[Archport] CfP Circulation of manuscripts (epigraphy related) 15th-17th centuries, Rome 8-10 June 2026

[José D´Encarnação <jde@fl.uc.pt>]

 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

 Circulating Perspectives of the Past

Epigraphic Material in Manuscripts (15th–17th centuries)

 Colloquium in memoriam of Marco Buonocore

 

Rome, La Sapienza Università di Roma, 8-10 June 2026

  

We invite proposals for contributions to a forthcoming colloquium, to be held at Sapienza Università di Roma on 8–10 June 2026, to honour the late Marco Buonocore (1954–2022), former Scriptor Latinus of the Vatican Library.

The colloqium will be dedicated to the study of the circulation of epigraphic material in manuscript (and printed sources) from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. This initiative seeks to explore not the inscriptions themselves, nor individual manuscripts, but rather the modalities of their transmission.  

We aim to explore to what extent the selection, excerpting, adaptation, and repurposing of epigraphic texts reflected the intellectual mindset of the time, and how these practices may have contributed to the circulation of manuscripts or their integration into printed works. We are also examining the networks that facilitated the dissemination of epigraphic information via manuscripts. 

The aim is to reconstruct the pathways through which knowledge of ancient inscriptions travelled across Europe and beyond, shaping antiquarian discourse, humanist scholarship, and broader cultural practices. We are particularly interested in the infrastructures, actors, and textual strategies that underpinned the mobility of epigraphic information.

 

We welcome proposals that address (but are not limited to) the following three key axes:

 

i) Types and Methods of Manuscript Transmission of Epigraphic Information in the Context of Print Culture. How was epigraphic material copied, organized, and circulated in handwritten form before and alongside print culture? What kinds of compilations, excerpta, or antiquarian notebooks preserved such data, and how were these manuscripts shared or transmitted among scholars and collectors? Was there a particular style and quality to the presentation of inscriptions in manuscripts that made them more appealing for dissemination than the prints produced at around the same time or shortly afterwards?

ii) Manuscript–Print Interactions. What relationships can be traced between manuscript testimonies and printed works that incorporate or are based on epigraphic content? How did print both stabilize and transform the dissemination of epigraphic knowledge, and in what ways did it rely on, or diverge from, manuscript traditions?

 

iii) Evidence of Circulation in Broader Contexts. How did epigraphic materials—transmitted via manuscripts or printed books—find their way into more general historical, literary, or encyclopedic works? What can such occurrences tell us about the cultural functions and perceived authority of inscriptions within early modern knowledge systems?

 

Rather than analyzing individual inscriptions or their philological features, this colloquium focuses on epigraphy as a medium of transmission: its formats, networks, uses, and epistemic roles. We are especially interested in methodological reflections and case studies that illuminate the mechanisms of transmission, the interplay of media, and the evolving status of epigraphic evidence in early modern intellectual life.

 

Contributions may be in AIEGL working languages (English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish).

The organization may be able to provide some financial support to early-career researchers. This support could include coverage of travel and accommodation expenses, subject to availability of funds and specific eligibility criteria. Further details regarding the application process and selection criteria will be made available in due course.

 

Proposals (250–500 words), along with a short bio, should be sent to manuscript2026@uni-mainz.de by 30 November 2025.

Accepted authors will be notified by 20 December 2025.

Scientific Committee

Maria Letizia Caldelli, La Sapienza Università di Roma

Xavier Espluga, University of Barcelona, Spain

Marietta Horster, JGU Mainz and CIL / BBAW, Germany

Silvia Orlandi, La Sapienza Università di Roma

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