Review: the conference on monastery archives

Before a detailed conference report is published in the next few weeks, we would like to briefly summarise the event here. With over 50 participants, the conference on monastery archives conference on monastery archives at the end of November was undoubtedly a successful event organised by the RIGG's Medieval Department, which is headed by Dr Jörg Voigt.

Together with Father Augustin Laffay OP, he brought together both established and young speakers who reported and lectured on "Archives of monasteries and religious orders from the Middle Ages to the present day". The lectures were held in French, German and Italian. What was special about the conference was that it was archivists who had their say, not university professors. Archivists are the guardians of cultural and ecclesiastical memory and have their own special expertise, which is often linked to their own research.

The lectures will be published in the Römische Quartalschrift vol. 2024. The concluding public lecture by the archivist of Montecassino, Father Mariano Dell'Omo, on the cultural and historical significance of the Rule of Saint Benedict was also impressive.

On Saturday, the speakers then set off with assistants, students and other friends on a trip to the Cistercian abbey of Casamari and to Fossanova, organised by Edith Schaffer. We were able to see the oldest manuscript of the Benedictine Rule of Casamari Abbey. The Trattoria da Sestilio on the way to Fossanova was excellent! And Fossanova itself was extremely impressive, not only because of its architecture but also because of its lively parish life.

Category: Lectures and Conferences