A key force in the effort to bring the congress to Canada was York's Michael Herren, distinguished research professor in the School of Arts and Letters, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies. Herren, a renowned scholar in Medieval Latin, teaches humanities at York and the University of Toronto. He is also the editor of The Journal of Medieval Latin, which is housed at York. Assisting Herren in organizing the congress is Sara Kun (BA '05), a York master's student. 

"The Fifth International Congress for Medieval Latin Studies shows the importance of this research field," said Herren. "There is a large body of Medieval Latin literature in very old editions that still remains unedited. Many of these manuscripts were created between the seventh and 15th centuries and these texts are still not accessible because they have not been translated."

The knowledge contained within these texts offers insights into the medieval era. The majority of the texts chronicle some aspect of the history, legal system, social history or medical and scientific discoveries of the day. "Many of the texts have survived because they were laid down on parchment, which I call the ‘Teflon' of the medieval era," said Herren. Most of the existing manuscripts were made in the scriptoria of monasteries by members of the clergy. Many of the texts feature elaborate decoration of the text with drawings known as illumination. Many texts have survived the ravages of time because of the amazing capacity of parchment to resist deterioration.

The papers presented at this year's congress offer medieval interpretations of literary, philosophical, scientific and historical works written originally in Latin or translated into Latin. There will also be a number of presentations on the Latin Bible. "This is a true interdisciplinary conference," said Kun. "The specialists presenting papers come from many different disciplines including religious studies, science, classical literature and the humanities. Their findings are interpreted within the context of the Middle Ages."

The main site for the congress will be York’s Keele campus. Three of the four full days of papers will be set at York, with one full day at the University of Toronto. Sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the conference is being offered free of charge to undergraduate and graduate students.

Visit the Fifth Congress for Medieval Latin Studies Web site for more information on the event and for a full program of presentations. A full list of conference sponsors is available here.

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