A Medieval Weekend
Looking back at Medieval Fest at the British Library
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for Medieval Fest over the weekend - whether online or in-person at the British Library. Despite the challenges presented by Storm Darragh, we still had a very full house and the line-up remained intact.
The festival began with Professor Peter Frankopan (The Earth Transformed) giving audiences a whistle-stop tour of Byzantine history through the lens of Anne Komnene and her great work of history, The Alexiad. With its title harking back to the Iliad, Frankopan explained how Komnene’s work is the first history written by a woman in Western Europe and has huge value to scholars today.
Next, comedian, actor and author, Charlie Higson returned to HistFest for a live recording of his fantastic podcast series, Willy, Willy, Harry, Stee… He was joined by Dr Helen Castor (The Eagle and the Hart), Nathen Amin (Son of Prophecy) and Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami (Travellers in the Golden Realm). They compared the overthrow of Richard II and Richard III to the changing of power when it came to Mughal rulers and asked what it means (if anything) to be a ‘rightful’ ruler.
Then, we turned to Medieval Literature with Professor Janina Ramirez (Femina), Professor Heather O’Donoghue (Beowulf: Poem, Poet and Hero) and Professor Michael Wood (In the Footsteps of Du Fu), who detailed the creation and dissemination of Beowulf and the works of Du Fu, with some very moving readings and audio clips. A highlight was a hypothetical question from the audience about what Du Fu and the author of Beowulf might have thought of one another’s work. Michael Wood joked that Du Fu might have found Beowulf “Uncouth” and Heather O’Donoghue said the Beowulf poet would have questioned “why is he [Du Fu] telling us about what he ate?”.
And finally, we turned to Medieval Bodies with Raksha Dave, Dr Shazia Jagot and Professor Charlotte Roberts. The fascinating session explored archaeological excavations and discoveries, medieval medicine and material culture. We learned from Charlotte Roberts how important tooth plaque is to bioarchaeologists, who gave the audience some tongue-in-cheek advice: “Don’t brush your teeth!”
We were privileged to also feature a lunchtime performance from musician and historian Dr Kate Arnold, who performed on the hammered dulcimer.
It was also a delight to have been joined for the day by Øst Centingas, who brought the medieval world to life!
Until next time!
It was a brilliant day, well organised and with great speakers. Thank you!