Texts and Identities in the Early Middle Ages

Texts and Identities in the Early Middle Ages is the title of an international research cooperation between the Institute for Medieval Research and the Universities of Cambridge, Utrecht, Leeds and Paris I (Sorbonne), which was established in 1996 by Mayke de Jong (Utrecht), Rosamond McKitterick (Cambridge), Walter Pohl (Wien) and Ian Wood (Leeds).

This cooperation was designed to allow younger researchers (PhD students and post-docs), in particular, to develop, present and discuss their work in an international context. Workshops were held annually, having begun in 1997 with the first meeting of the group at the Netherlandish Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Wassenaar (NL): 1998, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2014 in Cambridge; 1999, 2002, 2005, 2013, 2017 in Vienna; 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010 in NIAS; 2007 in cooperation with the Centre for Medieval Studies of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague; in October 2008 in Auxerre, 2009 in Frankfurt (Main), 2013 in Paris and 2015 in Berlin. Junior medieval scholars from other universities or research institutes often participate at the these meetings (e.g. St Andrews, Lille, Barcelona, Paderborn, Notre Dame-Indiana, University of Virginia).

In addition, the results and themes of this cooperation have since 2000 been publicized to a wider academic audience at the annual International Medieval Congress Leeds* This presentation of the project, which was coordinated by the Institute for Medieval Research, was also used to encourage both junior and senior scholars from other universities and research institutes to collaborate on research issues of shared interest.

*International Medieval Congress Leeds
Current research and projects being undertaken at the Institute are presented annually at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds. Walter Pohl is a former member of the programming committee and coordinated with members of the working group the sessions on early medieval history that are held at the Congress.