[SCA-BMDL] Dancing with Death: Warfare, Wounds and Disease in the Middle Ages

[Saskia van Ouwater]

Hello all!  just recieved information on this interesting looking
event at Cal U - hadn't see it on the list since it's not an SCA
thing, but it's free, including Bagby doing Beowulf!
cheers-

Saskia van Ouwater

Dancing with Death

Start Date:  10/22/2010 Start Time:  9:00 AM
End Date:  10/22/2010 End Time:  9:30 PM

Event Description

"Dancing with Death: Warfare, Wounds and Disease in the Middle Ages"
is a three day event which is free and open to the public (including
the receptions and the performance by Benjamin Bagby on Friday
evening).  All of the events will be held in the Steele Hall Mainstage
Theatre unless otherwise noted.


Wednesday, Oct. 20

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friesian horse display (the closest living representative of the
medieval warhorse)

Location TBD


10 to 11 a.m.

Historical Fencing Demo on the turf outside of Natali


11 a.m. to Noon
"What is Medieval Military History and Why Does it Matter?" presented
by John France from the University of Wales-Swansea.  France, the
foremost military historian of the crusades, explains exciting new
discoveries made by medieval military historians, some of which have
radically altered our understanding of warfare in the Middle Ages.


1 to 2 p.m.
Historical fencing demo on the turf outside of Natali and a longbow
display in the Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre


2 to 3:30 p.m.
"How Effective was the Medieval Longbow and What Kind of Damage Did It
Do?" is a debate by medieval military historians Kelly DeVries from
Loyola University-Maryland and Clifford R. Rogers from the US Military
Academy at West Point.  Some historians have argued that the longbow
was a lethally effective weapon, while others have argued that it was
not.  Hear two of the foremost players in the debate argue with each
other, and decide for yourself who is more convincing.


3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Longbow Display


4 to 5 p.m.
Reception in the Multipurpose Room in Johnson Hall.


Thursday, Oct. 21
9 to 10 a.m.
"Fencing, Theatre, Film and Careers" is a discussion of ways to fuse
an interest in fencing, theatre and film into a career, by John
Lennox, a noted expert in historical fencing and an accomplished actor
who has both directed and appeared in numerous stage and screen
productions.


9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friesian horse display (the closest living representative of the
medieval warhorse)

Location TBD


10 to 11 a.m.

Fencing Demo by the Cal U Fencing Club on the turf outside of Natali


11 a.m. to Noon
Keynote Address: "Medieval Medical Care: Stereotypes and Reality"
presented by Dr. Piers Mitchell, a practicing surgeon and a
paleopathologist at Cambridge University.  The stereotype of medieval
medicine is that it was primitive, hampered by superstition, and
largely ineffective.  Hear the evidence for--and against--this myth,
and decide if it is accurate.


1 to 2 p.m.
Historical fencing demo on the turf outside of Natali


2 to 3 p.m.
"Trauma Patterns in the Mongol Empire," a talk on palaeopathology and
archaeology in Asia by Christine Lee, a professor at Beijing
University and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer for 2010.


4 to 5 p.m.
Reception in the Johnson Hall Multipurpose Room


Friday, Oct. 22

9 to 10 a.m.

Historical fencing demo on the turf outside of Natali


9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friesian horse display (the closest living representative of the
medieval warhorse)

Location TBD


10 to 11 a.m.

"Paleopathology: the Archaeology of Health in the Past" presented by
Dr. Piers Mitchell of Cambridge University, explaining what
paleopathology is, what sorts of things a paleopathologist digs
through in order to study the past, and what paleopathology can tell
us that other historical sources can not.


11 a.m. to Noon

Historical Fencing Demo on the turf outside of Natali


11 a.m. to Noon
"The Succor of Horror: Finding Pleasure in Pain in the Middle Ages," a
talk by Anthony Adams of Brown University, dealing with warfare and
injuries as they are depicted in medieval literature.


Noon to 1 p.m.
"Beowulf" workshop, conducted by Benjamin Bagby, an internationally
recognized expert in early music and Anglo-Saxon epics.  Useful for
those who teach or study Beowulf.


2 to 3 p.m.

"Blood Red Roses: Paleopathology and the Battle of Towton," a talk on
trauma to casualties after the battle of Towton in England in 1461, by
Anthea Boylston of the University of Leeds.  The talk will draw on
Boylston's experiences in excavating the battle site and subsequently
preparing both a book and a popular BBC television program on her
findings.


3 to 4 p.m.
Book signing


4 to 5 p.m.

Reception in the Johnson Hall Multipurpose Room


7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

A performance of the first part of "Beowulf" by internationally
acclaimed early music specialist Benjamin Bagby, founder of the group
Sequentia, featured on numerous CDs and concert programs throughout
North America and Europe.
Location Information:
Main Campus  (View Map)
250 University Ave.
California, PA 15419
Washington

Main Campus - Steele Hall  (View Map)
816 Third Street
California, PA

Main Campus - Steele Hall  (View Map)
816 Third Street
California, PA
Room: Steele Hall--Mainstage Theatre

Contact Information:
Name: Cindy Speer
Phone: 724-938-4054
Email: speer at calu.edu

-- 
Saskia Beranek
Doctoral Candidate
History of Art and Architecture
University of Pittsburgh
104 Frick Fine Arts Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
saskia.beranek at gmail.com or srb43 at pitt.edu