Medieval history lectures

TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER – 7.30 pm

‘Notre-Dame de Paris and Saint-Denis: emulation and rivalry between two great neighbours in the late Middle Ages’ by Damien Berné

The Abbey of Saint-Denis and Paris Cathedral maintained a relationship that was both rich and complex during the Middle Ages, owing to their geographical proximity, their unique symbolic significance and their close ties to the Capetian royal power. Various episodes of conflict pitted the monks of Saint-Denis against the canons of Notre-Dame, revealing the adjustments necessary for their coexistence within the Parisian landscape. However, many aspects of their architecture and sculpted decoration bear witness to the constant exchange in both directions, revealing the perspective each of the two communities held of its great neighbour. It is this crucial dialogue that we seek to explore here, by examining its various manifestations and focusing on the period from the^12th century to the end of the Middle Ages.

Who is the speaker, Damien Berné? 

Damien Berné, a heritage curator, has been in charge of the medieval sculpture collection at the Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge in Paris since 2011. He has curated several exhibitions in this field, including ‘Cluny 1120. On the Threshold of the Maior Ecclesia’ (2012) on the great portal of Cluny III, ‘The Birth of Gothic Sculpture. Saint-Denis, Paris, Chartres 1135–1150 ’ (2018–2019) and ‘Letting the Stones Speak: Medieval Sculptures of Notre-Dame’ (2024–2025), to coincide with the reopening of the Parisian cathedral for worship and public visits. A palaeographer and archivist with a PhD in art history, he devoted his thesis to the interactions between space and memory at the Abbey of Saint-Denis from^{the 12th} to the early^16thcentury, and is more generally interested in the relationship between architecture and liturgy in the Middle Ages.

TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER – 7.30 pm

‘Composers , performers, patrons: the women of medieval music’ by Anne Ibos-Augé

Cantrix, nun-composer, copyist, songwriter, juggler, patron… There were many women active in music during the Middle Ages, who invented it, wrote it down, passed it on, and sometimes quite simply brought it to life.

Apart from Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), however, few ‘names’ are known to us. Of course, nuns and beguines sang, but only their escapades are recorded. Archival records mention jugglers, musicians and singers. In novels, women and young girls sing whilst accompanying themselves on instruments. Azalaïs de Porcairages, the Countess of Die, and Maroie de Diergnau composed poetry and music, just like their male counterparts. For their part, patrons contributed significantly to the influence of lyric and poetic art.

This presentation will focus primarily on ‘female performers’ (whether religious or secular, composers, minstrels) or those represented ‘indirectly’ (heroines of poems and songs), as well as women of culture (patrons, dedicatees), in France and across Europe: to all the women of medieval music.

Who is the speaker, Anne Ibos-Augé? 

A holder of three degrees from the Paris National Conservatoire of Music and Dance (History of Music, Analysis, Aesthetics), Anne Ibos-Augé holds a PhD in musicology, is an agrégée, an associate researcher at the Institute for Research in Musicology (Sorbonne University – CNRS) and a member of the French Society for Musicology. She has headed the Department of Musicology at the Perpignan Regional Conservatoire and has been teaching History of Music and Analysis for several years.

Her research focuses on the medieval literary and musical repertoire, female musicians, and certain contemporary collections. Her latest book, *Women and Music in the Middle Ages*, was published in January 2025 by Éditions du Cerf. She has been a contributor to *Diapason* magazine for several years, writing both reviews of recordings and performances and various types of feature articles. She is also a member of the International Music Press.