Calls for Papers/Aug 17, 2023

Medieval Onomastics: Crisis or Stasis?

Medieval Onomastics: Crisis or Stasis? lead image

Medieval Onomastics: Crisis or Stasis?, panel at the 2024 International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 1–4, 2024

Onomastics, the study of names and naming, has long proved popular with medievalists. This CfP seeks to explore the interaction between onomastics and the theme of this year's conference - Crisis. We're looking for 2-minute papers on the role of names and naming within the medieval period, from any geographical region. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Change in naming practices (or lack thereof) as a result of periods of social/cultural/economic change. This might look at philological change, change in distribution (by gender, race, social-economic group, etc.), change in the rituals of naming,
  • The renaming of an individual, during their life or in their remembrance.
  • The interaction between time, place names and the (built) environment.
  • Crises within the discipline of medieval onomastics, new approaches in the study of onomastics, and the role of interdisciplinary thinking.

Session organizer
Tristan Alphey, University of Oxford