Conference
Staging the Heroine. The Construction and Performance of Female Heroism in Literature, the Visual Arts and Theatre (c. 1350-1800)
- Date
- Wednesday 3 June 2026 - Friday 5 June 2026
- Address
- Leiden, University Library (Witte Singel 27)
- Room
- Kartini Auditorium
Staging the Heroine: The Construction and Performance of Female Heroism in Literature, the Visual Arts and Theatre (c. 1350-1800)
In late medieval and early modern culture, heroines are ubiquitous. They play a prominent role in narrative fiction and poetry, are discussed in biographies and collections of epigrams, depicted in paintings and engravings, represented in sculpture, and staged in tragedies, melodramas, pastorals, and early modern opera. The aim of the conference is to map the presence, representation, adaptation, and evaluation of female heroines in literature, the visual arts, and the performing arts. Particular emphasis is placed on the Nachleben of late medieval works on heroines, especially Boccaccio’s De claris mulieribus.
Please register here before 22 May. Please find the programme below.
- Members of the Dutch Research School for Medieval Studies can obtain 1 EC by attending the conference and participating in conference-related activities. Members who are interested in participating are invited to contact Emma Grootveld (e.j.m.grootveld@hum.leidenuniv.nl).
- A pre-conference workshop is given by Jed Wentz on Monday June 1st, 14.00-16.00 (Lipsius). It prepares for the performance on Wednesday. Participants will experience whether the musical-oratorical voice of the 18th-century theatre, which used affective inflections to mediate meaning, can still move audiences today. If so, what implications does historical performance have for our understanding and enjoyment of works of art and literature from the past?
- The Dutch Historical Acting Collective will perform Franz Danzi’s melodrama Cleopatra on Wednesday 4 June (20.00 Waalse Kerk). This performance presents the final hours of Cleopatra’s life in pathos-laden Sturm-und-Drang monologues, as she confronts the collapse of her empire. The performance is based on historical acting and declamation sources, interrogating our ideas of how a heroine might have been staged in the late eighteenth century. The performance is open to all and free of charge. Registration is welcome but not required.
This conference is made possible by the generous support of Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), Stichting De Zaaier, Dutch Research School for Medieval Studies.
