‘Merchants, Mercenaries and Missionaries: the Society and Culture of the Medieval Mediterranean, c. 500-1500’

– University of Exeter, 9–12 July 2009

The first Society for the Medieval Mediterranean conference was held at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter from July 9-12 2009. 

Entitled ‘Merchants, Mercenaries and Missionaries: the Society and Culture of the Medieval Mediterranean, c. 500-1500’, the meeting brought together academics from history, maritime history, archaeology and theology, and also geography, music and the evolution of languages and literature.

In addition to attracting 80 delegates from around the world, the conference had three keynote speakers. Principle keynote speaker Peregrine Horden, a Professor of Medieval History at Royal Holloway, was accompanied by Jerrilynn Dodds and Amnon Shiloah, from the United States and Israel respectively. Horden’s address was entitled: 'The Mediterranean and the Origins of the European Economy 600-900', covering a period within the timescale that the conference is exploring.

Professor Dionisius A. Agius, Chair in Arabic and Islamic Material Culture at the University of Exeter and the conference’s co-organiser said: “The conference aims to bring the east and west closer together, and it aims to give a more profound understanding of the Mediterranean world during this period when cultures and ideologies clashed and converged. It offers the potential of original insight and exploration.”

The conference was supported by the Society of the Medieval Mediterranean, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, the Centre for Medieval Studies, the Centre for Mediterranean Studies and the Centre for Maritime Studies at the University.