The second “Cultural Exchange in the Middle Ages” summer school was hosted by Charles University in Prague from May 21-28th. Participants came from universities in Denmark and Iceland, as well as from Charles University and CEU. Over the course of the week, students attended a series of lectures themed around cultural exchange in the Middle Ages, particularly focused on how evidence for exchange is found in the matter and the text of medieval manuscripts. These aspects were highlighted by lectures from professors of all participating universities, including a lecture given by Prof. Éloïse Adde on the relation of medieval literature to Bohemian kingdom, and by Prof. Katalin Szende on the revolutionary invention of paper and its spread across Europe. In addition to attending lectures, students gained hands-on experience looking for evidences of exchange researching in the medieval manuscripts of the Czech National Library.
Lectures, as well as visits to museums, historical sites, and the nearby city of Kutná Hora, provided a valuable opportunity for students from a variety of specialities and backgrounds to join in collegiality and engage in conversation on the internationality of textual production, and the many differences and similarities which defined the interconnected medieval world. It is rare to find scholars specializing in areas as diverse as medieval Iceland, Poland, North Africa, and Bohemia, and the summer school provided many chances for attendees to engage in their own cultural exchange, and learn from the expertise of scholars and students studying completely different areas and aspects of the medieval period.
Text written by Kassandra Cox
Photo provided by Éloïse Adde