Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals

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Vacancies – StoryPharm – MSCA DN UCY Are you getting or have already received an MA in Ancient or Medieval History, Art History, Byzantine Studies, Classics, Cultural Heritage Studies, Medieval Studies, Philology (Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, or Latin), Religious Studies, or Studies in Medievalism? Are you intereste...

CeMAR at IMC Leeds 2026 | Rituals of Mothering II: Middle Byzantine Period

The Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals (CeMAR), University of Cyprus, continued its successful programme at the International Medieval Congress 2026 with its second sponsored session, “Rituals of Mothering II: Middle Byzantine Period.”

Organised by Stavroula Constantinou and Savvas Mavromatidis, and moderated by Savvas Mavromatidis (Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals, University of Cyprus), the session explored the many ways maternal roles were enacted, negotiated, and reimagined in the Middle Byzantine world.

The programme featured three thought-provoking presentations:

🔹 Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus) – Mothers and Wet Nurses in Byzantine Healing Shrines

🔹 Nathan Leidholm (Bilkent Üniversitesi, Ankara) – Enslaved Women as Mother Figures in Byzantium

🔹 Mati Meyer (Open University of Israel) – Reassigning Lactation: From the Galaktotrophousa to the Midwife in Nativity Scenes

Together, the papers examined motherhood from complementary perspectives, highlighting the roles of mothers and wet nurses in healing shrines, the maternal functions of enslaved women within Byzantine households, and the evolving visual representations of motherhood in Byzantine art. The session demonstrated how motherhood was not a fixed biological category but a dynamic social, religious, and cultural construct that shaped everyday life, devotion, and gender relations in Byzantium.

The lively discussion that followed once again highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in advancing our understanding of the medieval world and reaffirmed CeMAR’s commitment to fostering innovative international research collaborations.

CeMAR at IMC Leeds 2026 | Closing an Inspiring Week

Today, the Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals (CeMAR), University of Cyprus brings its highly successful presence at the International Medieval Congress 2026 to a close.

Following an outstanding week that included StoryPharm’s four sponsored sessions, a round table, a networking reception, and CeMAR’s research presentations, today’s programme concludes with the first of CeMAR’s three sponsored sessions, “Rituals of Mothering I: Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages.”

Organised by Stavroula Constantinou and moderated by Eirini Panou (Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals, University of Cyprus), the session explores motherhood as a cultural, medical, and theological practice through three fascinating papers:

🔹 Amélie Belleli (INRAP, Paris) – Ritualising the Womb: Female Bodies, Dynastic Transmission, and Ascetic Resistance in Late Antiquity

🔹 Giulia Freni (Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici, Naples) – Another Regimen for the Nurse: A Fragment by Antyllos Quoted by Oribasios

🔹 Piruza Hayrapetyan (Central European University, Budapest/Vienna) – “Let Me Also Be Punished with Sinners, for They Too Are Brothers of My Son and Sons of God”: Marian Advocacy in the Apocalypse of the Theotokos

The session highlights the richness and diversity of current scholarship on motherhood, embodiment, medicine, and devotion in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, providing a fitting conclusion to an inspiring week of international collaboration and scholarly exchange at IMC Leeds 2026.