OxByzList: Hilary Week 6 Oxford Listings, 22-28 February
Oxford University Byzantine Society
Dear members,
Welcome to week 6! The OUBS conference, Decline and Flourish, is less than a week away, and we hope to see many of you there. The programme can be found on our website here. We've got a great range of fascinating topics, so do check it out!
Please also fill out this form if you are interested in joining a new reading group next term on the subject of 'the Global Middle Ages'.
The group is aimed at anyone from late-stage undergraduate study to early career research, and is open to anyone from a broadly medieval background. The form is designed both to assess numbers and to help shape the direction of the reading group. The focus of the reading group as it is currently imagined is to examine the concept of the Global Middle Ages, the controversies surrounding this term, and approaches to global history through group examination of certain key texts, aiming to build up a solid grounding for participants to pursue their own global comparative research projects in the future. Sessions would be 1 hour a week and would involve discussion of global history theories, global comparative works, and works from disciplines across the globe with important applications for global history (selected based on participants' interests) - all in relation to participants' native fields. No background in global history is required. For any questions please email findlay...@pmb.ox.ac.uk.
And now, please find the listings for the week below.
Monday
23/02/2026, 09:30 - Online / Maison Français d’Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road, OX2 6SE
Beyond the Body of the Church: Formalisations of Social Ideas in Medieval Eastern Christianity
Please send an email to participate in the event (or to receive the link): carloemil...@ugent.be
See more on the MFO website: https://www.mfo.ac.uk/event/workshop-beyond-body-church-formalisations-social-ideas-medieval-christianity
23/02/2026, 14:15 - Weston Library, Broad Street, OX1 3BG
Seminar in Palaeography and Manuscript Studies – Eric Cregheur: “The Bruce Codex (MS Bruce 96): Answering the Riddles of a Coptic Gnostic Manuscript”.
23/02/2026, 16:30 - Robert Beddard Room, Oriel, OX1 4EW
Patristics Research Seminar - Jonathan Young (Oxford): ‘Amobins and the Critique of Religions Statuary’
23/02/2026, 17:00 - Wharton Room, All Souls College, OX1 4AL; for Teams access join group “Medieval History Research Seminar” (team code rmppucs)
Medieval History Seminar - Chris Wickham (Birmingham/Oxford): ‘International Commerce and Regional Development: Pepper in the Indian Ocean’
Tuesday
24/02/2026, 14:00 - New Seminar Room, St John’s College, St Giles, OX1 3JP
Europe in the Middle Ages - Tom Cousins (Bournemouth): ‘The Mortar Wreck: A Thirteenth Century shipwreck outside of Poole Harbour, Dorset’
24/02/2026, 16:30 - Online via Microsoft Teams. The link can be obtained by emailing Ugo Mondini (ugo.m...@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk) by the day before each session
JFF Project Euripides Byzantinus: Euripides and the Middle Ages - Maurizio Sonnino (Sapienza University of Rome): ‘Eur. Or. 108a reconsidered: A Byzantine interpolation in Euripides’ text’
Wednesday
25/02/2026, 12:15 - Lecture Room, Campion Hall, OX1 1QS
Syriac Lunch Seminar - Seth Stadel: ‘The Political Cultures of Christian Slavery in the Early Medieval East Syriac Legal Tradition’
Participation is open to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from all academic fields and is by invitation. Those interested in attending are kindly asked to contact Katherine Painter (katherin...@theology.ox.ac.uk) by the Sunday prior to the date(s) they wish to attend so that complementary lunch can be provided.
25/02/2026, 17:00 - Lecture Theatre, Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies, 66 St Giles’, OX1 3LU
Late Antique and Byzantine Seminar - Robert Wiśniewski (Warsaw): ‘Mapping Unholy Places in Late Antiquity’
Thursday
26/02/2026, 14:00 - Catherine Lewis Lecture Theatre, Clarendon Institute, Walton Street, OX1 2HG
Reading Group: Jewish Magical Texts from Antiquity and the Cairo Geniza - Babylonian Magic Bowls
This reading group offers an encounter with key types of Jewish magical texts preserved on papyri, metal, clay, parchment, and paper, from Antiquity through medieval Cairo. Together, we will read and analyze these texts, identifying their distinctive features-biblical references, adjurations, magical formulae, angelic and demonic names, magical words and signs, and more. We will also consider the aims these texts were meant to serve, draw comparisons with parallel traditions, and discuss the significance of their similarities and differences. We will present new materials that were not presented in the Michaelmas term.
All are welcome-no prior language knowledge required.
If any queries you have, please contact Professor Piotrkowski at meron.pi...@ames.ox.ac.uk
26/02/2026, 16:00 - Seminar Room, Corpus Christi College, OX1 AJF
Late Roman Seminar - Cédrik Michel (Reading): ‘Civil War or Barbarian Invasion: Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, and Pacatus Drepanius on the Usurpation of Magnus Maximus (r. 383-388 CE)’
26/02/2026, 17:15 - KRC Lecture Room, Khalili Research Centre, 3 St John St, OX1 2LJ
Khalili Research Seminar - Eva Schreiner (Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence): ‘Debt in stone: architectures of finance in late Ottoman Istanbul’
Friday
27/02/2026, 09:30 - Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies, 66 St Giles, OX1 3LU
Byzantine Text Seminar - Dr Bazzani: The seminar sessions will focus on the text of the Miracles of St Artemios.
To sign up and receive the work materials, email marina....@classics.ox.ac.uk
Saturday-Sunday
27/02/2026, 12:00 - Visiting Scholars Centre, Weston Library, Broad Street, OX1 3BG
Lectures on the History of the Bible: From Manuscripts to Print - The Bible in Medieval Europe
This course offers an illustrated introduction to the transmission and history of one of the world’s most influential texts: the Bible. Beginning with the Hebrew Bible and the earliest biblical papyri and manuscripts, it traces the development of biblical texts over more than two millennia, from the premodern Mediterranean world to the first printed editions of the Late Middle Ages. Drawing on some of the Bodleian Library’s most remarkable biblical treasures, the lectures provide direct insight into how the copying, translation, and circulation of the Bible shaped the history of the book and, more broadly, human culture. Particular emphasis is placed on first-hand engagement with manuscripts in different languages, scripts, layouts, and visual traditions.
No prior knowledge of biblical languages is required. By the end of the course, participants will have gained a basic familiarity with biblical manuscripts across multiple traditions and will be able to identify key scripts, layouts, and illustrative features, as well as appreciate their cultural and historical significance.
Places are limited. To register interest and secure a place, please contact the lecturer at peter...@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
28/02/2026-01/03/2026 - St Peter's College, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DL
Oxford University Byzantine Society - Decline & Flourish: New Paradigms of Decline and Renewal in Late Antiquity and Byzantium
Price for in-person attendance: £15 for OUBS members; or £20 for non-members.
If there are any events you would like to share with the OUBS, please get into contact with us.
Kind regards,
Nidanu
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Nidanu O'Shea
DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Secretary, Oxford University Byzantine Society
http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.wordpress.com