Call for Papers
Luxury details in Medieval and Renaissance banquets
Karlštejn Castle, Prague, Czech Republic, Jan 24, 2024
Due By 30 July 2023
Luxury in banquets is a topic that have been fascinating scholars in the last decades, with the result of bringing to the attention of the public the importance of specific objects, materials, ritual and diplomatic procedures or ingredients within these feasts. The sources employed were many and heterogenous, ranging from documents - including inventories, payment receipts, letters, personal journals, festival books, manuals and treatises – miniatures and paintings or archaeological evidences. This workshop intends to draw attention specifically to the material culture of banquets, exploring further the reasons for the choices made choosing the decorations, the table setting, the food offer and the costumes that would have been used for such occasions, from the 14th to the 17th century. The charm of Karlštejn Castle (https://www.hrad-karlstejn.cz/en) will be the perfect frame to welcome a one-day workshop dedicated to the discussion of new insights on table culture, tableware, precious fabrics, rich garments designed for specific banquet-related purposes, exotic ingredients and any other subject that can be connected with luxury aspects and attitudes in Medieval and Renaissance banquets.
The organizers of this workshop (Maddalena Bellavitis and Milan Svoboda) invite papers addressing issues that can shed new light and provide new interdisciplinary research trajectories on any topic that can be connected with the introduction of luxury items (including, but not only, tableware, clothes, furniture, decorations…), materials, ingredients and attitudes that could be used and found in Medieval and Renaissance banquets.
To be considered for participation, please provide a single pdf document including a one-page proposal in English for a 20-minute presentation of an unpublished research and a short bio. Applications may be sent to maddalena.bellavitis@gmail.com by July 30, 2023, specifying in the object the title of the workshop you are applying for (participants will be notified in September).