Cosmopolitanism as Hospitality: Christian Charity and the Archaeology of the Medieval Silk Road in Armenia
When:
—
Venue:
Online
How was a caravan inn a metaphor for the medieval self?
In this lecture, hosted by the East of Byzantium series, Kate Franklin will explore the materiality of charity in high medieval (13th-14th century) Armenia, and in particular the space-times made at the intersection of local politics and expansive worldviews, which worked to contain and produce the mobility and exchange now referred to as the medieval Silk Road. The talk will start from the perspective of the medieval caravan inn– or karavanatun in Armenia– and consider both the broader landscapes of piety and the everyday practices of hospitality which held together complexly interwoven cultures and identities in the medieval period. Bringing together archaeological as well as historical and epigraphic evidence, Kate will examine how nested metaphors of self, space, society, and cosmos linked religious tradition to trade worlds, as well as knitting together the edges of Christian and Muslim identities in the transformative period of the Mongol conquest.
This talk is organized by East of Byzantium, a partnership between the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art at Tufts University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, which explores the cultures of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire in the late antique and medieval periods.
You can find more information and register for the event here. You may also find more information and a link to registration at this url: https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/cosmopolitanism-as-hospitality/
Contact name:
Kate Franklin