10.00 – 17.10, Saturday 2 February 2013 (with registration from 09.30)

Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2

Admission free, all welcome – No booking is necessary

Death was a constant presence in the Middle Ages, not only due to the perils of war and disease, but because of the religious imperative to take steps while still alive to protect one’s immortal soul. A great deal of art and architecture of the medieval period reflects this preoccupation with death, as people sought to commemorate ancestors, meditate on the afterlife and make provisions for themselves before their inevitable end. This colloquium will address how communication and interactions between the living and the dead are depicted in art by focusing on the liminality, or the thresholds where these interactions take place. Papers explore art in a variety of media and span several centuries and national borders to show how such measures enabled people of the Middle Ages to reassure and reconcile themselves with the concept of death.

Organised by: Rachel Hapoienu and the Medieval postgraduate students.