Βυζάντιο explained Newsletter - Discover Byzantium at IMC 2025
All Byzantine-themed sessions and papers at IMC 2025, organized by date and time.
Discover Byzantium at IMC 2025
The International Medieval Congress 2025 (Leeds, 7-10 July) features a rich selection of Byzantine-themed sessions that span art, literature, theology, medicine, rhetoric, warfare, and mobility. To help our community of scholars, students, and enthusiasts navigate the programme, we’ve compiled a list of all papers and panels related to Byzantine studies across the four days of the congress.
Whether you’re attending in person or tuning in virtually, this guide will help you find the sessions most relevant to your interests in Byzantium and its wide-ranging legacy.
Scroll down for a full day-by-day breakdown of Byzantine content at this year’s IMC.
Monday, 7 July
11:15–12:45
Session 115 – Worlds of Byzantine Rhetoric I: Logic, Society, and Learned Culture
📍 Maurice Keyworth Building: 1.05
Sponsor: Centre for Late Antique, Islamic & Byzantine Studies, University of Edinburgh
Moderator: Niels H. Gaul
115-a: Natural versus Technical Reasoning in Byzantine Rhetorical Pedagogy
– Vessela Valiavitcharska, University of Maryland115-b: Rhetorical Theory, Self-Representation, and Social Order in Ioannes Sikeliotes
– Cosimo Paravano, Universität Wien115-c: Hermogenean Theory as a Guide through Learned Culture in Michael Choniates (and Nikephoros Basilakes)
– John Kee, Harvard University
14:15–15:45
Session 203 – Middle Byzantine Art and Literature
📍 Esther Simpson Building: 2.09
Moderator: Maroula Perisanidi
203-a: From Imperial Patron Saint to Eucharistic Typos: St Elijah's Iconography within Byzantine Imperial Patronage and Liturgical Practice
– Elisabeta Negrău, Romanian Academy203-b: Theophanes Chrysobalantes' Collection of Medications: Another Byzantine Link between Antique and Modern Pharmacopoeias
– Nora Zergi, University of Bergen203-c: Ó erotithís dídaxon (Ὅ ἐρωτηθής δίδαξον): The Case of the Martyr Eustratios Classicising for His Defence
– Konstantina Tsakona, University of Verona
Session 215 – Worlds of Byzantine Rhetoric II: Elements of Rhetoric in Later Byzantium
📍 Maurice Keyworth Building: 1.05
Moderator: Vessela Valiavitcharska
215-a: Learning the Gendered Voice?: Ethopoiiai from Basilakes to Lapithes
– Callum Hendleman, University of Edinburgh215-b: Rhetoric as Authority: Ekphraseis of the Column of Constantine in the 12th Century
– Lucas Butler, University of Edinburgh215-c: Interweaving Rhetoric and History: A Comparative Analysis of George Pachymeres' Political and Social Discourse
– Daiki Sano, University of Edinburgh
16:30–18:00
Session 303 – Epiros: The Other Western Rome
📍 Esther Simpson Building: 2.09
Sponsor: Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research
Moderator: Ida Toth
303-a: The 'Komnenian System' in Epiros
– Nathan Websdale, University of Oxford303-b: Not Just Klokotnitsa: Relations between Epiros and Bulgaria, 1207–1241
– Francesco Dall'Aglio, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences303-c: Descriptions of Multiethnic Epiros in the Chronicle of Tocco
– Evan Zarkadas, Independent Scholar
Tuesday, 8 July
09:00–10:30
Session 510 – Defending the Faith: Reorganising and Transmitting Theological Knowledge in Byzantium’s Long 12th Century
📍 Maurice Keyworth Building: 1.04
Sponsor: Alterum Byzantium, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari
Organisers: Alessandra Bucossi & Niccolò Zorzi
Moderator: Margherita Losacco
510-a: Old Theological Knowledge to Fight New Enemies: The Sacred Arsenal by Andronikos Kamateros – Alessandra Bucossi
510-b: Euthymios Zigabenos' Dogmatic Panoply in Relation to Alexios I Komnenos' Religious Agenda, 1081–1118 – Marco Fanelli
510-c: Panoply and Panacea: Authorial Practices in the Dogmatic Panoply by Niketas Choniates – Ottavia Mazzon
510-d: The Final Chapters of the Dogmatic Panoply, the History, and the Orations of Niketas Choniates – Niccolò Zorzi
Session 515 – Cairo to Constantinople: Byzantine and Armenian Discourse across the Middle East
📍 Newlyn Building: 1.02
Sponsor: Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art & Culture
Organiser: Samuel England
Moderator: Janine Su
515-a: Translating Byzantium: Collaborative Translators in Constantinople – Sergio La Porta
515-b: An Arabic Anatolia in Egypt: Literature, Politics, and Religion – Samuel England
515-c: Hanutçu, Then and Now: Navigating Place and Memory on a World Stage – Janine Su
Session 540 – Single Combat in Late Ancient and Medieval Contexts, I: Iconic Representations
📍 Michael Sadler Building: LG.19
Sponsor: Cardiff Centre for Late Antique Religion & Culture (CLARC)
Organiser: Shaun Tougher
Moderator: Eve MacDonald
540-a: Biga is Better?: The Duel of Achilles and Hector in the Ketton Trojan War Mosaic – Jane Masseglia
540-b: Šāpūr I against the Roman Empire: Šāpūr’s Cameo and the Narrative of Power in Iranian Late Antiquity – Delphine Poinsot
540-c: Bringing a Slingshot to a Swordfight: Conflict and Combat on the David Plates – Lara Frentrop
11:15–12:45
Session 610 – Paideia in Romania: Inheritance and Innovation in Byzantine Learning
📍 Maurice Keyworth Building: 1.04
Organisers: Nicholas Davidge & Petros Nicolaou
Moderator: Steve Tibble
610-a: Classical Influences and Perspectives in Theodore Metochitēs’ On Morals or Concerning Education – Jack Dooley
610-b: Educating the Mind to Strengthen the Heart: Byzantine Military Paideia as a Boon for Combat Motivation in the Byzantine Army, 900–1204 – Petros Nicolaou
610-c: Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and England: The Role of Learning in the Quest for a More Universal Christendom – Leo Carter
610-d: Michael Kritopoulos’ Verses in Praise of Augustine – Alex Sandiford
Session 615 – Community-Based Learning across the Byzantine World: Local Expressions of Identity in Constantinople, Paphlagonia, and Epiros
📍 Newlyn Building: 1.02
Organiser: Tiffany van Winkoop
Moderator: Leonora Neville
615-a: Community-Based Identities in Paphlagonia, 8th and 9th Centuries – Cahit Mete Oguz
615-b: Courtly Communities: Eunuch Identity and Gender Performance in the Middle Byzantine Period – Tiffany van Winkoop
615-c: Sign a Contract and Join the Community: Constantinopolitan Bureaucratic Practices in the Provincial World of Ioannes Apokaukos – Aleks Jovanovic
Wednesday, 9 July
09:00–10:30
Session 1015 – Moving Byzantium I: Manuscripts and Arts at the Margins of the Byzantine World
📍 Parkinson Building: 1.08
Sponsor: FWF Project Moving Byzantium
Organiser & Moderator: Claudia Rapp, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften / Universität Wien
1015-a: Syriac Manuscripts as Agents of Mobility: Tracing Cultural Transmission through Colophonology
– Ephrem Ishac, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften1015-b: Learning from the Past: Architectural Copies in Medieval Armenia
– Cassandre Lejosne, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München1015-c: Byzantine Icons of the Virgin ‘in Motion’ in North Apulia
– Antonio Pio Di Cosmo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa
Session 1049 – Resilience and Environment in the Mediterranean, I: Settlements
📍 Clarendon Building: 1.02
Sponsor: ERC Project Science, Society & Environmental Change in the First Millennium CE
Organisers: Michele Abballe, Universität Wien & Vicky Manolopoulou, Universität Wien
Moderator: Helen Foxhall Forbes, University of Oslo
Respondent: Anastasia Nikulina, University of Oslo
1049-a: Landscapes, Lakes, and the Resilience of Settlement around Rieti and Lucca, 600–1000
– Edward Schoolman, University of Nevada, Reno1049-b: Long-Term Population Dynamics across the Italian Peninsula in the First Millennium
– Michele Abballe, Universität Wien1049-c: From Nucleation to Fragmentation and Resilience in the Xeros River Valley, Cyprus
– Athanasios Vionis, University of Cyprus1049-d: The Late Roman Empire and Marginal Lands: A View from the Anatolian Plateau
– Paolo Maranzana, University of Edinburgh
11:15–12:45
Session 1115 – Moving Byzantium, II: Learning and Debating in 12th-Century Byzantium
📍 Parkinson Building: 1.08
Sponsor: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Medieval Research
Organisers: Andreas Rhoby & Christos Stavrakos
Moderator: Andreas Rhoby
1115-a: Learning from Epigrams: A Fresh Look at a Byzantine Genre
– Christos Stavrakos, University of Ioannina / Austrian Academy of Sciences1115-b: 'You who are wise, write this down…': Learning, Language, and Emotions in 12th-Century Greek Verses
– Luisa Andriollo, Austrian Academy of Sciences1115-c: 'And thus we shall not be at a loss…': The Language of (Theological) Debate in Komnenian Byzantium
– Alex Pallett, University of Birmingham
Session 1149 – Resilience and Environment in the Mediterranean, II: Memory
📍 Clarendon Building: 1.02
Sponsor: ERC Project Science, Society & Environmental Change in the First Millennium CE
Organisers: Michele Abballe, Universität Wien & Vicky Manolopoulou, Universität Wien
Moderator: Massimiliano Borroni, Universität Wien
Respondent: Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
1149-a: Palaeoecologies and Landscapes as Reservoirs of Social Memory
– John Haldon, Princeton University / University of St Andrews1149-b: Environmental Challenges and Landscape Experience: Constantinople as a Case Study
– Ismini Lypiridou & Vicky Manolopoulou, Universität Wien
1149-c: Sustainable and Resilient Agricultural Landscapes in the Eastern Mediterranean
– Sam Turner, Newcastle University
14:15–15:45
Session 1208 – A Viking in the Sun: Women and Power in the World of Harald Hardrada, I
📍 Maurice Keyworth Building: 1.31
Sponsors: Centre for Late Antique, Islamic & Byzantine Studies, University of Edinburgh / Snorrastofa, menningar- og miðaldasetur í Reykholti / Svenska forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul
Organiser & Moderator: Gianluca Raccagni, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
1208-a: When Harald Met the Empress Zoe
– Judith Herrin, King's College London1208-b: Mothers and Power: Maternal Love, Maternal Passion, and Maternal Care in the Byzantine Imperial Discourse of the 11th Century
– Larisa Vilimonovic, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade1208-c: Roman Politics, Byzantine Intrigue, and Dangerous Women
– Leonora Neville, Department of History, University of Wisconsin–Madison
16:03–18:00
Session 1302 – Viewing the Invisible: Multi-Sensory Approaches to the Divine in East and West, II
📍 Esther Simpson Building: 2.12
Sponsor: StoryPharm: Reimagining the Medical Humanities
Organisers: Stavroula Constantinou & Laurence Totelin
Moderator: Cynthia Hahn, Hunter College, CUNY
1302-a: Greek Liturgical Singing and the Siculo-Norman Domes of Palermo
– Joseph Williams, Royal Holloway, University of London1302-b: Miracles at the Monastery of Saydnaya: Visualising Healing through Space and Text
– Pelia Werth, University of Birmingham1302-c: Covering Altarpieces and Devotional Images in the Latin and Byzantine East
– Ralf van Bühren, Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, Roma
Thursday, 10 July
09:00–10:30
Session 1515 – Re-Evaluating the 11th Century, I: Knowledge, Authority, and Aesthetics in the Byzantine Church
📍 Newlyn Building: 1.02
Sponsor: ERC Project RELEVEN
Organiser: Aleksandar Anđelović
Moderator: Márton Rózsa
1515-a: Textual Evidence of Art: 11th-Century Ekphrasis of Floral Mosaics in the Monastery of Archangel Michael
– Aleksandar Anđelović, Universität Wien1515-b: Liturgical Knowledge and Regional Identity around 11th-Century Antioch: The Case of Nikon of the Black Mountain
– Achraf Brahim, Universität Wien1515-c: Contemplation as Participation: Rhetorical Learning and the Aesthetics of Awe in John Mauropous' Poem on the Transfiguration
– Andrei Dumitrescu, Stanford University
Session 1532 – Military Worlds of Learning, I: Byzantine Military Manuals, Training, and Combat (I)
📍 Esther Simpson Building: LG08
Sponsor: De Re Militari: Society for Medieval Military History
Organisers: Ilana Krug, York College of Pennsylvania & Georgios Theotokis, İbn Haldun University, Türkiye
Moderator: John Hosler, Command & General Staff College, Kansas
1532-a: Lessons Learned or Lessons Missed?: A Comparative Analysis of the Tactics Applied at the Battles of Merv (484) and Dara (530)
– Georgios Theotokis, İbn Haldun University, Türkiye1532-b: From Theory to Practice: The Byzantines and Naval Operations of the 9th–10th Centuries in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean
– Dimitrios Sidiropoulos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki1532-c: The Military Training of Princes and Aristocrats during the Komnenian Era, Late-11th–12th Centuries
– Ioannis Sarantidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Did We Miss a Session?
Despite our best efforts (and many late-night scrolls through the programme), it’s entirely possible we missed a Byzantine gem or two in the IMC labyrinth. If you notice a session, panel, or paper that belongs on this list but isn’t here — please don’t be shy! Send us a message and we’ll update it asap.
Your eagle eyes help keep this resource accurate for everyone — thank you!
