Scent and Sense: Olfaction and Memory in Medieval Material Culture

Sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art

Abstracts, one page in length, should be sent to Elina Gertsman (exg152@case.edu) by 15th of October, 2020

Frankfurt am Main, 29th of September to 2nd of October, 2021

Although we are used to thinking that the sense of sight reigned supreme in the Middle Ages, medieval scholars of all stripes were quite obsessively preoccupied with questions of olfaction. Ephemeral and fleeting but emotionally, spiritually, and physiologically impactful, the sense of smell was tightly tethered to the humoral, anatomical, and cognitive theories. Memories, in particular, could be affected by smells: a fetid odor, it was gleaned from Avicenna, induced such illness that could make one forget the names of his own children, while sweet-smelling perfumes could strengthen memory and increase devotion.

This session will explore the multivalent relationships between objects, smells, and memory, especially as they existed in the later Middle Ages. We seek to explore two distinct aspects of this relationship. On the one hand, we welcome papers that focus on visual representations of smell, as found in a broad range of manuscripts and printed texts, from medical treatises to romance literature, from tracts on philosophy to encyclopedias. On the other hand, we hope to see contributions that focus on objects whose function is predicated on the sense of smell: among them censers and thuribles used during Christian liturgical services; Jewish Havdalah spice (besamim) containers, used in a ceremony that concluded the Sabbath; incense burners used at receptions, events, and in places of worship throughout Islamic world. Papers may focus on specific case studies or else broadly thematize the intertwinement of smell, memory, and image within the vast sensory landscape of the Middle Ages.