Preface: Imagining Medieval Identities

The twenty-second annual conference of the Illinois Medieval Association was held on February 25-26, 2005, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The theme of the conference was "Imagining Medieval Identities." The plenary speakers, each of whom responded to the other's paper, were Professors Roberta L. Krueger and Richard W. Kaeuper.

The IMA is indebted to the following departments and persons at SIUC for supporting the conference: the European Studies Forum, the Art History Fund of the School of Art and Design, and the Departments of English, History, and Foreign Languages and Literatures. The IMA is especially grateful to Dean Shirley Clay Scott and the College of Liberal Arts and to Provost and Vice-Chancellor John M. Dunn and his Office for their many contributions to the success of the conference and for their generous encouragement. A particular thanks to the Neoteric Ensemble of the School of Music—Eric Lenz, Melissa Mackey, Jennifer Presar —for their presentation and discussion of medieval music. We are especially indebted to Dean Scott for so graciously hosting a splendid party for the members on Friday evening.

The conference theme, also the theme of the present volume, was suggested by the SIUC program committee: Professors Mark Amos, Carlee Bradbury, John Dotson, Holly Hurlburt, Rachel Stocking, and Anne Winston-Allen. The conference was chaired by Anita R. Riedinger.

Thirty-nine papers, representing seventeen states and five different countries, were scheduled for presentation. It is from those papers that the eleven articles in this volume were submitted, selected, and expanded for publication. The editorial board consisted of Professors Mark Johnston, William Fahrenbach, Anne Clark Bartlett, Mark Amos, and David Wagner. We thank Dustin Hixenbaugh, a senior at SIUC and Editorial Assistant, for his aid, as well as Dr. Hilary Attfield of the West Virginia University Press for her generous help.

The conference marked the end of the tenure of IMA's Executive Secretary, Professor Allen J. Frantzen of Loyola University Chicago. On behalf of the organization, Professors Anne Clark Bartlett and Mark Johnston presented him with a plaque commemorating his twelve years of outstanding leadership (1993-2005), noting his invaluable accomplishments on behalf of the organization. Professor Johnston, of DePaul University, succeeds Professor Frantzen as the new Executive Secretary.

Other officers for the 2005-2006 academic year include Anita R. Riedinger, President; Raymond Clemens, Vice-president; and Mark Amos, Anne Clark Bartlett, William Fahrenbach, and David Wagner, Counselors. The 2006 conference, to be chaired by Professor Raymond Clemens, will be held on February 24-25 at the Newberry Library, sponsored by Illinois State University and the Newberry Library in conjunction with DePaul University.