Of gunpowder, clay pots, and chaos

These links courtesy of Kelly DeVries, who, along with Steve Walton and others, had waaaaay too much fun in Denmark this summer. Whacha gonna do, I say…Anyone who likes things that go flash-bang, or bang-flash, or BOOM…you get the picture. Check out this footage of experiments with late medieval incendiary weapons:

HO Seminar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuWslUzW2P8

Medieval Warbooks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTm8Lwn2exQ

IMC, Leeds 2010 Call for Papers

Just got this the other day, for those of you who fancy a flight across the pond, as they say:

International Medieval Congress 2010: 12-15 July 2010
Paper proposals must be submitted by 31 August 2009, session and roundtable proposals by 30 September 2009.
Plans for next year’s Congress are well underway. As in previous years, papers and sessions on all aspects of the study of the European Middle Ages are most welcome, in any major European language.
One of the focuses for 2010 will be the special thematic strand on ‘Travel and Exploration’. IMC 2010 commemorates the 550th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry ‘the Navigator’ by making ‘Travel and Exploration’ a special thematic focus. The voyages undertaken in the name of Henry exemplify many of the motives that had long driven people to travel and explore: the prospect of wealth, trade, and territory, knowledge and curiosity, piety and religious zeal, legends and external salvation.

The IMC seeks to provide a forum for debates on the motives, processes, and effects of travel and exploration, not only by Latin Christians in the so-called ‘Age of Discovery’, but across cultures, and throughout the medieval period and beyond. The full call for papers is available on our website at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2010_call.html

The IMC Core Strands are:
. Anglo-Saxon Studies
. Archaeology
. Art and Architecture
. Byzantine Studies
. Celtic Studies
. Central and Eastern European Studies
. Church History and Canon Law
. Crusades and Latin East
. Culture and Society
. Daily Life
. Drama
. Gender Studies/Women’s Studies
. Geography and Settlement Studies
. Government and Institutions
. Hagiography and Religious Writing
. Historiography (Medieval and Modern)
. Jewish Studies
. Language and Literature – Comparative
. Language and Literature – Germanic
. Language and Literature – Middle English
. Language and Literature – Romance Vernacular
. Late Antique and Early Medieval Studies
. Latin Writing
. Literacy and Communication
. Material Culture
. Medievalism and Reception of the Middle Ages
. Mediterranean and Islamic Studies
. Monasticism and Religious Life
. Music and Liturgy
. Philosophy and Political Thought
. Scandinavian Studies
. Science, Technology and Military History
. Social and Economic History
. Sources and Resources
. Theology and Bible Studies

We prefer proposals to be completed online – a quick, easy, and secure method. To submit a proposal, go to http://imc.leeds.ac.uk/imcapp/
Remember to order your equipment for 2010 on your proposal form! Check http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/equipment.html for more details.

Future IMC Dates
. IMC 2010 Paper Proposals Deadline: 31 August 2009
. IMC 2010 Session Proposals Deadline: 30 September 2008
. IMC 2010: Special Thematic Strand: ‘Travel and Exploration’, 12-15 July 2010
. IMC 2011: Special Thematic Strand: ‘Poor-Rich’, 11-14 July 2011
. IMC 2012: 9-12 July 2012
. IMC 2013: 8-11 July 2013
. IMC 2014: 7-10 July 2014

Society for Military History Conference

Certainly worth considering, if you are “one of those military historians”!!! You know who “those” people are!!! Anyway, the details:

CALL FOR PAPERS
The Society for Military History is pleased to announce a call for papers for its 77th Annual Meeting, hosted jointly by the Virginia Military Institute and the George C. Marshall Foundation at Lexington, VA on May 20-22, 2010. The conference theme is “Causes Lost and Won,” and will provide an opportunity for a wide examination of military institutions and practices – including the causes, conduct, resolution, and consequences of past wars. While the theme of the conference will provide a basic guide to determining the final program, the program committee will gladly consider proposals on other facets and perspectives of military history.

Panel proposals must include a panel title, contact information for all panelists, a brief description of the purpose and theme of the panel, one-paragraph abstracts of each of the three papers, a brief curriculum vitae for all panelists, including commentator and panel chair. Proposals for individual papers are welcome and should include a brief abstract, abbreviated curriculum vitae, and contact information. All panelists must be Society for Military History members. The deadline for proposals is October 1, 2009. Proposals may be submitted electronically to the conference coordinator, Dr. Timothy C. Dowling (DowlingTC@vmi.edu) or by regular mail to Dr. Timothy C. Dowling, Department of History, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA 24450. The program committee will acknowledge receipt of your proposal within two weeks of its submission. If you fail to receive such notice, please contact the conference coordinator.

The meeting will be held on the Post of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, with the VMI Center for Leadership and Ethics and the George C. Marshall Library serving as principle venues. Lexington is conveniently located at the juncture of Interstate Highways 81 and 64 and is easily accessible via Roanoke Regional Airport. The City of Lexington offers excellent local restaurants and shopping and a broad choice of hotels with comfortable accommodations.

For more details, please contact Dr. Tim Dowling at DowlingTC@vmi.edu or (540) 464-7472.