Medica at Leeds 2010

For those of you attending the International Medieval Congress at Leeds this July, remember to add the Medica-sponsored session on "Healing Journeys" to your schedule. The papers in this session promise to offer three insightful perspectives on the quest to find healing through both geographical and preternatural journeys.

Tuesday, 13 July from 4:30 p.m. - 6:oo p.m.

(Session 827) Healing Journeys: Travels for Body and Soul in Medieval Culture

Organizer/Presider: Virginia Langum (Magdalene College, University of Cambridge)

• Hilary C. Powell (University of Cambridge) "A Move to the Country?: Nature and Healing in Medieval England"
• Michelle Garceau (College of Charleston, South Carolina) "Healing Practices and Journeys as Seen in Catalan Miracle Stories"
• Chris Wilson (University of Exeter) "Corporeality and Visions of the Otherworld in the Long 13th Century"

Session abstract: The panel considers various aspects of travel for healing in the Middle Ages. The first two papers consider medical "pilgrimage" within different geographical and spatial contexts. Michelle Garceau investigates Catalan miracle stories for evidence of healing practices and their particular significance for gender studies. Hilary Powell discusses travel to healing locations in medieval England other than to the widely known saints' shrines. She delineates the status of these springs, trees, and stones within official and unofficial religious culture. In the final paper, Chris Wilson explores a less material form of travel – the otherworldly vision - and its physical and physiological consequences.