Proposed IARHS session for Leeds International Medieval Congress 2024 1st-4th July
Conference Theme: Crisis
Proposed session/s for IARHS: Outlaws and Crises, Outlaws in Crisis
This session explores the relationship between outlaws, bandits and the crises they encounter or initiate – their reasons, their activities and their results, in medieval and later times, and in ‘modern’ (and earlier) representations of the medieval which respond to and/or create crises of their own.
Around the world and throughout history outlaws and bandits have found themselves in situations of crisis. These might be political: in his fifteenth-century reference to Robin Hood and Little John, Walter Bower states that they were outlawed as a result of taking the side of Simon de Montfort in the 1260s Barons’ War against Henry III. They might also be social (as in the case of Hobsbawm’s ‘social bandits’, who fight back on behalf of those who lack power themselves), or personal (being victimized by powerful authority figures, or as a result of criminal activity gone wrong – theft that turns to murder, for example). Some (such as Ned Kelly and Zorro – and indeed Robin Hood) have developed popular narratives of fighting back against colonizing powers, whilst others from Dick Turpin through Billy the Kid, Jesse James through Prohibition gangs and Peaky Blinders to London’s Kray Brothers have given rise to (undeserved) ‘good outlaw’ legends in the style of Robin Hood and earlier ‘social bandits’.
As outlaws and bandits, these men and women faced crises of their own… from broken, fragile or treacherous relationships, as a result of attacks from without, and from parlous situations created by themselves or others. Outlaws regularly created crises themselves for a variety of reasons – to carry out rescues, to make restitution, to ‘equalize’ and to help the powerless, or to ensure survival for themselves and others.
Which leads to another important question:
Is outlawry and banditry itself in crisis? Robin Hood and other outlaws have been adopted by commercial interests to advertise products (from flour to finance to chocolate bars), and by political interests to conduct (sometimes violent) campaigns against lawful authority or the forces of order. From terrorists to hackers, the term ‘outlaw’ is frequently applied to anyone who stands in opposition to a hegemonic and/or authoritarian power, a power often named and fashioned by themselves. In recent times this tactic of self-identification has been adopted by would-be popular despots in their quest for power. Has the terminology/ideology of outlawry and banditry been emptied out, to be filled and refilled in response to a never-ending multiplicity of requirements – or can it still have value? Can it perhaps be retrieved from the past to serve the present and future in effective ways? Does it/can it still have validity? If so, how, and how should we see the outlaw or bandit, in the historiographical past or in the present day?
This excerpt from the Leeds IMC general call for papers may also be of interest to anyone considering our session topics:
‘‘Crisis’ has long been used when writing about the Middle Ages – incorporating climate and environmental issues such as epidemics, famines, and floods, political issues such as the breakdowns of dynasties and popular revolts, and socio-cultural issues such as religious apocalypticism and the questioning of faith…Medievalists are also interested in how individuals and communities coped with crisis. Indeed, medieval societies had their own perception and understanding of risk and found ways to adapt. An important component of this was the construction of crisis narratives, sometimes informed by religious beliefs – stories that changed across time, place, and audience. Temporality is also fundamental to medievalists’ understanding of crisis, offering important counter-perspectives to views of linear progress and modernization paradigms often seen in crisis historiography. While substantial crises could serve as short-term ruptures and turning points, crises also provoked more incremental changes within economies, institutions, and cultures over time. Some things stayed the same despite crises and, thus, continuity remains important’.
Ideas for themes:
The creation of crisis narratives and stories / Explicitly gendered approaches to crises / Global and national pressures/hazards played out at local or micro levels / Early modern and modern representations of medieval crisis / Material culture and conceptualizing crisis – objects and rituals / Hazards, shocks, disasters, and their redistributive impact / Textual representations of crisis and its impact on human agents – trauma, emotion, physical, and mental responses / Medieval crises represented in visual culture, music culture, and the arts / Crises occurring or conceptualized across borders / Settlements: adaptation and continuity under stress / Human-animal connections and their place within crisis contexts / Hazards, the managed environment, and the body politic
Please send your proposals, with a short (200 word max.) abstract, by September 25th, 2023 to Dr Lesley Coote (l.a.coote@associate.hull.ac.uk), along with a short abstract, a working title for your paper, your preferred designation and email address.
Papers should be no more than 20 minutes’ duration. As the conference will be hybrid, please indicate whether you would like to attend virtually or in person.
