Recapping the Academic Seminar “Stories from the Margins: Textual Sources as Material Culture” conducted by Prof. James MORTON on 8 October 2021

In the Graduate Seminar on 8 October, Prof. James MORTON shared with our research students his experience of working with ancient manuscripts in his lecture “Stories from the Margins: Textual Sources as Material Culture”. During the class, he introduced philology, the use of works of literature as historical primary sources and its application in his PhD research on Byzantine Religious Law in Medieval Italy (which is now published as a book). He discussed the limits of philology and the emergence of “material philology” in Anglophone medieval scholarship in the 1990s, which placed renewed emphasis on the importance of manuscripts in a textual culture. Prof. MORTON explained that material philologists recognise that medieval readers did not encounter texts in critical editions and approach manuscripts as artefacts, material products of historical contexts. They therefore aim to ‘decentre’ texts and place them in their historical context in order to understand how and why medieval readers and writers experienced texts on their own terms. He also explained how he became interested in Medieval Byzantium and shared with students his PhD supervisor’s advice – to focus on primary sources, since that has a better chance of keeping one’s work relevant for longer. He then gave tips on how to study Western medieval manuscripts and shared some of his joys and frustrations when researching ancient manuscripts.

Lecture Series on History of the New Territories

For teachers and students who have information to share with the Department, please email your articles in both Chinese and English to chanfiona@cuhk.edu.hk by 4:00pm every Monday.