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Report on the Fifth ICLS Congress
Dalfsen, Netherlands, August 1986
Minutes of the Business MeetingFor the fifth time, our Society met for a triennial Congress, this time in Holland. Each Congress has been unique and memorable, and each has built on the tradition of the others while making innovations. The first Congress, in Philadelphia, was largely the work of the indefatigable Ray Cornier, who also took a part in the play produced by students at Temple University. The 1977 Congress was held in Athens in early spring, when the whole state of Georgia appeared to be in bloom, and included a visit to an ante-bellum mansion. The Liverpool Congress, in 1980, took the Society across the Atlantic, to medieval experiences at Chester Cathedral (Cormier on his hands and knees staring at a carving of the rear end of a horse, shouting "I have found Yvain") and Fountains Abbey. The definitely unmedieval city of Toronto, Canada, was in 1983 the site of the Fourth Congress, with a tour to Stratford and a magnificent banquet hall. In contrast to all of these, the Dalfsen Congress in 1986 was situated in a quiet conference center in a flat part of the Netherlands, beside a barely moving river, among the corn fields and the farms, attended by swans and ...ducks. Even the weather from August 9th to 16th was idyllic.
Some two hundred participants gathered for scholarly sessions, entertainments, excursions, and relaxation. Perhaps because the organizer Keith Busby of Utrecht and Leiden had not informed anyone of when their papers were to be read, very many of the attending members stayed the whole week. But Keith had planned well: the working sessions were skillfully interspersed with plenary sessions and full or half-day excursions. There were numerous and delightful entertainments, and at all times the helpful and multi-lingual student helpers stood ready to dispense beer or coffee according to the hour, or advice at any time. This little band of students who seemed to require no sleep could not have been better chosen and contributed immeasurably to the well-being of all.
Close to a hundred and fifty papers were presented by the participants, who hailed from many countries, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States. The largest contingents were from the United States and Great Britain, and the language of the Congress was largely English. One is tempted to think, however, that Holland is more or less an English-speaking country. It would be impossible to do justice in this short review to the variety of the communications. Fortunately a collection of selected papers is well along towards publication, as advertised elsewhere in this volume of Encomia. Plenary addresses were given by William Calin, Alan Deyermond, and Derek Pearsall.
The local arrangements encouraged good fellowship: tables for eight in the dining room, coffee served on the terrace, round tables in the bar and on the terrace, time for relaxation in between working sessions and meals. There were also some first-rate entertainments, with a local dance group, colorfully costumed and clogged, performing traditional dances, and a performance in the open-air theatre of The Apple Tree, a morality play, preceded by an indescribably comic rendering of the same story in Dutch, which brought laughter even from those who knew no word of the language.
Two excursions were planned. The half-day trip was to Zwolle, a pleasant nearby town, where the participants were able to wander through the town, visit the church and its famous organ, and finally gather for a reception and a short address from the Queen's representative in Overijsel. For the lucky few, there was then a gourmet treat in Zeegse, at the kind invitation of Elizabeth Daverman. The all-day excursion to Utrecht, on the Tuesday, included a coffee reception in the Catharijneconvent, a tour of the convent museum with its special exhibit on the voyage of Brendan, a tour of the city and its cathedral, and finally dinner at one of the local restaurants. The rijkstafel seems to have been the goal of many that evening before taking the buses back to Dalfsen. It was surprising to find in one of the medieval streets a statue to Francois Villon; wonderful to find in the University's garden a hawthorn tree. Most surprising, however, was the afternoon ceremony attended by many of the congressants in which the conference organizer, Keith Busby was married to Jose Lanters, with the city registrar performing the whole operation in English. Congratulations to Jose and Keith, not least for keeping the whole thing secret for so long.
The ducks have been alluded to above. They seemed to know when the mealtimes were over, and congregated at the entrance to the dining room, expecting (and usually receiving) a hand-out of some food. They were less aggressive than the swans, however, as Joe Snow knows, and as such they perhaps deserved to be immortalized. One morning there appeared on the notice board a hand-written fragment of a heroic poem, inspired partly by the ducks and partly by the Old French Voeux du paon. The vows seem strangely modern in tone, however, leading many to believe that the explanation that the poem had been found among wrapping papers in an Indonesian takeaway in Utrecht was spurious. The fragment has since been published, in 0lifant 11 (Fall/Winter 1986), 237-39. As yet the perpetrator has not been revealed, although suspicion has been cast upon many, all of whom were flattered by the suggestion they were clever enough to have composed this little gem.
Elsewhere in this volume of Encomia appears a photograph of most of the organizers of the Society's Triennial Congresses. Before them stands an empty chair, to be filled by the organizer of the next, the Sixth Congress. We know there can never be another Dalfsen, or another Philadelphia or Athens or Liverpool or Toronto. They have set a high standard of scholarship, and provided many pleasant hours and days for those attending the Congresses. But we have not been disappointed yet, and we confidently expect that the standard will be maintained.
Forward to 1989!
F. R. P. Akehurst
University of Minnesota1. The President, Douglas Kelly, thanked the University of Utrecht, the organizers of the Congress, and the staff of the De Bron Conference Center for making the 5th Triennial Congress a most pleasing occasion.
2. In the absence of the Treasurer, June McCash, who was ill at the time of the business meeting, the report on the Society's finances was presented by Joseph Snow. On July 17, 1986, the balance in the Society's International account was $2,514.16. It was also reported that the organizers of the 3rd Triennial Congress in Liverpool and the 4th Triennial Congress in Toronto had made a profit after all expenses had been met and that a committee was to consider how this money should be spent. The committee would consist of the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Editor of Encomia, and the retiring Secretary, Glyn Burgess, who was holding these funds in a deposit account in Llverpool. A report would be made to the business meeting of the 6th Triennial Congress.
3. The Secretary, Glyn Burgess, reported that the selected proceedings of the Toronto Congress, edited by himself and Robert Taylor, had appeared under the title The Spirit of the Court: Selected Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the International Courtly Literature Society (Toronto, 1983), Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1985, 408 pp. The volume contains the text or summary of the three plenary papers by Emmanuèle Baumgartner, Dennis Green, and Brian Stock and thirty-eight of the conference papers, selected from just over seventy submitted. All members of the Society were encouraged to make sure that this volume and those relating to the congresses in Athens, Georgia, and Liverpool had been purchased by their institutional libraries. Since the Toronto Congress, four issues of Encomia had appeared: V (Fall 1983 for 1981), VI (Fall 1984, for 1982), VII (Spring 1985, for 1983) and VIII (Spring 1986 for 1984). In all, these issues contained over 3500 courtly items. During the period 1983 - 1986 there had been a slight decline in membership. The Secretary suggested that all members should ensure that colleagues and students working in the area of courtly literature were aware of the activities and scope of the ICLS. In particular it was to be hoped that the relatively small number of institutions subscribing to Encomia could be increased. A brochure had recently been prepared to introduce the Society to new members.
4. The Editor of Encomia, Stephanie Cain Van D'Elden, reported that volume VIII had appeared in reduced format. She thanked current bibliographers and asked for new bibliographers to offer their services. She also asked for items of news and suggestions to be sent to her. She indicated that the high cost of international postage rates was beginning to become a problem. It was pointed out from the floor that copies of reviews should be sent to publishers and that the organizers of national branch meetings should send reports to the editor of Encomia.
5. The following elections were made:
President: Douglas Kelly (University of Wisconsin)
Vice-President: Ernstpeter Ruhe (University of Wurzburg)
Secretary: Keith Busby (Universities of Utrecht and Leiden)
Treasurer: Joseph Snow (University of Georgia)
Editor of Encomia: Stephanie Cain Van D'Elden (University of Minnesota)
International Bibliographer: Wendy Pfeffer (University of Louisville)6. No clear-cut offer had been made for the site of the 6th Triennial Congress. The question was left to the Executive Committee.
7. Under Any Other Business Donald Maddox stressed the importance of the new brochure and asked that it be widely distributed, especially at branch meetings. He also moved that German should be admitted as an official language of the Society and that any language appropriate to a given paper be accepted by organizers of future congresses. A French and German official title for the Society should be sought from the relevant branches. This motion was seconded and carried. It was also suggested from the floor that efforts be made to encourage more members from the French, German, and Italian branches to attend future congresses and that announcements and other conference material should be prepared in French and German.
Submitted by Glyn Burgess
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