Books, Music, and the Liturgical Life of the Medieval Church
13–14 November 2025, with pre-conference programme on 12 November 2025
Venue: University of Helsinki (City Centre Campus) and the National Library of Finland, Helsinki, Finland.
Liturgical books were undoubtedly the most common books of the Middle Ages, and the ones whose contents reached the largest number of people. This applies especially to their music, the reception and experience of which did not require competence in Latin. Simultaneously, they were particularly vulnerable to the ravages of time, be it upheavals like the suppression of monasteries or Reformation movements, or more mundane obsolescence and decay. As a result, scholarly understanding of medieval liturgical practices, the books on which these practices were based, and the relationship between the two, remains far from complete.
In this colloquium, we will explore medieval liturgical books, liturgical music, and liturgical practice and thought from a multitude of perspectives. We wish to encourage wide participation from scholars representing different fields in which these topics have been studied, such as musicology, theology, history of religion, history of art and architecture, palaeography, and history of the book.
The event is organised by two research projects hosted by the National Library of Finland – ‘Books of the Medieval Parish Church’ (ERC, 2021–2025) and ‘Tradition and Variation’ (Research Council of Finland, 2022–2026) – both of which concentrate on the liturgical books and liturgies of the parish churches of the medieval Swedish Kingdom (comprising modern Sweden and Finland). However, we warmly welcome contributions on all types of Christian liturgies from the Middle Ages.
We are happy to welcome two keynote speakers for the event:
Preliminary Practical Information
Planned registration fee: 60€ (40€ for postgraduate students), a separate fee for dinner. The registration opens in September.
Please also take a look at the University of Helsinki's Guide for Visitors webpage.
Contact
For questions regarding the event, please contact bmll2025@helsinki.fi.