Dear Colleagues and friends,

I am pleased to invite you to an informal gathering of Digital Medievalist on Wednesday, June 11th, 8 PM onwards, in the Stables Pub at Weetwood Hall.

As you know, Digital Medievalist is an international web-based community for medievalists working with digital media, with more than 750 members. This email discussion list is the most important link among the community, but the IMC in Leeds offers the opportunity to meet, and as a member of the Executive Board of Digital Medievalist, I hope that the most of you will be able to show up et get a chance to meet other scholars with related interests and methodologies *in real life*. You will find below the list of some sessions and papers you might be interested in (selection based on key words "digit*" "comput*" "data*" and/or indexed under the theme "Computing in Medieval Studies").

Regards,

Dominique Stutzmann Research fellow - Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes (CNRS, UPR 841) http://www.irht.cnrs.fr Lecturer - Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes http://www.ephe.sorbonne.fr Executive Board, Digital Medievalist http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/

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Session*403* Title*Seals and Sigillography: What Is Their Future in a Digital Age? - A Round Table Discussion* Date/TimeMonday 9 July 2012: 19.30-20.30 SponsorSigillum OrganiserJohn Cherry, Independent Scholar, Ludlow Moderator/ChairJohn Cherry, Independent Scholar, Ludlow AbstractArranged in the year that Sigillum, the website for the encouragement of research and the study of seals, was established, this round table will discuss the future for the study of seals and sigillography in the digital age. Is sigillography a study in its own right or is it simply the handmaid of history and art history? One of the goals of Sigillum is to encourage the use of seal and seal matrices in the study, teaching and writing of history (of all kinds, including social history and art history), archaeology, palaeography, archival studies, and other allied subjects. Whatever its status, how should the study develop in this digital age? All those interested in seals and seal matrices, of whatever country and period, are warmly invited.

Participants include Julian Gardner (University of Warwick), Paul D. A. Harvey (Durham University), and Elizabeth New (Aberystwyth University).

Session*627* Title*Mabillon's Heirs: New Diplomatics - Young Scholars* Date/TimeTuesday 10 July 2012: 11.15-12.45 Sponsor'Diplomatique' (GDR 3177), Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris OrganiserPaul Bertrand, 'Diplomatique' (GDR 3177), Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris Moderator/ChairPaul Bertrand, 'Diplomatique' (GDR 3177), Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris Paper 627-a *Cistercians and Their Archive Books in the Low Countries in the Later Middle Ages: Diplomatic Aspects* (Language: English) Adèle Berthout, Département d'histoire, Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Namur Paper 627-b *Writing Notarial Documents in Normandy: Practice and Regulations* (Language: English) Isabelle Bretthauer, Université Paris Diderot – Paris VII Paper 627-c *The Redaction of the Regensburg Cartulary: Some Remarks* (Language: English) Claire de Bigault de Cazanove, Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (LAMOP), Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne Paper 627-d *De re paleographia digitalia: The Charters and Chancery of the Counts of Holland/Hainault (1299-1345)* (Language: English) Jinna Smit, Nationaal Archief, Den Haag AbstractDiplomatic studies, as an old science, have renewed themselves these last years with the new perspectives brought by the study of literacy. The famous technical way of studying documents is not only used for the *discrimen veri ac falsi*, but also to bring into new light the practices of writing in particular societies, in connection with social studies and cultural studies. These two sessions aim to focus on new projects initiated by young scholars at the beginning of their research, in order to help them to connect themselves with the scientific community and to improve their own way of searching.

Session*727* Title*Producing, Keeping, and Reusing Documents: Charters and Cartularies from Northern Iberia, 9th-12th Century* Date/TimeTuesday 10 July 2012: 14.15-15.45 OrganiserFrancesca Tinti, Departamento de Historia Medieval, Moderna y de América, Universidad del Pais Vasco Moderator/ChairFrancesca Tinti, Departamento de Historia Medieval, Moderna y de América, Universidad del Pais Vasco Paper 727-a *Keeping Charters Before Cartularies* (Language: English) Wendy Davies, University College London Paper 727-b *A Monastic Power in Reconstruction: The Versatility of the Past and the Present Time in the Becerro Gótico of Sahagún* (Language: English) Leticia Agúndez San Miguel, Universidad de Cantabria Paper 727-c *The Becerro Gótico of San Millán: The Reconstruction of a Lost Cartulary* (Language: English) David Peterson, Universidad del País Vasco AbstractThe session will address the ways in which documents were kept, copied and reused in northern Iberia in the period between the late 9th and the 12th century. The first paper will focus on the single charters which survive from the earlier end of this period to investigate how documents were produced and kept before the production of the later monastic cartularies, while the second and the third paper will discuss the rationale behind the construction of some of the most significant cartularies which were compiled in that region between the end of the 11th and the 12th century.

Session*728* Title*Playing with the Middle Ages: Video Game Medievalisms, I* Date/TimeTuesday 10 July 2012: 14.15-15.45 SponsorSociety for the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages OrganiserPaul B. Sturtevant, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds Moderator/ChairLesley Coote, Andrew Marvell Centre for Medieval & Early Modern Studies, University of Hull Paper 728-a *'I am a woman and I reserve the right to be inconsistent!': Dragon Age - Origins and Feminine Medievalisms* (Language: English) Victoria Cooper, School of English, University of Leeds Paper 728-b *The Saga of Northrend: Storytelling and Norse Mythos in World of Warcraft* (Language: English) Mari Kermode, Independent Scholar, Surrey Paper 728-c *'I base my knowledge on a game… ': The Trustworthiness and Tropes of Medievalist Strategy Computer Games* (Language: English) Paul B. Sturtevant, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds AbstractVideo games are one of the most popular ways in which the public engages with the Middle Ages today. While they often may present romanticised or (more often) completely fantastical versions of the period, these are a vibrant way in which the public comes to know the Middle Ages today.

Session*828* Title*Playing with the Middle Ages: Video Game Medievalisms, II * Date/TimeTuesday 10 July 2012: 16.30-18.00 SponsorSociety for the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages OrganiserPaul B. Sturtevant, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds Moderator/ChairPaul B. Sturtevant, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds Paper 828-a *Ludic Jurneys through Electronic Medieval Worlds* (Language: English) Lesley Coote, Andrew Marvell Centre for Medieval & Early Modern Studies, University of Hull Paper 828-b *Old Gods Do New Jobs: Deicide and the Nearness of the 'Otherworld' in World of Warcraft Raid Narrative* (Language: English) Sarah Gilbert, Independent Scholar, Colchester Paper 828-c *Constructing and Subjugating the Medieval(ist) Body: (Re)Presentation in Medieval Court Texts and Video Games* (Language: English) Thomas Rowland, Department of English, Saint Louis University, Missouri AbstractVideo games are one of the most popular ways in which the public engages with the Middle Ages today. While they often may present romanticised or (more often) completely fantastical versions of the period, these are a vibrant way in which the public comes to know the Middle Ages today.

Session*1015* Title*Medievalism: Medieval Rules in Modern Culture and Literature* Date/TimeWednesday 11 July 2012: 09.00-10.30 SponsorInterdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalterstudien (IZMS), Universität Salzburg OrganiserSiegrid Schmidt, Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalterstudien (IZMS), Universität Salzburg Moderator/ChairJan Cemper-Kiesslich, Interfakultärer Fachbereich für Gerichtsmedizin & Forensische Neuropsychatrie, Universität Salzburg Paper 1015-a *The Rule of St Benedict: Its Origins and Its Modern Relevance* (Language: English) Paola Schulze-Belli, Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Uomo, Università di Trieste Paper 1015-b *Medieval Literature and Its Contemporary Handling in the Middle-High German Conceptual Database* (Language: English) Katharina Zeppezauer-Wachauer, Mittelhochdeutsche Begriffsdatenbank, Universität Salzburg Paper 1015-c *New Literary Rules for King Arthur and His Knights* (Language: English) Siegrid Schmidt, Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalterstudien (IZMS), Universität Salzburg AbstractThere are a lot of everyday rules, cultural rules and agreements, literary structures and rules, religious orders and rules of the Middle Aages that have survived up to modern times. But they have not been the same ones. For instance sometimes only a word still exists with another meaning or not exactly equivalent meaning, as 'Ritterlichkeit' or with different meaning 'wib : weib'. We still know some religious customs and rules but they don't have this high relevance for our everyday life as they had in the middle ages. For some occasions we still have dress-codes but they are aimed other events and other groups of people and other dressings. We still know the lyrics and the epics, the literary texts of the Middle Ages but nowadays they are told in a different way, sometimes for a different audience and, of course, they appear in another media. This session will give three exemples of this turn of rules. Session*1119* Title*'Ruling' the Script, I: Playing with the Rule* Date/TimeWednesday 11 July 2012: 11.15-12.45 SponsorAPICES - Association paléographique internationale: Culture, Écriture, Société / Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes (CNRS), Paris OrganiserDominique Stutzmann, Centre Félix-Grat, Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris Moderator/ChairGeorg Vogeler, Zentrum für Informationsmodellierung in den Geisteswissenschaften, Karl Franzens-Universität, Graz Paper 1119-a *Writings on the Wall: The Discriminating Use of Scripts in Late Medieval Mural Paintings* (Language: English) Christian Nikolaus Opitz, Universität Wien Paper 1119-b *Between Tradition and Liberty: Writing Rules of Vernacular Inscriptions in France (12th-14th Centuries)* (Language: English) Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale, Université de Poitiers Paper 1119-c *Rule and Variation in English Vernacular Minuscule* (Language: English) Peter A. Stokes, Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London AbstractMedieval writing, as part of the interpersonal communication process, had to follow rules that ensure the legibility and convey the meaning of a text. Latin or vernacular, spoken or read, charter on parchment, painting, or stained-glass: different functions, social contexts, and publics lead to variations in the use of scripts during the Middle Ages. This session explores the representational modes of the text as an image and the concept of 'liberty' for scripts in regard to the staging of spoken or vernacular texts in epigraphy (Latin/vernacular) and to the degree of stability and variation in vernacular scripts.

Session*1303* Title*GIS as a Tool for Understanding Medieval Road Systems* Date/TimeWednesday 11 July 2012: 16.30-18.00 SponsorSouth-Eastern European Medievalists Network (SEEM-N) OrganiserFrancesco Dall'Aglio, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici, Napoli Moderator/ChairJake Ransohoff, Department of Medieval Studies, University of Chicago Paper 1303-a *Historical Geographical Information Systems: The Modelling of a Byzantine Road in the Strumica Valley* (Language: English) Markus Breier, Department of Geography & Regional Research, Universität Wien Paper 1303-b *Moving through Medieval Macedonia: Late Modern Cartography, Archive Material, and Hydrographic Data Used for the Regressive Modelling of Transportation Networks* (Language: English) Mihailo St. Popovic, Institut für Byzanzforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien Paper 1303-c *Setting Some Rules: The Evolution of the Medieval Road Network and Its Administrative Structure in Northern Transylvania* (Language: English) Oana Toda, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca AbstractThis session is primarily concerned with the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in creating a method of modeling historical roads. Very often, medieval roads cited in historical sources are no longer existent, and locating a known route could be impossible; GIS surveys, combined with an extensive analysis of historical sources and archeological data, can be an excellent tool to reconstruct the outline of a road, or of a network of roads, offering the historians an invaluable help.

Session*1319* Title*'Ruling' the Script, III: Measure and Sense* Date/TimeWednesday 11 July 2012: 16.30-18.00 SponsorAPICES - Association paléographique internationale: Culture, Écriture, Société / Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes (CNRS), Paris OrganiserGeorg Vogeler, Zentrum für Informationsmodellierung in den Geisteswissenschaften, Karl Franzens-Universität, Graz Moderator/ChairPeter A. Stokes, Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London Paper 1319-a *Writing Angles: Palaeographic Considerations on the Inclination of the Script* (Language: English) Maria Gurrado, Independent Scholar, Paris Paper 1319-b *Graphical System and Social Norms: Measuring a Collective Scribal Profile* (Language: English) Dominique Stutzmann, Centre Félix-Grat, Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris Paper 1319-c *Rules for a Database on Italian Notaries* (Language: English) Irene Ceccherini, Dipartimento di Scienze dell Antichità Medioevo e Rinascimento e Linguistica, Università degli Studi di Firenze AbstractMedieval writing, as part of the interpersonal communication process, had to follow rules that ensure the legibility and convey the meaning of a text. The digital humanities in palaeography give birth to a renewed quantitative approach, either as computer-aided palaeography or as digital palaeography with automated image-analysis softwares. This session explores what can be measured (angles, inclination, collective scribal profiles, and allographs) and how this new data can be analysed (databases, factorial analysis, cross-validation). The results give new insights on the dynamic of script evolution, and how it relates to the social contexts of written production.

Session*1402* Title*'The Paradox of Medieval Scotland' Database as a Research Tool - A Round Table Discussion* Date/TimeWednesday 11 July 2012: 19.30-20.30 SponsorAHRC Project 'The Breaking of Britain', Universities of Glasgow, Lancaster, Edinburgh & King's College London OrganiserDauvit Broun, School of Humanities, University of Glasgow Moderator/ChairKeith J. Stringer, Department of History, Lancaster University Abstract'The Paradox of Medieval Scotland' database covers all individuals mentioned in the 6014 charters (broadly defined) that survive from the period 1093-1286. Relationships between individuals, as well as information about them, are represented as this has been constructed in the documents themselves. The database, completed towards the end of 2010, has been designed as a research tool not only for historians of Scotland, but for anyone with an interest in the process of 'Europeanisation', or who wishes to include a comparative dimension to their research. The workshop will consist of a brief introduction to the database, a couple of case studies where it has been used in research, followed by questions and discussion.

Participants include Amanda Beam (Department of History (Scottish), University of Glasgow), Dauvit Broun (University of Glasgow), David Carpenter (King's College London), John Reuben Davies (University of Glasgow), Matthew H. Hammond (University of Edinburgh), Alice Taylor (King's College London), and Joanna Tucker (University of Glasgow). Session* 1706* Title*Vicissitudes of Cultural Transfers: Case Studies from Late Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages* Date/TimeThursday 12 July 2012: 14.15-15.45 OrganiserIMC Programming Committee Moderator/ChairSieglinde Hartmann, Oswald von Wolkenstein-Gesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main Paper 1706-a *12th- and 13th-Century Ornamental Western Metalwork in Response to Islamic and Byzantine Luxury Objects* (Language: English) Joseph S. Ackley, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Paper 1706-b *Picturing Language and Landscapes in The Book of Sir John Mandeville* (Language: English) Galia Halpern, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University AbstractPaper -a: My paper explores ornamental metalwork mountings (Lower Saxon and Venetian,12th- through 13th-century) that adorned, mimicked, and/or otherwise dialogued meaningfully with newly obtained treasury objects of Islamic and Byzantine origin. While art historians have studied overt ways in which high-medieval and post-1204 Western treasury objects emulated Islamic and Byzantine imports (e.g. regarding relic visibility), episodes of subtler metalwork evocation (eg, filigree patterns and ornament disposition) have yet to be firmly detailed and analyzed. My paper, broadly contextualized by debates over ornament-embodied meaning, specifically considers a narrow selection of Western, Byzantine, and Islamic treasury objects at Halberstadt, San Marco, and Eichstätt.

Paper -b: In the late medieval period, no vernacular language text enjoyed as wide circulation as *The Book of Sir John Mandeville*. This travel account proposed an image of the knowable world, mediated by the eyewitness observations of its now infamous author/narrator. Included in Mandeville's description of diverse regions is a running commentary about the alphabets in use by exotic peoples. My investigation into the illustrated manuscripts of the Book conceives of these alphabets within cartographic and ethnographic systems upon which landscape and body are mutually constituted. This paper looks at the pictorial evolution of these alphabets throughout the book's transmission.