Medieval Ritual Representations: Model of or Model for?, International Center of Medieval Art sponsored panel at the 112th Annual Conference, Chicago, February 14–17, 2024 

This session considers illustrations of medieval secular and/or religious rituals in any media and from any region or religious group. The goal is to understand the function and agency of representations, starting from the opposite poles of model or model for, as Clifford Geertz interpreted ritual. Some images may be evidence of "wie es eigentlich gewesen," as von Ranke put it, and the reality of medieval performances; others may be aspirational, describing ideal rituals overlayed with the ideological and political. How can we discern the function of medieval illustrations? Are illustrations faithful to textual sources, and if not, why? To whom are these images addressed? Who sees them, when, and how? In sum, why illustrate medieval rituals? Papers may address representations of rituals from any corner of the medieval world, from all parts of Europe, the Mediterranean, and beyond, and from any religion, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and others. 

Session organizers
Robert S. Nelson, Yale University 
Alice Isabella Sullivan, Tufts University