On September 21st and 22nd, Harvard University’s Standing Committee on Medieval Studies presents its Triennial Conference, “Preaching the Saints: Sermons, Art, and Music in Medieval and Early Modern Europe," at the Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street. The conference, honoring the career and contributions of Harvard professor Beverly Mayne Kienzle, will address the central role of preaching in medieval and early modern religious culture, and highlight the relationship between sermons, hagiography, art, and music. Additional fundingfor the conference has been provided by Villa I Tatti, the Lauro De Bosis Lectureship in the History of Italian Civilization, the Houghton Library, and Harvard Divinity School. Over a dozen renowned scholars will come together from North America, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Australia, including keynote speaker André Vauchez from the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris, who will speak on “St. Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan Saints in Italian Preaching, c. 1240-1340." Other scheduled speakers are Nicole Bériou (Université de Lyons II, Institut de recherches et d'histoire des textes, and École pratique des hautes études), Leo Carruthers (Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne), Nirit Ben-Aryeh Debby (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), George Ferzoco (University of Bristol), Peter Howard (Monash University), Thomas Forrest Kelly (Harvard University), E. Ann Matter (University of Pennsylvania), Bernard McGinn (University of Chicago), Catherine Mooney (Boston College), Carolyn A. Muessig (University of Bristol), Roberto Rusconi (Università degli studi Roma III), and Anne Thayer (Lancaster Theological Seminary). In addition, six graduate students will share their ongoing research projects with visiting scholars at a special poster session on Friday afternoon. Further information on the conference can be found at http://preachingthesaints.blogspot.com.

In conjunction with the conference, the Houghton Library is presenting A History of Medieval Christian Preaching, a two-part exhibition of medieval manuscripts from its collection on display in the Houghton's Amy Lowell Room and online at its website. The exhibition, which highlights the Houghton Library's abundant resources for learning about the fascinating world of medieval preachers and the books they used and produced, has been curated by Professor Kienzle together with students from her seminars on Latin paleography and manuscript culture and medieval sermons and preaching. On September 18 and 20, Professors George Ferzoco and Carolyn Muessig from the University of Bristol will offer two workshops for Harvard students, introducing the participants to key manuscripts that shed light on the history of preaching and illustrate the challenges that medieval sermons pose to modern scholars. For more information, please visit http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/ collections/early_manuscripts/preaching/