The Centre is associated with several major research projects (especially the Dictionary of Old English), six publication series (Toronto Medieval Latin Texts, Toronto Medieval Bibliographies, Toronto Texts and Translations, Toronto Old English Series, Publications of the Dictionary of Old English), in addition to seven publication series and a prestigious journal published by the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS), a medieval drama group, and a medieval music group. The result is a large interactive community of professionals working in many areas of medieval studies. Individual research projects have all thrived in this environment.
Dictionary of Old English
The Dictionary of Old English (DOE) defines the vocabulary of the first centuries (AD 600–1150) of the English language, using today’s most advanced technology. The DOE is based on a computerized Corpus comprising at least one copy of each text surviving in Old English. The total size is about six times the collected works of Shakespeare. The body of surviving Old English texts encompasses a rich diversity of records written on parchment, carved in stone and inscribed in jewellery.
CMS Convivium
The Conferences, Lectures, and Visitors Committee recently introduced the CMS Convivium, a series of lectures that aims to foster scholarly exchanges and the intellectual community within CMS and associated bodies. It offers a space to learn about in-progress research and works, showcase faculty, alumni, and community accomplishments, provide an arena for advanced PhD students to present their research topics, and host joint events and lectures by visiting scholars. The name “convivium,” or banquet, echoes the long-lasting analogy between physical and spiritual nourishment and the rituals traditionally interweaving the two.
A bi-weekly hybrid event, the Convivium takes place Fridays in person and via Zoom, October through December and January to April. A light lunch precedes all meetings, which students and faculty are warmly invited to attend. Please visit our events page for a list of upcoming events, and complete the online Conivivum form to provide your availability, propose a title, or nominate a participant.
Life After Death: Brass Rubbings Collection
Researched and catalogued by Amy Bridges and Jordan St Augustine, the CMS Brass Rubbings Collection comprises 109 pieces. While some of the pieces are framed and available for viewing in person at Lillian Massey Building, the entire collection is housed in the online exhibit and research site: Life After Death: Brass Rubbings.
The Other Sister: Non-Cloistered Religious Women 1100-1800
The Other Sister is a research blog dedicated to the study of women who pursued forms of religious life outside of the cloister in medieval and early modern western Europe and New France. These women include but are not limited to beguines, tertiaries, penitents, pizzochere, bizzoche, beatas, lay sisters, recluses, Deo devote, oblates, and secular canonesses. They were especially numerous in cities and from a variety of social backgrounds, unlike their cloistered sisters who were from mostly noble and patrician backgrounds.
Although many non-cloistered religious women played significant roles in society, religiously and socially, they often appear marginal in traditional historiography. This is primarily due to a model that compartmentalizes women’s groups and imposes artificial categories on their lived experiences. The belief that there were only two options for pre-modern women, marriage or cloistered life (aut maritus aut murus), is still prevalent. For this reason, more collaborative research is necessary.
Through their blog, The Other Sister disseminates the archival, historiographical, and geographical findings about non-cloistered women by the researchers. It sets the stage for an inclusive history of non-cloistered religious women in the Christian world between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. In addition to giving these women a proper place in the historical record, The Other Sister has as its goal the creation of a medium for exchange and dialogue within and beyond the academic community. To this end, our blog aims to initiate and foster discussion. The posts provide information and present avenues for further research, while the ‘comments’ section welcomes insights and reflections from readers.