International Conference: Epigraphy and Latinity in the Middle Ages (May 18-22, 2026)
Poitiers (France)
18-23 May 2026
Program
Monday 18 May 2026
| 17:30 - 18:00 | Welcome and introduction - Cécile Treffort (Université de Poitiers – CESCM – IUF) / Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (CNRS – CESCM) |
| 18:00 - 19:30 | Inaugural conference : The Latin of the Stones, or the Final Frontier of Medieval Latin (400–1700) - Benoît Grévin (CNRS – EHESS) |
| 19:30 - 20:30 | Opening Reception and Vernissage: “50 Years of Medieval Epigraphy in Poitiers” |
Tuesday 19 May 2026
| 9:00 - 10:30 | Latinity / Latinities - Présidence de session : Vladimir Agrigoroaei (CNRS-CESCM) |
| 9:00 - 9:45 | Medieval Latin Epigraphy in Greek Context - Andreas Rhoby (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften) |
| 9:45 - 10:30 | Negociating latinitas: the case of works of art commissioned in non-Latin areas for a Latin public - Maria Villano (CNRS-CESCM-ERC GRAPH-EAST) |
| 11:00 - 12:30 | - Présidence de session : Andreas Rhoby (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften) |
| 11:00 - 11:45 | Latin Inscriptions in Late Antique and Medieval Constantinople: A Diachronic Study - Ida Toth (University of Oxford) |
| 11:45 - 12:30 | The Epigraphic and Architectural Landscape of the Bodrum Castle of St. Peter: Jacques Gatineau’s Lapidary Program in Context - Hasan Sercan Saglam (University of Koç) |
| 12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | - Présidence de session : Michalis Olympios (University of Cyprus) |
| 14:00 - 14:45 | Conformities and Graphic Deviations: Writing under the Influence of the Medieval Image - Vincent Debiais (CNRS-EHESS) |
| 14:45 - 15:30 | Stubbornly Greek: painted inscriptions in the churches of 13th-century Cyprus - Maria Parani (University of Cyprus) |
| 16:00 - 17:30 | Poster Session |
| 18:30 - 20:00 | Reflexions on the Inscriptions of Poitiers from the Late 8th to the Late 12th, and the 13th–15th Centuries - Robert Favreau |
Wednesday 20 May 2026
| 9:00 - 10:30 | - Présidence de session : Vincent Debiais (CNRS-EHESS) |
| 9:00 - 9:45 | Latinization and (re-)vernacularization of medieval Scandinavian epigraphy - Alessandro Palumbo (University of Oslo) |
| 9:45 - 10:30 | Getting the message across, or just showing off?: The choice of Latin in early Medieval Celtic epigraphy - Katherine Forsyth (University of Glasgow) |
| 11:00 - 13:00 | Eastern worlds - Benoît Grévin (CNRS-EHESS) |
| 11:00 - 11:45 | Latin Epigraphic Culture and Multiculturalism in the Holy Places of the Kingdom of Jerusalem - Estelle Ingrand-Varenne (CNRS – CESCM) |
| 11:45 - 12:30 | Medieval Arabic Graffiti from the Near East and Arabia: Arabness, Arabization, and Islamization in Question - Frédéric Imbert (Aix-Marseille Université) |
| 12:30 - 13:00 | TITULUS : A New Database of Medieval Inscriptions from France and the Mediterranean - Rémi Bonnin (CESCM-CNRS-Biblissima+), Léontine Fortin (CESCM-CNRS-Biblissima+), Damien Strzelecki (CNRS-CESCM) |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Lunch |
| 14:30 - 16:30 | Visit of the Saint-Jean Baptistery and the epigraphic collections of the Sainte-Croix Museum |
| 17:00 - 17:30 | Poster Session |
| 17:30 - 19:00 |
| 17:30 - 19:30 | Graffitis and Multigraphism, part 1 : Round-table - Carlo Tedeschi (Università degli Studi "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti Pescara), Flavia De Rubeis (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia), Simone Allegria, (Università degli Studi "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti Pescara – ERC Graff-IT), Véronique Plesch (Colby College), Clément Dussart (CNRS-CESCM-ERC GraphEast), Adam Łajtar (University of Warsaw). |
Thursday 21 May 2026
| 9:00 - 10:30 | - Présidence de session : Carlo Tedeschi (Università degli Studi "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti Pescara) |
| 9:00 - 10:30 | Graffitis and Multigraphism, part 2 : Towards a Holistic Approach to the Graffiti on the South Portal of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: From the Study of Signs to the History of Societies. - Clément Dussart (CNRS-CESCM-ERC GraphEast), Khachik Harutunyan (Matenadaran-Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), Anna Lagaron (IFAO Le Caire), Savva Mikheev (Universität Heidelberg) |
| 11:00 - 12:30 | - Sonja Hermann (Universität Bonn) |
| 11:00 - 11:45 | The Carving of Lapidary Inscriptions in Cyprus in the 13th–14th Centuries: A Latin Specialty? - Thierry Gregor (CESCM) |
| 11:45 - 12:30 | Tombs and Texts: Funerary Epigraphy and Multiculturalism in Latin Cyprus - Savvas Mavromatidis (University of Cyprus) |
| 12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 - 16:30 |
| 14:00 - 14:45 | Carmina Epigraphica in Poetic Collections in the Age of Louis the Pious - Francesco Stella (Università di Siena) |
| 14:45 - 15:30 | Epigraphic Poetry in Southern Italy in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries: Between the Continuity of an Ancient Genre and Religious and Political Innovations - Chiara Lambert (Università degli studi di Salerno) |
| 15:30 - 16:15 | Versus per singulos titulos aecclesiarum et altaria singula dictavimus : le iscrizioni di Alcuino tra identità locali e reti europee - Paola Mocella (Università di Siena) |
| 17:00 - 19:00 | Poster Session |
Friday 22 May 2026
| 9:00 - 10:30 | - Présidence de session : Adam Łajtar (University of Warsaw) |
| 9:00 - 9:45 | Cemeteries, or What Is the Purpose of the Manuscript Epitaph? - Wim Verbaal (Universiteit Gent) |
| 9:45 - 10:30 | Towards a Poetics of Place? Some Carolingian Epigraphic Carmina - Enimie Rouquette (Sorbonne Université) |
| 11:00 - 13:00 | - Présidence de session : Nicolas Tran (Université de Poitiers) |
| 11:00 - 11:45 | Epigraphic Latin in Verse – Between the Didactic Norm of the Early Middle Ages and the Cultural Code of Humanism - Andreas Zajic (Universität Wien) |
| 11:45 - 12:30 | Writing and Architecture: Monumental Epigraphy on Roman Facades (12th–17th Centuries) - Marc Smith (École nationale des chartes-PSL) |
| 12:30 - 13:15 | Ancient Roman Inscriptions in the Middle Ages: From Observation to Understanding - Lorenzo Calvelli (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia) |
| 13:15 - 14:30 | Lunch |
| 14:30 - 17:00 | - Présidence de session : Javier de Santiago Fernández (Universidad Complutense de Madrid |
| 14:30 - 15:15 | Paulin of Nola and Suger of Saint-Denis: Some Remarks on the Construction of a Christian Epigraphic Latinity from the 4th to the 12th Century - Gaëlle Herbert de La Portbarré de Viard (Aix-Marseille Université-CNRS-TDMAM) |
| 15:15 - 16:00 | On the Epitaph of Cardinal Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord (Rome, Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains) - François Ploton-Nicollet (École nationale des chartes-PSL) |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Why Study Medieval Inscriptions in the 21st Century? - Cécile Treffort (Université de Poitiers-CESCM-IUF) |
Saturday 23 May 2026
| 8:00 - 13:00 | Excursion to Saint-Savin, Antigny, and Leignes-sur-Fontaine |
