Further information
INVITATION pdf
Alchemies of Scent Website
At this workshop, we take a cross-cultural look at the scents of religious authority in sources from Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. We will read and smell about the scent of divinity and death as they pertain to religious figures and their claims to authority.
MONDAY 5 JUNE 2023
10.00–10.30. Scent in the Egyptian Temple: Worshipping the Gods with Fragrance in the Daily Ritual (Heike Wilde)
10.40–11.10. "Death seems to me today like the fragrance of myrrh": Scent and stench in the Egyptian realm of the dead (Diana Míčková)
11.20–11.50. Later Greek Medical Sources of Religious Scents (Sean Coughlin)
12.00–13.30. Lunch
14.00–16.00. The Fragrance of Authority: Did Medieval Folks Smell Power? And Did Power Want to be Smelled? (Joëlle Rollo-Koster)
18.00. Dinner
TUESDAY 6 JUNE 2023
10.00–12.00. Smelling: rose, musks, balsam
12.00–13.30. Lunch
13.30–17.00. Blending and experiment
Participation is free, but registration is required as space is limited. Email Tato e-mailová adresa je chráněna před spamboty. Pro její zobrazení musíte mít povolen Javascript. to register.
Day 1 (Morning), Day 2: Husova 7, 110 00 Prague
Day 1 (Afternoon): Jilská 1, 110 00 Prague
Abstract
THE FRAGRANCE OF AUTHORITY: DID MEDIEVAL FOLKS SMELL POWER? AND DID POWER WANT TO BE SMELLED?
Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island
Growing from research undertaken for my latest book, The Great Western Schism, 1378-1417: Performing Legitimacy, Performing Unity (CUP, 2022) my new project emphasizes the sense of smell as a vehicle to inculcate political authority. While seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching are overly emphasized by the historiography, smell has not been fully considered. Looking at the ceremonials surrounding the granting of the Golden Rose, a precious object that the pope offered to the most ardent defensor of Christianity of his time, I will discuss how the rose taught its audience (via its aroma) how to recognize legitimate authority, and maybe how authorities “controlled” this smell to assert themselves.
