Partager des savoirs au Moyen Age. In memoriam Luminița Ciuchindel
Sharing knowledge in the Middle Ages. In memoriam Luminița Ciuchindel
Author(s): Luminița Diaconu
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts
Published by: Editura Pro Universitaria
Keywords: Medieval Knowledge Transmission; Luminița Ciuchindel; Medieval Occitan Literature; Troubadour Poetry; Centre for Medieval Studies; University of Bucharest;
Summary/Abstract: This volume examines the transmission of sacred and secular knowledge in the medieval period, focusing on the role of mediators operating within universities, monastic environments, chanceries, and informal public and private contexts. Based largely on papers presented at an international conference held at the University of Bucharest in November 2023, the studies explore how knowledge was created, communicated, and disseminated across diverse institutional settings. The volume is also dedicated to the memory of Luminița Ciuchindel, an eminent Romanian scholar of medieval Occitan literature and a founding member of the Centre for Medieval Studies, whose academic contributions and dedication to medieval scholarship profoundly influenced the scholarly community.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-606-26-2229-9
- Page Count: 275
- Publication Year: 2025
- Language: French
L’époque médiévale, un âge de partage des savoirs
L’époque médiévale, un âge de partage des savoirs
(The Middle Ages, an age of sharing knowledge)
- Author(s):Diaconu Luminița
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Political history, Social history, Middle Ages
- Page Range:9-16
- No. of Pages:8
- Keywords:Middle Ages; sharing of knowledge; cultural renewal; twelfth-century renaissance; medieval intellectuals; transmission of knowledge
- Summary/Abstract:Dedicated to the vast issue of the sharing of knowledge, which was a constant concern throughout the Middle Ages, the conference organized in 2023 at the University of Bucharest encouraged medievalists from diverse disciplines (literature, history, theology, philosophy and architecture) to delve deeper into the research directions explored during the 2010 conference, which focused on the concept of Authority (Auctoritas), as well as that of 2019, dedicated to the medieval intellectual. Developed within the CIVIS university network and the Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Bucharest, the 2023 research project favored, on the other hand, approaches valuing the dynamic, relational and pragmatic aspect of the transmission of knowledge in the medieval era: sacred and secular knowledge, bookish knowledge and knowledge derived from experience, or even knowledge related to political ideology. This is to say that the contributions gathered in this volume, which essentially stem from the papers presented at the 2023 conference, rely on textual or iconographic sources to highlight the way in which the actors engaged in the process of knowledge transmission intend to assume the role of mediators in institutional contexts such as universities, royal or seigneurial chanceries, scriptoria, as well as in informal environments touching upon the public or private sphere.
In memoriam Luminița Ciuchindel (le 4 octobre 1946 – le 10 août 2023)
In memoriam Luminița Ciuchindel (le 4 octobre 1946 – le 10 août 2023)
(In memoriam Luminița Ciuchindel (October 4, 1946 – August 10, 2023))
- Author(s):Luminița Diaconu
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Obituary
- Page Range:17-29
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:Luminița Ciuchindel; In memoriam; French literature; Medieval literature; University of Bucharest; biobibliography
- Summary/Abstract:This volume pays tribute to the memory of Professor Luminița Ciuchindel (1946–2023), an esteemed professor emeritus at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures and founding member of the Center for Medieval Studies at the University of Bucharest. Over a career spanning more than four decades, she dedicated herself to teaching and researching French medieval and Renaissance literature, French civilization, and 19th-century fantastic literature, leaving a profound and lasting legacy on generations of students and colleagues.
Ruines en usage : droit, pratiques et perceptions du remploi, de l’Antiquité tardive au haut Moyen Âge
Ruines en usage : droit, pratiques et perceptions du remploi, de l’Antiquité tardive au haut Moyen Âge
(Ruins in Use: Law, Practices, and Perceptions of Reuse from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages)
- Author(s):Masset Valentine
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, History of Law, Social history, Modern Age
- Page Range:30-64
- No. of Pages:35
- Keywords:urban planning; architecture; spolia; ancient materials; reuse; cultural implications
- Summary/Abstract:At the dawn of the decline of the Roman Empire, urban planning was codified in law, reflecting a legislative response to major socio-political upheavals. Contrary to the commonly held image of an Empire in full decay, the late Roman period in fact reveals a complex and well-structured legal system. The Codex Theodosianus devotes an entire chapter, De operibus publicis, to urban planning and architecture, underscoring their crucial importance in the management of public affairs. From the Late Empire to the onset of the Middle Ages, the intensive reuse of ancient sites and materials became widespread practice. This phenomenon, largely driven by the economic disruptions of the time, lay at the heart of numerous political issues that this paper seeks to explore. It is within this context that we encounter the earliest attestations of the concept of spolia, used today to designate the incorporation of fragments of ancient buildings into new constructions. By revisiting this perspective, it becomes possible to examine more deeply the political, cultural, and symbolic implications of reuse through the analysis of selected case studies dating from 315 to 1140.
Transmission des autorités et auctorialité : le cas d’Anselme de Canterbury
Transmission des autorités et auctorialité : le cas d’Anselme de Canterbury
(Transmission of authorities and auctoriality: the case of Anselm of Canterbury)
- Author(s):Brower Cristian
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Cultural history, History of ideas, Middle Ages
- Page Range:65-92
- No. of Pages:28
- Keywords:Anselm of Canterbury; Benedictine monastic tradition; authority; author; friendship; rational inquiry; knowledge-sharing
- Summary/Abstract:The personality of Anselm of Canterbury dominates the second half of the eleventh century. First prior (1063) and later abbot (1078) of the Abbey of Bec in Normandy — one of the foremost centres of learning in the West — he went on to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 until his death in 1109. His teaching within monastic context placed a strong emphasis on rational inquiry. In his Monologion he undertook to reconstruct Christian doctrine with reason alone, and in Why God Became Man? he set apart what had been said about Christ to answer the objections of the infidels. This paper seeks to show how he managed to combine this with the respect of authorities, both written and ecclesiastical. To do that, it will examine his conception of authority, and his relations with figures of authority such as Lanfranc of Bec and Archbishop Hugh of Lyon, and the friendship implied between them. The second part of the paper will explore how Anselm tried to control the process of publishing of his works and if he acquired some kind of authority for himself. It is asking what it is to become an author in the Middle Ages.
Savoirs partagés et approches de l’altérité dans deux relations de pèlerinage : Bernard (IXe siècle) et Thietmar (XIIIe siècle)
Savoirs partagés et approches de l’altérité dans deux relations de pèlerinage : Bernard (IXe siècle) et Thietmar (XIIIe siècle)
(Shared Knowledge and Approaches to Otherness in Two Pilgrimage Accounts: Bernard (9th century) and Thietmar (13th century))
- Author(s):Luminita Diaconu
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Social history, Middle Ages, Modern Age
- Page Range:93-123
- No. of Pages:31
- Keywords:pilgrimage accounts; Oriental otherness; knowledge typology; imaginary; direct knowledge
- Summary/Abstract:The accounts of pilgrimage to the Holy Land, much like the chronicles devoted to the Crusades, constitute a highly valuable corpus for understanding Western perceptions of Eastern otherness. Our contribution aims to outline a typology of the forms of knowledge shared by two accounts of pilgrimage: that of Bernard, a monk from Brittany, whose journey took place around 865, and that of Thietmar, a Franciscan monk from Westphalia, written in 1217, which contains one of the earliest testimonies from the time of the Crusades. We propose to show that, even though their primary mission was to retrace the route to the Holy Land for the benefit of other pilgrims, the author of the first account displays far more interest in the peoples of the Orient than in the sacred geography. In Thietmar’s work, while many references to Oriental otherness still belong to the imaginary, the inventory of knowledge becomes visibly more diversified. In the same time, he seems to prefer direct knowledge about the traversed spaces and the Other(s), as well as to share the practical aspects of pilgrimage within the tense climate of the Crusades.
Les stratégies du contrôle des territoires dans les romans du XIIe siècle : entre regnum et imperium
Les stratégies du contrôle des territoires dans les romans du XIIe siècle : entre regnum et imperium
(Strategies of Territorial Control in Twelfth-Century Romances: Between regnum and imperium)
- Author(s):Gîrbea Cătălina
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Political history, Social history, Modern Age
- Page Range:124-148
- No. of Pages:25
- Keywords:empire; kingship; romance; territorial domination; political knowledge; theology
- Summary/Abstract:Medieval intellectuals struggled to articulate clear definitions for the two dominant forms of government in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries: empire (imperium) and kingship (regnum). Whereas the strategies associated with the regnum display a degree of conceptual coherence in scholarly writings, imperium remained more elusive, as medieval authors could not fully equate it with the Roman Empire and instead understood it as a hybrid between regnum and imperium. This ambiguity applied both to the Holy Roman Empire of the Germans and to kingdoms expanded through armed conquest, such as the Plantagenêt realms. The romances written in the twelfth century and the early thirteenth century partly reflect these scholarly uncertainties. This article examines the forms of territorial domination through which scholars articulated and shared their political and theological knowledge.
La conjointure, un savoir sous le signe du partage ?
La conjointure, un savoir sous le signe du partage ?
(La conjointure, a knowledge under the sign of sharing?)
- Author(s):Mihaela Voicu
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
- Page Range:149-167
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:Romance Literature; Conjointure; Literary Craft; Romancesque Composition; Disjointure;
- Summary/Abstract:A secondary genre, the romance relies on a clearly demonstrable literary craft and is built around the principle of “conjointure,” a term that expresses the author’s ability to arrange, unite, develop, and synthesize a preexisting material, but also to innovate and invent. This “art of the romance” understood as “conjointure” quickly became a form of knowledge to be shared: initially with readers encountering a new genre, and also among authors themselves, who, having attained mastery of the emerging art of romanesque composition, engaged with it in ways that ranged from adherence to established models to critique, deconstruction, and the “disjointure” that would later characterize prose.
Marie de France : le rôle des valeurs chrétiennes dans la diffusion des récits familiaux
Marie de France : le rôle des valeurs chrétiennes dans la diffusion des récits familiaux
(Marie de France: The Role of Christian Principles in the Dissemination of Family Narratives)
- Author(s):Monica Ruset Oancă
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, German Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:168-190
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:Marie de France; harmony; Christian principles; sharing knowledge; imagination
- Summary/Abstract:This article explores the Christian principles underlying the work of Marie de France, beginning from her view of writing as a moral and spiritual duty. Far from being centred solely on courtly love, her narratives foreground the family as the true locus of ethical and emotional fulfilment. The Lais reveal that harmony is achieved within the context of familial affection, while selfishness and moral failure disrupt both love and justice. Through a diverse range of stories, Marie constructs a composite portrayal of twelfth-century values, in which virtue, generosity, and piety ultimately determine happiness. Her works thus articulate a distinctly Christian understanding of devotion, justice, and family in the medieval imagination.
Connaître par l’extase. Repenser les expériences extatiques médiévales
Connaître par l’extase. Repenser les expériences extatiques médiévales
(Knowing through Ecstasy. Rethinking Medieval Ecstatic Experiences)
- Author(s):Thevenier Charlene
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Social history, Modern Age, Sociology of Religion
- Page Range:191-217
- No. of Pages:27
- Keywords:ecstatic experiences; women; devotional movement; knowledge; expertise
- Summary/Abstract:In this article, I propose reconsidering ecstatic experiences from the perspective of knowledge and exploring how people in the West during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries related to those accustomed to these experiencesof leaving one’s self. The three cases examined ― Angela of Foligno, Mary of Oignies, and Douceline of Provence — reflect the lay devotional movement of the period. They were also contemporaneous with the rise of academic institutions, which excluded women from scholarly life and prioritized logic. Nevertheless, ecstatic — here, women — were regarded as having privileged access to certain forms of knowledge. I provide an overview of their respective areas of expertise, outline the various social functions these exceptional figures could perform, and highlight the dynamics through which ecstatic experiences were socially transmitted and shared.
Sharing Authority in the Middle Ages. The case of Étienne Gaudet
Sharing Authority in the Middle Ages. The case of Étienne Gaudet
(Sharing Authority in the Middle Ages. The case of Étienne Gaudet)
- Author(s):Alexandra Baneu
- Language:English, French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Middle Ages, Philosophy of Science, History of Sciences
- Page Range:218-235
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:university teaching; manuscripts; debates; working notebooks; Étienne Gaudet; theology
- Summary/Abstract:The transmission of knowledge in the Middle Ages involved various channels, notably manuscript texts, university teaching, and oral debates. However, beyond the content of teaching, the circulation of intellectual authority was essential and varied according to context. Classical authorities, although crucial, do not always make it possible to understand the specific dynamics of a given environment. Working notebooks offer a valuable perspective on these implicit transmissions by making explicit references which, in finalized works, would have remained underlying. The case study of Étienne Gaudet (ca. 1320-1392), a Parisian theologian, clearly illustrates this dynamic. Through the analysis of his manuscripts preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, this article examines the authorities he mobilizes. The approach reveals a complex doctrinal space, mixing Oxonian and Parisian influences. By studying and integrating these sources, Gaudet actively participates in the debates of his time and shapes his own intellectual framework.
La naissance de la chancellerie voïévodale en Moldavie (XIVe-XVe siècles)
La naissance de la chancellerie voïévodale en Moldavie (XIVe-XVe siècles)
(The Birth of the Voivodal Chancellery in Moldavia (14th-15th Centuries))
- Author(s):Mirea Andrei, Andrei Mirea
- Language:French
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Political history, Middle Ages, Recent History (1900 till today)
- Page Range:236-274
- No. of Pages:39
- Keywords:chancellery; Moldavia; Slavonic languages; written culture; princely monogram; education; scribes
- Summary/Abstract:This paper seeks to examine the Moldavian voivodal chancellery during its first century of activity by addressing a series of questions that remain partly unresolved. New arguments are put forward in support of the close relationship between the Slavonic-language chancellery of Moldavia and the Polish-Lithuanian written culture. These arguments include the absence of the non-autograph princely monogram on Moldavian diplomas and the identification of a Moldavian logothete from Podolia. Taken together, these elements suggest a likely cultural transfer of knowledge and expertise in document production from the Polish-Lithuanian dominions to the Moldavian court milieu. The education of the scribes employed in the chancellery of Moldavia is examined within the broader cultural context of the time. We aim to expand the depth of the analysis by comparing the Moldavian chancellery with other institutions that produced written texts and by exploring new potential insights that the preserved sources might reveal.
