The MotherBreast Programme is participating in the Leeds International Medieval Congress, which is organized as a virtual event in July 2021 (5-9 July), with a series of sessions (4 in total) entitled: Breast Borders: Motherhood and Breastfeeding in the Middle Ages.

Date and Time:
Wednesday 7 July 2021, 9am-6pm British Summer Time (GMT+1).

Breast Rules Leeds Sessions:
Breast Rules: Motherhood and Breastfeeding in the Middle Ages, I – Mothers and Wet Nurses [Session No: 1008]
Breast Rules: Motherhood and Breastfeeding in the Middle Ages, II – Motherhood, Breastfeeding, and Religion [Session No: 1108]
Breast Rules: Motherhood and Breastfeeding in the Middle Ages, III – Milk and Blood [Session No: 1208]
Breast Rules: Motherhood and Breastfeeding in the Middle Ages, IV – Breastfeeding in Art and Literature [Session No: 1308]

SESSION I (Wednesday 7 July 2021: 09.00-10.30)
Aspasia Skouroumouni Stavrinou, Department of Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, University of Cyprus, Nicosia.
1.Stavroula Constantinou, Department of Byzantine &Modern Greek Studies, University of Cyprus, Nicosia
Whose Milk Is Best?: The Mother-Wet Nurse Debate in Byzantine Culture
2.The Date Palm and the Wet Nurse: Commodified Breast Milk in Medieval Jewish Thought
Rebecca Winer, Department of History, Villanova University, Pennsylvania

SESSION II (Wednesday 7 July 2021: 11.15-12.45)
Mati Meyer, Department of Literature, Language & the Arts, Open University of Israel, Raanana.
1.Birth and Maternity in Byzantine Prayerbooks
Eirini Afentoulidou, Abteilung Byzanzforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien
2. Children in Distress: Agonising Mothers as Intercessors in Byzantine Miracle Collections
Andria Andreou, Department of Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, University of Cyprus, Nicosia
3. Mothers in Pain: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding in Greek Martyrdom Accounts
Christodoulos Papavarnavas, Abteilung Byzanzforschung, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

SESSION III (Wednesday 7 July 2021: 14.15-15.45)
Christodoulos Papavarnavas, Abteilung Byzanzforschung, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien
1.The Use and Symbolism of a ‘Masculine’ Milk from the Egyptian Period of the Pyramids to the Medieval Period
Sandra Jaeggi-Richoz, Centre Suisse Islam et Société (CSIS), Université de Fribourg
2.Milk in Ancient and Byzantine Medical Treatises
Aspasia Skouroumouni Stavrinou, Department of Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, University of Cyprus, Nicosia

SESSION IV (Wednesday 7 July 2021: 16.30-18.00)
Stavroula Constantinou, Department of Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, University of Cyprus, Nicosia
1.Breastfeeding in the Greek Anthology
Maria Christodoulou, Independent Scholar, Cyprus
2.Breastfeeding in Byzantine Art: Aspects of Materiality and Realia
Mati Meyer, Department of Literature, Language & the Arts, Open University of Israel, Raanana
3. St Nicholas Refuses His Mother’s Breast: Some Reflections on Iconography between Byzantium and the West
Irene Caracciolo, Dipartimento di Storia Antropologia Religioni Arte Spettacolo, Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’