As the first month of 2024 draws to a close, we here at Ceræ are pleased to announce the publication of our tenth volume, which features four themed articles, one non-themed, one varium, and six book reviews. For our tenth-anniversary edition the committee chose the theme of ‘Memory‘, with the intention of exploring not only how we remember and perceive the past but also, as our editor Matt Firth put it in his foreword, ‘how societies remember, perceive, and invent histories that extend beyond lived experience’. The four themed articles in this edition do just that, and we invite readers to read through them, and the other wonderful pieces on the Volume 10 page here:
Volume 10: ‘Memory’
The first themed article of the issue, Lydia H. Hayes’ ‘The Blood on the Snow: Gender, Memory, and Religious Ritual in Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval‘, explores cultural memory and ritual through medieval Christian symbolism of the Eucharist. Hayes focuses on the blood on the snow scene in Le Conte du Graal and argues that Chrétien uses Blancheflor’s image as a symbol for the Eucharist to foreshadow Perceval’s absolution.
Our second themed article, Jacob Herrmanns’ ‘Myths and Memories of the Arthurian Empire in The Awntyrs off Arthur‘, also explores memory through literature, as Herrmann uses an ethno-historical lens to explore how cultural memory is used in the fourteenth-century poem to shape perception of English / Scottish relations.
Rosemary Kelly’s article, ‘Hwæt! How We Have Heard Tales Sung: How Nineteenth-Century Translation Constructs Hyper-Aggressive Masculine Identities in Beowulf‘, continues the theme of memory in literature through the exploration of how some of the earliest modern English editions of Beowulf were translated to inject a sense of English nationalism into early Victorian cultural memory and contemporary society.
The final themed article, Kimberly Lifton’s ‘Inscribing Identity: Graffiti on the Walls of Carlisle Castle’s Keep’, takes us from written literature to carved literature as Lifton explores the graffiti of room 22 of Carlisle Castle keep and analyses how the graffiti represents attempts by those garrisoned the castle to situate themselves in their political environment.
In addition to these themed articles, Sophie Terakes’ article, ‘On Pearl and Photography’, offers an innovative study of the poem Pearl and its depiction of mourning through the use of photographic theory. While not part of our themed pieces, the entanglement between memory and photography nevertheless makes it an excellent addition to this volume.
Finally, Leandro César Santana Neves and Luiz Felipe Anchieta Guerra supply a varium on the rise and fall of the Study Group of Medieval History based at the State University of Montes Claros in Brazil.
We also want to extend our sincere gratitude to Matt Firth. A part of the Ceræ team since Volume 6, Volume 10 marked his second as editor and we are all so grateful for his dedication and effort. We would also like to acknowledge our Deputy Editor, Ashley Castelino, as well as the Book Reviews Editors Amanda Burrows-Peterson and Maria Gloria Tumminelli and all of the Ceræ Committee who contributed to the reviewing, proofing, and copy-editing process. Thank you all!
Each contribution to Volume 10 is available as an individual PDF, and the volume in its entirety is available at the Volume 10 page here:
Volume 10: ‘Memory’
If you wish to submit your own research to Ceræ, themed submissions for Volume 11 (Metamorphosis, Transformation, And Transmutation) are open until 31 March 2024. We also accept non-themed submissions year round, and the editorial committee would be more than happy to discuss your proposal. Please visit our submission page for more information.
We are also still accepting submissions for our inaugural virtual conference, also themed ‘Metamorphosis, Transformation, And Transmutation’, until 29 February 2024, and information on submitting to that can be found here.
We hope you enjoy reading Volume 10 as much as we have!
Featured Image: Yale Beinecke MS 229 f. 272v.
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