violence committed against women and violence perpetrated by women themselves, in order to show how medieval assumptions postulated a tight connection between the two. Violent crime, verbal offences, war, and peace-making are among the themes approached by the book, which assesses to what extent coexisting elaborations on the relationship between femininity and violence in the Mediterranean were conflicting or collaborating. Geographical regions explored include Western Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic world. This multidisciplinary book will appeal to scholars and students of history, literature, gender studies, and legal studies.
Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2022
Qui n’a jamais vécu cette sensation d’être emporté par la foule? Telles sont les émotions collect... more Qui n’a jamais vécu cette sensation d’être emporté par la foule? Telles sont les émotions collectives, concrètes et fuyantes. Des spectacles romains aux «gilets jaunes », une équipe d’historiennes et d’historiens a entrepris d’enquêter sur cette étrange expérience.
Who has never experienced the sensation of being carried away by the crowd ? Such is the nature of collective emotions, at once concrete and elusive. Starting from Roman spectacles and ending with nowadays’ gilet jaunes, a team of historians has set out to investigate this peculiar phenomenon.
Date de parution: 07/09/2022
Articles by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
Società e Storia, 2023
Studies on the diversity of capital punishments inflicted on men and women in late medieval Europ... more Studies on the diversity of capital punishments inflicted on men and women in late medieval Europe have found a prevalence of burning in the latter case, as opposed to hanging as a typically male punishment. This discrepancy has been explained by some as motivated by the indecency of displaying female corpses;; others have rather suggested that women guilty of serious violent acts were associated with the demonic and therefore punished by burning. The contribution aims to re-examine this debate using judicial sources from Italian communes (especially Siena, Florence and Bologna) in the 13th-14th centuries, compared with other European contexts. The analysis will focus in particular on murder and robbery, for which communal statutes normally prescribed capital punishment. The author argues that the types of execution chosen for these crimes depended not so much on the gender of the malefactor, but on the circumstances of the crime committed (in particular, its treacherous elements): however, it is necessary to take into account the cultural bias existing in the Italian communes alongside their normative frameworks.
Memini. Travaux et documents, 2022
Société des études médiévales du Québec Ce document vous est offert par University of Sheffield R... more Société des études médiévales du Québec Ce document vous est offert par University of Sheffield Référence électronique Antonio Marson Franchini et Lidia L. Zanetti Domingues, « Expérience des morts et expérience des vivants dans les sermones de mortuis du dominicain Angelo da Porta Sole (XIV e siècle) »,
Il fuoco e l’acqua. Prevenzione e gestione dei disastri ambientali fra Medioevo e Età Moderna (Quaderni di SSMD, 7), 2022
The famine that plagued Europe in the period 1257-1260, caused by the eruption of the Indonesian ... more The famine that plagued Europe in the period 1257-1260, caused by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Samalas, is analyzed in this contribution from the point of view of Sienese public sources. What emerges is that the Tuscan city, in comparison to other northern Italian communes, proved readier to manage this emergency because of the measures it had put in place to combat and prevent food crises during a previous famine, which had affected Tuscany in the period 1248-1256. Siena also managed to turn this emergency to its favor in the context of foreign policy, using the necessity to buy wheat from southern Italy as a pretext to get politically closer to the Ghibelline Manfred of Sicily, without having to break relations with its Guelph ally Florence. This observation shows how the study of environmental history can be useful not only for socio-economic analyses, but it can also have implications for the history of political events in past societies.
Open Library of Humanities 5(1): 24, pp. 1–30, 2019
Archivio Storico Italiano, 2021
Abstract (ENG): Rituals of liberation of poor prisoners condemned for minor crimes on the occasio... more Abstract (ENG): Rituals of liberation of poor prisoners condemned for minor crimes on the occasion of Christian feasts have not received specific attention in the historiography of communal Italy. Nevertheless, they can foster our knowledge of the Italian late Middle Ages by shedding light on aspects such as the concept of civic religion and the relationship between criminal justice and spirituality in the communes. This article focuses on the origins of these practices, which seem to occur for the first time in 1270s-1290s Tuscany, but which subsequently became common in other areas of central and northern Italy. It is argued that politics linked to ideals of pardon and mercy became important elements of governance also in communes which did not present a strong adhesion to monarchical models, in which it is well known that royal pardons have a central role. Other elements are offered instead as explanations for the development of these rituals and the differences they presented in various cities. These include factors such as the presence of pauperistic religious movements devoted to the assistance of incarcerated individuals, the specific characteristics of local cults of patron saints, and a lower or higher level of factional conflict in a given city.
Abstract (ITA): I rituali di liberazione, in occasione di festività cristiane, di prigionieri poveri e condannati per crimini minori nell’Italia comunale non hanno ricevuto particolare attenzione dalla storiografia. Essi possono tuttavia arricchire la nostra conoscenza dell’Italia bassomedievale con nuove informazioni sui temi della religione civica e del rapporto tra diritto e spiritualità nei comuni italiani. Il presente articolo si concentra sulle origini di questa pratica, che sembra aver preso piede in Toscana tra gli anni Settanta e Novanta del Duecento, per poi diffondersi altrove nell’Italia centro-settentrionale. Esso mostra come politiche legate a ideali di grazia e misericordia potessero divenire elementi importanti delle pratiche di governo di un comune al di là della sua adesione a modelli monarchici, nei quali è noto come il perdono regio rivesta un ruolo centrale. Altri elementi, quali la presenza di movimenti religiosi di stampo pauperistico votati all’assistenza ai carcerati, le specifiche caratteristiche dei culti patronali cittadini, e il livello più o meno elevato di conflittualità tra fazioni, sono invece proposti come spiegazioni alternative per il sorgere di questa pratica e per le differenze che essa presentava di città in città.
Eurasiatica 15 Armenia, Caucaso e Asia Centrale Ricerche 2020 , 2020
An Armenian religious community settled in Orvieto in the 13th century and founded the church and... more An Armenian religious community settled in Orvieto in the 13th century and founded the church and hospice of Santo Spirito, where they provided hospitality to pilgrims on the Via Francigena. Archaeological traces of their presence include a travertine gate with a trilingual inscription, reused in the church of San Domenico (Orvieto), the remains of the church of Santo Spirito, and art pieces removed from the latter. Contemporary Latin documents and an analysis of the historical context suggest that the Armenian presence was well-received by the lay and clerical authorities, and even held as prestigious.
SOCIETÀ E STORIA , 2017
ENG: The protagonists of Italo-Greek hagiographies of the X-XII centuries appear to be endowed wi... more ENG: The protagonists of Italo-Greek hagiographies of the X-XII centuries appear to be endowed with medical knowledge obtained through the reading of Classical works; however, the ritual aspects in the description of healing miracles in their bioi are equally important. This paper presents an analysis of episodes of the life of St. Sabas of Collesano, written at the end of the X century by Orestes, patriarch of Jerusalem, where the saint performs healing rituals comparable to those of the other Italo-Greek bioi, but he does not seem able to heal his patients and limits himself to predicting their prognosis. The author links such episodes to the new wave of Arab raids in Calabria in the second half of the X century, with its aftermath of famines and epidemics. “Non thaumaturgical” behaviour such as that of St Sabas could therefore reveal the difficulty of reconciling the faith in a providential plan and the recurrent misfortunes experienced by the population. It highlights the helplessness of the saint in providing the locals with material help, while on the other hand the emphasis on his prophetical skills re-establishes faith in a divine plan operating also in these circumstances.
ITA: I protagonisti delle agiografie italo-greche del X-XII secolo risultano portatori di conoscenze mediche ereditate dalla classicità, ma l’aspetto rituale nella descrizione dei miracoli di guarigione nei loro bioi è parimenti importante. In questo articolo si esaminano episodi della vita di Saba di Collesano, composta a fine X secolo da Oreste, patriarca di Gerusalemme, in cui il santo, pur compiendo una performance rituale analoga a quella degli altri bioi italo-greci, non sembra in grado di guarire il proprio paziente, ma si limita a predirne la prognosi. L’autrice mette in relazione tali episodi con la recrudescenza di raids arabi in Calabria nella seconda metà del X secolo, alla quale si legano anche carestie ed epidemie. Comportamenti "non taumaturgici" come quelli di san Saba rivelerebbero dunque la difficoltà di riconciliare la fiducia in un piano provvidenziale con le ricorrenti sciagure vissute dalla popolazione. Essi evidenziano l’impotenza del santo nel fornire aiuto materiale ai locali, ma dall’altro lato l’insistenza sulle sue capacità profetiche restituisce fiducia nell’esistenza di un piano divino agente anche in questo contesto.
Book chapters by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
Images of Desire in the Mediterranean World, edited by A. Paravicini Bagliani and P. Silanos, 2024
Studies in legal anthropology have argued for a distinction between a desire for revenge as an in... more Studies in legal anthropology have argued for a distinction between a desire for revenge as an individual emotional reaction and revenge systems as instruments of conflict management in each society. The history of emotions, however, has called into question the idea that emotions can be separated from the social systems in which they occur. Late medieval communal Italy is an ideal context for investigating this hypothesis, since its sources, unlike those of other periods, openly mention the notion of desire as the driving force behind revenge and pacification. This paper therefore aims to investigate what significance desire as a passio had in the late medieval period. The analysis suggests that the idea of movement inherent in the concept of desire in Aristotelian-Thomistic anthropology served precisely to express the profound interconnection between emotionality and the transformation of social relations linked to conflict and reconciliation. The need to obtain satisfaction on an emotional level at the end of a conflict is seen in the sources of the time as a premise for the creation of a new social order. This helps to support a model of conflict resolution that is alternative to an emerging 'hegemonic justice' centred not on the reparation of the offence suffered by the victim, but rather on the need for formal punishment for the offender.
Selve oscure e alberi strani. I boschi nell'Italia di Dante
Il bosco e i suoi significati nella predicazione dell'età di Dante
Économies de la pauvreté au Moyen Âge, 2023
http://books.openedition.org/cvz/41970
Histoire des émotions collectives. Épistémologie, émergences, expériences, ed. by P. Nagy, D. Boquet, L.L. Zanetti Domingues, pp. 307-326, 2022
Le recours plus fréquent à la peine de mort au bas Moyen Âge était justifié par les autorités sur... more Le recours plus fréquent à la peine de mort au bas Moyen Âge était justifié par les autorités sur la base de son effet dissuasif. Pourtant, les sources de l’Italie communale montrent qu’émotions autres que la peur, telles l’indignation ou bien la compassion, dominaient chez les foules au pied de l’échafaud. Ce constat signale leur indépendance dans leur interprétation de la violence judiciaire, qui était chargée de sens qui n’étaient pas toujours en accord avec les intentions des autorités.
L. L. Zanetti Domingues, L. Caravaggi, G. M. Paoletti (eds.), Women and Violence in the Late Medieval Mediterranean, ca. 1100-1500, London-New York, Routledge, pp. 1-22, 2021
In the Introduction, the editors explain what the aims of the volume are by reflecting on the rat... more In the Introduction, the editors explain what the aims of the volume are by reflecting on the rationale behind their choice of themes, approaches, chronology and geographical area. They present an overview of the most important orientations in the study of the relationship between women and violence in the recent historiography of medieval Latin Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic world. Their contributions to the present volume are highlighted, as well as the limits and the gaps in scholarly knowledge emerging from them, and which this book intends to contribute to overcoming. The influence of various approaches stemming from the social sciences (in particular, feminist criminology and interactionist and constructionist sociology) in building the theoretical framework of this volume is described. The study of long-term dynamics in the development of discourses of gendered violence and the fundamental connection between the latter and the socio-political contexts in which they operate are highlighted as central methodological reflections offered by this work. Finally, the Introduction focuses on how the articles present in this volume can contribute to reaching the aims set out by the editors.
Donne e povertà nell'Europa mediterranea medievale, a cura di L. Feller, P. Grillo, M. Moglia, 2021
L. L. Zanetti Domingues, 'Rappresentazione e autorappresentazione della povertà femminile nelle s... more L. L. Zanetti Domingues, 'Rappresentazione e autorappresentazione della povertà femminile nelle suppliche giudiziarie di inizio Trecento a Siena', in L. Feller, P. Grillo, M. Moglia (eds.), Donne e povertà nell'Europa mediterranea medievale, Viella, Rome, 2021, pp. 97-115, ISBN: 9788833138541.
This paper examines 14th- century petitions for amnesty from the Sienese state archive, focusing on the documents where poor women petition for amnesty for themselves or on behalf of others. It deals with issues of autorepresentation in the sources (that is, how these women represent their identity as poor and female individuals) and examines the conditions under which a poor woman's voice could be considered particularly appropriate to petition for an amnesty also on behalf of male individuals.
Das Recht in die eigene Hand nehmen? Rechtliche, soziale und theologische Diskurse über Selbstjustiz und Rache, 2021
Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. 4 ASS, Biccherna 731, f.... more Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig. 4 ASS, Biccherna 731, f. 6r and f. 24r. 5 For a recent summary on the development of this branch and basic bibliography, see Benedicte Sère, Histoire des émotions: l'heure des synthèses, in: Revue de l'histoire des religions 1 (2017) pp. 119-132. 6 For more information about the development of these two fundamental principles of the history of emotions and the debates that still surround them, see William Reddy, The Navigation of Feelings: A Framework for the History of Emotions
R. Comba, P. Grillo, R. Rao (eds), Cuneo: 1259-1347 fra monarchi e signori: in ricordo di Piero Camilla, 2012
‘Il primo secolo della presenza minoritica a Cuneo’, in R. Comba, P. Grillo, R. Rao (eds), Cuneo:... more ‘Il primo secolo della presenza minoritica a Cuneo’, in R. Comba, P. Grillo, R. Rao (eds), Cuneo: 1259-1347 fra monarchi e signori: in ricordo di Piero Camilla (proceedings of the conference of 7-8 December 2012), Cuneo 2012, pp. 49-60;
‘Forme della religiosità in Cuneo e nel suo distretto’, Ibidem, pp. 69-86.
Research Projects by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
A doctoral thesis submitted at the University of Oxford in December 2018 and examined in March 20... more A doctoral thesis submitted at the University of Oxford in December 2018 and examined in March 2019 to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. Supervisor: Professor Chris Wickham- Examiners: Professors Ian Forrest and Frances Andrews. The manuscript is currently being published for the Oxford Historical Monographs series of Oxford University Press.
Call for Papers by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
CALL FOR ARTICLES (and book reviews) - Deadline: 30 July 2021
' I quaderni del m.ae.s - Journal o... more CALL FOR ARTICLES (and book reviews) - Deadline: 30 July 2021
' I quaderni del m.ae.s - Journal of the Mediae Aetatis Sodalicium' is an Open Access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal hosted by the University of Bologna. We are launching a call for articles and reviews on all aspects of Medieval Studies (by which we mean studies focusing on the period ca. 400-1500), from all disciplinary perspectives.
Contributions are accepted in ENG, FRA, ITA and ESP.
Check out our website for more info on our journal and how to submit a paper to us: https://maes.unibo.it/announcement/view/4362
Uploads
Books by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy argues that religious people were an effective pressure group with regards to criminal justice, thanks both to the literary works they produced and their direct intervention in political affairs, and that their contributions have not received the attention they deserve. It shows that the dichotomy between theories and practices of 'private' and of 'public' justice should be substituted by a framework in which three models, or discourses, of criminal justice are recognized as present in medieval Italian communes, with the addition of a specifically religious discourse based on penitential spirituality. Although the models of criminal justice were competing, they also influenced each other.
Who has never experienced the sensation of being carried away by the crowd ? Such is the nature of collective emotions, at once concrete and elusive. Starting from Roman spectacles and ending with nowadays’ gilet jaunes, a team of historians has set out to investigate this peculiar phenomenon.
Date de parution: 07/09/2022
Articles by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
Abstract (ITA): I rituali di liberazione, in occasione di festività cristiane, di prigionieri poveri e condannati per crimini minori nell’Italia comunale non hanno ricevuto particolare attenzione dalla storiografia. Essi possono tuttavia arricchire la nostra conoscenza dell’Italia bassomedievale con nuove informazioni sui temi della religione civica e del rapporto tra diritto e spiritualità nei comuni italiani. Il presente articolo si concentra sulle origini di questa pratica, che sembra aver preso piede in Toscana tra gli anni Settanta e Novanta del Duecento, per poi diffondersi altrove nell’Italia centro-settentrionale. Esso mostra come politiche legate a ideali di grazia e misericordia potessero divenire elementi importanti delle pratiche di governo di un comune al di là della sua adesione a modelli monarchici, nei quali è noto come il perdono regio rivesta un ruolo centrale. Altri elementi, quali la presenza di movimenti religiosi di stampo pauperistico votati all’assistenza ai carcerati, le specifiche caratteristiche dei culti patronali cittadini, e il livello più o meno elevato di conflittualità tra fazioni, sono invece proposti come spiegazioni alternative per il sorgere di questa pratica e per le differenze che essa presentava di città in città.
ITA: I protagonisti delle agiografie italo-greche del X-XII secolo risultano portatori di conoscenze mediche ereditate dalla classicità, ma l’aspetto rituale nella descrizione dei miracoli di guarigione nei loro bioi è parimenti importante. In questo articolo si esaminano episodi della vita di Saba di Collesano, composta a fine X secolo da Oreste, patriarca di Gerusalemme, in cui il santo, pur compiendo una performance rituale analoga a quella degli altri bioi italo-greci, non sembra in grado di guarire il proprio paziente, ma si limita a predirne la prognosi. L’autrice mette in relazione tali episodi con la recrudescenza di raids arabi in Calabria nella seconda metà del X secolo, alla quale si legano anche carestie ed epidemie. Comportamenti "non taumaturgici" come quelli di san Saba rivelerebbero dunque la difficoltà di riconciliare la fiducia in un piano provvidenziale con le ricorrenti sciagure vissute dalla popolazione. Essi evidenziano l’impotenza del santo nel fornire aiuto materiale ai locali, ma dall’altro lato l’insistenza sulle sue capacità profetiche restituisce fiducia nell’esistenza di un piano divino agente anche in questo contesto.
Book chapters by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
This paper examines 14th- century petitions for amnesty from the Sienese state archive, focusing on the documents where poor women petition for amnesty for themselves or on behalf of others. It deals with issues of autorepresentation in the sources (that is, how these women represent their identity as poor and female individuals) and examines the conditions under which a poor woman's voice could be considered particularly appropriate to petition for an amnesty also on behalf of male individuals.
‘Forme della religiosità in Cuneo e nel suo distretto’, Ibidem, pp. 69-86.
Research Projects by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
Call for Papers by Lidia Zanetti Domingues
' I quaderni del m.ae.s - Journal of the Mediae Aetatis Sodalicium' is an Open Access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal hosted by the University of Bologna. We are launching a call for articles and reviews on all aspects of Medieval Studies (by which we mean studies focusing on the period ca. 400-1500), from all disciplinary perspectives.
Contributions are accepted in ENG, FRA, ITA and ESP.
Check out our website for more info on our journal and how to submit a paper to us: https://maes.unibo.it/announcement/view/4362
Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy argues that religious people were an effective pressure group with regards to criminal justice, thanks both to the literary works they produced and their direct intervention in political affairs, and that their contributions have not received the attention they deserve. It shows that the dichotomy between theories and practices of 'private' and of 'public' justice should be substituted by a framework in which three models, or discourses, of criminal justice are recognized as present in medieval Italian communes, with the addition of a specifically religious discourse based on penitential spirituality. Although the models of criminal justice were competing, they also influenced each other.
Who has never experienced the sensation of being carried away by the crowd ? Such is the nature of collective emotions, at once concrete and elusive. Starting from Roman spectacles and ending with nowadays’ gilet jaunes, a team of historians has set out to investigate this peculiar phenomenon.
Date de parution: 07/09/2022
Abstract (ITA): I rituali di liberazione, in occasione di festività cristiane, di prigionieri poveri e condannati per crimini minori nell’Italia comunale non hanno ricevuto particolare attenzione dalla storiografia. Essi possono tuttavia arricchire la nostra conoscenza dell’Italia bassomedievale con nuove informazioni sui temi della religione civica e del rapporto tra diritto e spiritualità nei comuni italiani. Il presente articolo si concentra sulle origini di questa pratica, che sembra aver preso piede in Toscana tra gli anni Settanta e Novanta del Duecento, per poi diffondersi altrove nell’Italia centro-settentrionale. Esso mostra come politiche legate a ideali di grazia e misericordia potessero divenire elementi importanti delle pratiche di governo di un comune al di là della sua adesione a modelli monarchici, nei quali è noto come il perdono regio rivesta un ruolo centrale. Altri elementi, quali la presenza di movimenti religiosi di stampo pauperistico votati all’assistenza ai carcerati, le specifiche caratteristiche dei culti patronali cittadini, e il livello più o meno elevato di conflittualità tra fazioni, sono invece proposti come spiegazioni alternative per il sorgere di questa pratica e per le differenze che essa presentava di città in città.
ITA: I protagonisti delle agiografie italo-greche del X-XII secolo risultano portatori di conoscenze mediche ereditate dalla classicità, ma l’aspetto rituale nella descrizione dei miracoli di guarigione nei loro bioi è parimenti importante. In questo articolo si esaminano episodi della vita di Saba di Collesano, composta a fine X secolo da Oreste, patriarca di Gerusalemme, in cui il santo, pur compiendo una performance rituale analoga a quella degli altri bioi italo-greci, non sembra in grado di guarire il proprio paziente, ma si limita a predirne la prognosi. L’autrice mette in relazione tali episodi con la recrudescenza di raids arabi in Calabria nella seconda metà del X secolo, alla quale si legano anche carestie ed epidemie. Comportamenti "non taumaturgici" come quelli di san Saba rivelerebbero dunque la difficoltà di riconciliare la fiducia in un piano provvidenziale con le ricorrenti sciagure vissute dalla popolazione. Essi evidenziano l’impotenza del santo nel fornire aiuto materiale ai locali, ma dall’altro lato l’insistenza sulle sue capacità profetiche restituisce fiducia nell’esistenza di un piano divino agente anche in questo contesto.
This paper examines 14th- century petitions for amnesty from the Sienese state archive, focusing on the documents where poor women petition for amnesty for themselves or on behalf of others. It deals with issues of autorepresentation in the sources (that is, how these women represent their identity as poor and female individuals) and examines the conditions under which a poor woman's voice could be considered particularly appropriate to petition for an amnesty also on behalf of male individuals.
‘Forme della religiosità in Cuneo e nel suo distretto’, Ibidem, pp. 69-86.
' I quaderni del m.ae.s - Journal of the Mediae Aetatis Sodalicium' is an Open Access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal hosted by the University of Bologna. We are launching a call for articles and reviews on all aspects of Medieval Studies (by which we mean studies focusing on the period ca. 400-1500), from all disciplinary perspectives.
Contributions are accepted in ENG, FRA, ITA and ESP.
Check out our website for more info on our journal and how to submit a paper to us: https://maes.unibo.it/announcement/view/4362
Click here to register to attend online: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c56fafc6-9cb1-45f5-8392-49132735ce5b@d72758a0-a446-4e0f-a0aa-4bf95a4a10e7
Click here to register to attend in person: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDyZUFbbVI1mqzfQyWyEPNpX8IJKAKQrjIOPCi3S1LU_-lrQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
The last decades have witnessed an increased interest in research on the relationship between women and violence in the Middle Ages, with new works both on female criminality and on women as victims of violence. The contributions of gender theory and feminist criminology have renewed the approached used in this type of research. Nevertheless, many facets of the complex relationship between women and violence in medieval times still await to be explored in depth. This conference aims to understand how far the roots of modern assumptions concerning women and violence may be found in the late medieval Mediterranean, a context of intense cultural elaboration and exchange which many scholars have indicated as the cradle of modern judicial culture. While dialogue across the Mediterranean was constant in the late Middle Ages, occasions for comparative discussion remain rare for modern-day scholars, to the detriment of a deeper understanding of the complexity of many issues. Thus, we encourage specialists of different areas across the Mediterranean (Western Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic world) to contribute to the discussion. What were the main differences and similarities? How did these change through time? What were the causes for change? Were coexisting assumptions linking femininity and violence conflicting or collaborating?
The conference will take place over two days thanks to the generous contributions of The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities, Oxford Medieval Studies, the Royal Historical Society, the Maison Française d’Oxford, and the UMR- Orient et Mediterranée (CNRS).
Please contact one of the organisers to obtain the link to join us on Zoom!
Piroska NAGY (GRHS, UQAM ): [email protected]
Lidia L. ZANETTI DOMINGUES (Univ. of Milan): [email protected]
The desire for God is presented in Avicenna's metaphysics according to various angles, which represent as many fields of analysis: the epistemological one, centered on the desire to know God which is concretized in a precise ratio studiorum that gradually leads from logic to metaphysics; the ontological one, according to which not only existence is generally desired, but also the perfection of existence; the theological one, which sees all things desiring God and God desiring Himself; the cosmological one, which posits the motion of the heavenly bodies as an effect of their desire to assimilate themselves to the First Principle; and finally, the eschatological one, thanks to which the desire for God is fulfilled for the "divine scholars" in close proximity to the First True in the survival of the soul after the death of the body.
According to these complementary perspectives, the desire for God runs through Avicenna's chosen work from beginning to end, from his debut concerning the position of metaphysics in the system of sciences, to his final conclusions concerning the nature of God and destiny of man. In this way it represents a real fil rouge and trait d 'union of the work, helping to clarify the reasons why Avicenna calls his metaphysical masterpiece Science of Divine Things.
The paper closes with the famous opening of the Introduction to the Book of Healing written by the secretary and biographer of Avicenna, Abū ʿUbayd al-Ǧūzǧānī, of which a new interpretation is proposed. In this passage, the disciple's desire for knowledge is expressed in the desire for community life with the teacher, opening the way to a further historical and prosopographic declination of the theme. The religious echoes of the passage in question, in which Avicenna is represented as a secular prophet of knowledge, and its peculiar persianisms, indicative of the spread of falsafa in new contexts, are brought to light.